Star Wars: Battlefront II

"Possibly the Best Star Wars Game to Date"

We were blessed to play one of the best Star Wars shooters with great game-play and awesome levels. At first I was skeptic at how good this game was. I had seen the video but I just wasn't convinced that this game was all that great; however, once I rented it I instantly went out and bought this game so I could fully enjoy it.

Story: 8.5/10
The story follows the 501st Legion as it fights to gain reputation and later becomes the elite squad known as Vader's Fist. Each level provides scenes from the movie as well as a narrated journal log from one of the units in the 501st Legion. It's great to see the wars through the eyes of the clones. In story you get to play as a hero that is assigned to there planet in the movie.

Graphics: 7/10
Truthfully, the graphics are only slight above average. The characters seem sorta bland; however, it is very easy to tell between the classes. Levels are very accurate and look a lot like their movie counterparts. Don't look for any facial features as your mowing down your foes because they all look like heartless killers. Levels provide vast lanscapes and the vehicles look great. There are no hiccups or lag issues even when there is mass chaos happening on-screen.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is obviously where the game shines. In this new installment we now have the abillity to kill jedi's as well as play as them. Also, we are able to revisit the many of the famous space battles and they play out quite well. Gameplay is fast and creates a very enjoyable war-like experience. Jedi are now playable and have very many unique force powers at their disposal. Not only are you able to play as just jedi's, but you can play as the sith and other heros like Boba Fett and Han Solo. The Galactic Conquest mode has been greatly improved from the last game and the story mode has been re-vamped so it's not just holding command points you are actually doing multiple things like stealing enemy plans and assassinating enemy commanders. The space battles play out well with the abillity to land inside the enemy ship and sabatoge there ship from the inside out.

Sound: 8.5/10
The sound on this game is done very well. The units each have their own voices as well as the heros. While on the battlefield units will often warn you about enemies movements or enemy vehicles. The music in the game is directly taken from the movie...except for some levels where the music and sound effects might get bugged and keep repeating. Sometimes when capturing and losing multiple command points at once will end up getting you caught with your commander rambling on and on. Sometimes when you get certain awards it sounds like an alarm is constantly going off and can get annoying very easily after long amounts of gameplay.

Overall: 9/10
If you enjoy 3rd person shooters or any shooters then you should go out and buy this game even if you don't have online. This game is truly great and is one of the best I have played. Should you rent or buy? Definately buy this game to fully enjoy it time and time again.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/06