Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron

"I Don't Really Have A Bad Feeling About This..."

Star Wars games seem to be a mixed bag. Some are great, others not so. Some are wildly popular, others barely anyone's even played. But Battlefront and Battlefront II surprised everyone with their non-linear gameplay and wonderful combination of deep strategy and thrilling action. While the PSP version of the second game wasn't quite what its big brother was, it was decent nonetheless. And now, a PSP-exclusive.

Renegade Squadron is effectively Battlefront 2.5. A lot of its maps are from the previous game with a few new tweaks. But it's not just an enhanced remake - it comes with plenty of unique parts on top of the (already pretty extensive) list of features of its predecessor. One of the big changes is the complete removal of the normal Battlefront class system. Instead of selecting a character from a class with a predetermined arsenal and movement style, you can now mix and match costume parts to create a unique character and fit them with a variety of new weapons. The weapons vary in style and usefulness; they range from basic blasters to orbital strike triggers which call down a huge laser beam to obliterate whatever's in its way.

Three main game modes are on offer for typical battles. "Conquest" is a race to nab the various command posts of the map before the enemy does, while Capture the Flag is a contest of strategy and, above all, speed. "Assault" is a familiar RTS "battle of attrition", where the goal is simply to wipe out the enemy before they empty your reserve units. New (-ish) to Renegade Squadron are Hero battles, where all combatants are the bonus characters normally only briefly playable. The "Duel of the Fates" battle royale on Tatooine was merely a bonus stage in Battlefront II, but in Renegade Squadron most planets have the option of a Heroes-only battle.

Graphically, the game is reasonable if not outstanding. Ships are recognisable but a bit blurry, but it's rare that you'll mistake one vehicle for another when it's critical. The PSP does a good job of handling battles between throngs of soldiers and multiple vehicles without the frame rate taking a hit, and the battles can even be as impressive as on the console versions. John Williams' wonderful score is present and the typical Star Wars weapon effects are too, and the voice acting is top-notch. Overall, it's a well-presented game.

Space combat has received a major boost. First of all, there are now seven space maps to choose from as opposed to the previous game's paltry two. It's still the same idea (two massive capital ships, a few cruisers and hordes of smaller ships fighting around them) and various famous warships of the Star Wars universe are present, including Mon Calamari Cruisers, Interdictors and the mighty Imperial Star Destroyers. One of the most-missed features of the PSP incarnation of Battlefront II was the ability to wage warfare inside enemy capital ships. That's been corrected now - well, sort of. You still can't destroy external ship parts from the interior of vessels and some of the rooms are blocked off, but it does add an extra layer of depth and allow players not keen on dogfighting to assume command of laser turrets instead, which opens up new possibilities for multiplayer.

The game also seems to have improved a bit control-wise. Flying a ship is easy enough - the analog stick controls the ship's pitch and bank, X and Square fire the primary and secondary weapons, Circle allows you to dodge missiles with various aerobatic stunts, Triangle is the target lock and the Triangle button controls ship speed. The new auto-pilot system - activated at the touch of two buttons is quite handy, allowing you to tail an enemy craft while directing your attention to the weapon controls. Also on offer is an additional auto-pilot which can guide you into a hangar. However, neither of these are idiot-proof - they can and occasionally will lead you into the side of a capital ship or into the flight path of an exiting X-Wing. Also on offer are spaceports, which when captured can generate new units like the B-Wing or the strange-looking TIE Hunter. In addition to the new ships, a limited selection of "Hero" characters, in ships such as the Millennium Falcon and Vader's upgraded TIE ship, are available.

Land battles take advantage of the new weapons options, and are a lot deeper than they used to be. Choosing the correct weapon is now a major part of the battle strategy, and with so many combinations just working out what works and experimenting with weapons can occupy you for hours. But they're not without flaws - the controls are still a bit fiddly compared to the home console versions. Movement of land vehicles can be difficult because driving and steerage are both performed with the analog stick. The camera doesn't seem to like vehicles, which can make aiming a chore. In fact, hopping the behind the controls of an AT-AT for the first time can lead to a player starting to wonder whether they're actually moving. Once you learn it, though, you'll be splatting speederbikes and assaulting AT-STs with the best of them.

Galactic Conquest has also received a makeover. It's still a board game-style mode (think Risk with spaceships and you'll be about half right) where two forces face off in the race to achieve, well, galactic conquest. The map is now divided into four "sectors", and players compete to build armies, conquer planets and take over the galaxy with an assortment of new features. If you've played Empire at War, some of these will be familiar: technology can now be upgraded (giving access to, for example, better defences or snazzier ships), while recruitable Hero characters now provide bonuses such as improved movement.

The campaign mode tells the story of the eponymous Renegade Sqadron - a team of troops rather less clean-cut than the majority of the Rebel Alliance - and their efforts to take down Vader and chums in a variety of missions telling the story of the run-up to the Battle of Endor. The numerous missions take you to many planets and there's rarely a sense of "seen it all before" as each mission vastly differs from the last. Missions can see you dogfighting over an Interdictor, escorting an informant or tackling a selection of tricky bosses. It's well-written and the cut-scenes are slick and stylish, although on the whole it is a bit short.

Like its predecessors, Renegade Squadron takes the best of two (three if you count Galactic Conquest) genres and seamlessly blends them into a game that's fast-paced yet tactical, thrilling yet smart, stylish yet substantial, appealing to fans of both genres and serving as a nice introduction to the other. It does come with a lot of features its bigger brother Battlefront II's console versions lack, but then again, it also lacks a lot of the features its coutnerpart has. It's still not really possible (or fair) to compare it directly with the console games, but with its own set of unique features, Battlefront's portable series finally has something which can compete with the big ones.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/09

Game Release: Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (EU, 10/12/07)