Platform Reviewed: Playstation 2

Publisher: Lucas Arts

Rating: Teen (T)

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is an action-adventure/strategy game where you get to participate in many battlegrounds of the all the blockbuster movies. Play as the Rebels, Empire, Senator Palpatine’s elite Republic Clone army legion and Separatists robot army (CIS). Attempt to capture command posts and pacify your enemy numbers. Experiment with individual battlegrounds from all movies in the Star Wars series. Fly through space; attack enemy ships and attempt landing on them to take control with your marines. Battle with Jedis, Wookies, Stormtroopers, Bounty Hunters, Botham Spies, Droidekas, and other interesting characters.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 offers two levels of difficulty, Normal and Elite. Modes of play are single player, co-op, multiplayer and online play.

In single and multiplayer mode, you have a choice between Training, Space Overview, Rise of the Empire, Galactic Conquest and Instant Action.

The Space Overview gives you general tips how to succeed in space battle conflicts. A fantastic battle scene plays while all this is going on. However, the tips they give you do not specify how to use the controls in space.

Training sets you up in an actual battle scenario where key combat tips, controls and strategies are described. You then follow their instructions and try to fulfill all the goals of the mission. When you succeed, the narrator tells you that the goal has been accomplished. It is a good way to practice for the larger battles you will be involved with in the Rise of the Empire, Galactic Conquest and Instant Action.

The campaigns begin during the time of the Clone Wars. Palpatine commissions the 501st division of clone legion troopers to vanquish the Separatists. They work along with the Rebels at this time in a seemingly cooperative effort. Little do the Rebels know that Senator Palpatine has his own devious secret plans for control of the galaxy.

The first scenario begins on the planet Mygeeto, where you must find a powerful energy source from the Separatist (CIS) manufacturing plant and destroy its Energy collector. The Rebels are unaware that Palpatine’s goal was to obtain the energy source for the ultimate destructive weapon (Death Star).

In this option, you have a few campaign choices: Birth of the Rebellion, The Confederate Uprising, Republic Sovereignty, and the Dark Reign of the Empire. In each campaign, you attempt to construct and navigate fleets through space and battle your enemy one planet at a time for total control of the galaxy. Each section has space battlegrounds and land assaults. To win, you must defeat your enemy’s fleets and bases. Each planet you take control over you receive credits to use to recruit unit classes or buy bonus items to help you.

The following is the faction you will play in each campaign:

Birth of the Rebellion

• Rebels

The Confederate Uprising

• CIS (Separatists)

Republic Sovereignty

• Senator Palpatine’s Republic 501st Clone army legion

Dark Reign of the Empire

• The Empire

In this option you can pick specific battles you would like to play. A list of planets and specific locations is displayed in its menu, and you can add (or remove) specific ones to a playlist that can be launched in the order you choose.

Within each battle location, there are different types of fighting options:

Conquest

Capture all command posts or defeat all enemies

CTF

Take your faction’s flag to the enemy’s base to win

Hunt mode

Defeat all enemies within a specific time limit

Assault

Win by gaining points for destroying enemy units and objects.

An options menu is also available that allows you to customize your battles by adjusting specifics like number of AI units per team, AI opponents difficulty level, hero options, percentage of reinforcements etc.

Each faction, whether it is the Rebels, Empire, Republic, CIS (Separatists) will have their own version of six specific types of fighters and two specialized units that can only be accessed in space battles.

Basic Units

• A standard soldier with a blaster rifle, blaster pistol and thermal detonator

• A marksman who has a sniper rifle, blaster pistol, thermal detonator, auto turret dispenser and recon druid.

• A heavy arms fighter that has a rocket launcher, blaster pistol, thermal detonator and mines

Specialized Land Units

Rebels

• Rebel Smuggler, Bothan Spy and Wookie Warrior

Empire

• Imperial Engineer, Dark Trooper, and Imperial Officer

Republic elite Clone Army legion

• Clone Engineer, Clone Commander, and Jet Trooper

Separatist’s Robot army (CIS)

• Engineer droid, Magnaguard, and Droideka

Space Units

• The pilot who can operate vehicles, and uses a blaster cannon, commando pistol, fusion cutter, time bomb and has the ability dispense health and ammunition to himself and others on your side

• A marine is used in space assaults to help defend and participate in the capture of enemy ships. They have a blaster rifle, rocket launcher and thermal detonator.

If you enjoyed the last Star Wars Battlefront game and are a fan of the series, you will really be in Star Wars heaven. The opportunity to play some of the main characters on both the Rebel and Empire side like Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Darth Vader, Boba Fett and Han Solo is the ultimate. I enjoyed fighting along side my troops using a light saber and force moves.

Another great thing about the game is the number of battleground locations has increased to include those from all six films. Enemies also seem a lot tougher than the last Battlefront game, giving you a greater challenge.

Unlike the original Star Wars Battlefront, the game also makes you “earn” the right to use some of the different troops and heroes available to you during combat. You earn points by the number of kills, command posts you gain control over and the amount of time your character you a playing stays alive. A status report at the end of the each battle shows you how well you performed.

One frustrating thing about the game is that it makes it difficult to when you want to quit a scenario (like if you are losing or want to try something else). After quitting, it assumes you want to start in the same place as before and attempts to reload it. You then have to press start again once it finishes loading and select quit again to get out of it.

It is also cool to board a large space battle cruiser with one of your own ships and then invade it with your marines to take control of it. My only gripe with the space battles is that there is no training at all to prepare you for it. The “Space Overview” is nothing more than a fluffed up narration of how you should conduct yourself in battle, without giving you any real practice (like the Training mode for ground assaults). This is why it is important if you get this game, the instruction manual is crucial. If not, you will spend a lot of time pressing buttons or researching on the Web to try and figure it out.

Another great part of Star Wars Battlefront 2 is that there are more weapons and vehicles you can try out like land speeders, ground turrets, speeder bikes X-Wing fighters, AT-AT Walkers and quite a few others.

The graphics in Star Wars Battlefront 2 has vastly improved since the original game. The landscape and character detail is awesome. Character movement is very fluid and easy to use. However, game loading is a little slow (probably due to the heavy graphics). To view some great screenshots of the game, go to the Lucas Arts Website.

Audio music soundtrack is directly taken from the Star Wars movies. Battle sounds are good and vocal dialog is close to the actor’s voices in the films.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is an action-adventure/strategy game where you get to participate in battles in all six movies of the series. Play Galactic Conquest, Rise of the Empire, train or select a specific battle to play in Instant Action mode. Fight as the Empire, Rebels, Republic or Separatist’s robot army. Play as six different types of fighters with two additional specialized space units. Attempt to control the galaxy and battle in action-packed battle scenes. Fight as one of the main heroes including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Boba Fett and Han Solo. Immerse yourself in the Star Wars universe and play this game.

By Sheila Robinson (CA-gamer)

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