Star Wars: Battlefront II

"A few midiclorians short of a great game"

Well, the long awaited sequel game to the most successful independant films of our time is finally here and on the PSP, but it seems that this Jedi's training is as yet incomplete. It's definitely a welcome addition to the one man party of shooters on the PSP, but unfortunately it suffers from the same lack of depth as it's precursor Coded Arms.

Gameplay:
Mot many complaints here, the controls are sharp, and while not as customizable as the controls in Coded Arms, they offer some wise options. All of the intensity and richness of gameplay is here, along with the nuances that the sequel brought in the forms of heroes and new types of battles, not to mention some PSP exclusive missions. It's fast paced, it's intense, it's everything a shooter fan wants, minus the infrastructure mode of course, which is the first big downside. Whether controlling Jedi, Clones, or starfighters each mission will have you on the edge of your seat in some of the best white-knuckle battles that the PSP brings to the table to date. Conquest mode plays similar to Master of Orion, without the resource management and with the addition of player controlled space/land battles. You pick your side, start with one fleet and one system, and begin your takeover of the other eight systems, building fleets, and fighting in space and on land in many favorite Star Wars locales. And if that isn't enough to hold your attention(which it won't be), jump into one of the PSP's three character classes to complete some exclusive missions.

Story:
So by now you must be asking yourself "What's his problem? Great gameplay, great game right?" Wrong. Much like Anakin this game has been polluted and corrupted by the darkside--weak ports of console games and lack of back story in shooters. There is no story here, no campaign mode, nothing at all related to the epics star wars battles you will be undertaking which just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth once you get over the initial excitement. Gameplay quickly becomes pointless in the Star Wars universe with no story to follow, nothing to fight for and not even anything to unlock, or reason to complete the Conquest Mode. Worse yet is that the highly touted PSP exclusive missions are short, repetitive and end with no closure or sequences, completing the all around lack of ANY story or depth in this game. This brings the question, "What good is the sports car of your dreams with nothing to drive it and no destination to reach?".

Graphics/Sound:
John Williams never sounded better, and has become the only thing this game offers to draw you in, nothing works better than his original scores to make this game authentic. Unfortunately, the graphics lack polish, and maybe due to the PSP's limitations, the fog of war seems unliftable. We've seen better graphics on the PSP, so I'm curious why this one falters, you may need some Force Sight to get through these missions.

Playtime/Replayability:
Again, the realization that there is nothing to bring you back into this game completely hinders any replayability. Only the prospect of multiplayer via ad hoc can be the bacta tank that adds any new life to this title, that is if you are lucky enough to know someone with it.

Final Words:
Coming from a rabid Star Wars fan and rabid fan of all the Star Wars games, it pains me to say that this one needs to be rented first. Take some serious considerations before signing yourself up to the Clone Army, and maybe find a better way to spend your $50. Sorry George, the Force is definitely weak with this one.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/05