Video Game Review
Battlefront II: ‘Best of STARWARS Shooters’

By Emilio Ramos (November 25, 2005)

(reviewed for XBOX)

The prequel to the recently released BATTLEFRONT II, STAR-WARS BATTLEFRONT is one of, if not the best STARWARS shooters. There are several game modes and different classes of soldiers to choose from. Get ready as you’re shipped out to the galactic battlefronts all over the STARWARS universe.

OVERVIEW
You start your game by creating a profile which you will use as your avatar as you battle across hyperspace. It follows the basic time line of the STARWARS universe. It has battles from the plains of Naboo to the forests of Endor. BATTLEFRONT is a great party game. It supports up to 16 players on XBOX LIVE.

GAMEPLAY
There are three main game modes in BF, Historical Campaign, Galactic Conquest, and Instant Action. In Historical Campaign, you choose your time period, either the Clone Wars or the Galactic Civil War. Then you’re whisked away to the first battle chronologically. Your side on the battle is always the side that wins in the movies so, you can’t rewrite history and crush the Rebellion as the Empire or take over the Republic as the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The format of the battles is as follows: You are given a certain number of troops and your objective is to wipe out your opponent’s troops. To do this you need to capture command posts. Command posts are situated throughout the map. If you capture all of the command posts your side is victorious. The other way to win is to eliminate all of your opponent’s troops. Your ranks consist of different types of soldiers, ranging form infantry to heavy artillery. All of the troops have specific strengths that you need to utilize in order to win.

In Galactic Conquest, you again choose your time period. You are then given a few planets. Your objective is to wage war against your opponent’s planets. Every time you gain control of a planet you receive a bonus. This could be anything from a Jedi ally or regeneration. In Instant action you choose your battlefield and away you go.

GRAPHICS
The graphics in this game are what really brings this STARWARS experience to life. The characters are all perfect recreations of the original forces. The landscapes are well done also, especially in large natural environments. One minor set back are the graphics in multiplayer play. In the heat of battle, the graphics some times are sluggish and jumpy. Overall they are great.

SOUND
One of the things that really made this game great are the beautiful sound effects. Laser fire, verbal commands from the soldiers, vehicle motors, and humming lightsabers all find themselves masterfully recreated in this game. This game also includes selections of music from the STARWARS movies. These are played throughout the game in cut scenes and during the battles.

DESIGN
The in battle layout on BF is typical of a shooter. You have your soldier in the middle of the screen, your health bar, ammunition count, weapon display, mini map of the battle, and troop count. The menus are also very plain but, what do you expect from a mode menu?

STATS
Platform: XBOX, PC
Developer: PANDEMIC
Publisher: LucasArts
ESRB: T, Violence
Genre: First/Third Person Shooter
Multiplayer: 1-2 players in Splitscreen mode and up to 16 on XBOX LIVE
Gameplay: 2 hrs maximum on Campaign Mode per side (meaning it will take you at most 2 hours to complete Campaign Mode for each faction), 1 hr maximum on Galactic Conquest, and  hrs on Instant Action and Multiplayer.

Final Verdict
(scores out of 10)
Gameplay: 10, Superior
Graphics: 9.4, Great
Sound: 9.6, Excellent
Design: 9.0, Great
Overall: 9.5, Excellent

-Incredibly done, I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. However, I would have liked to see four-player multiplayer but, oh well. Look for the review of STARWARS BATTLEFRONT II in a later issue.