Reviewed: October 12, 2004
Reviewed by: Matt Gonzales

Publisher
Lucasarts

Developer
Pandemic Studios

Released: September 20, 2004
Genre: Action
Players: 2 / 16
ESRB: Teen

8
8
10
9
9.2

Supported Features

Now, you couldn’t ask for a more successful property than Star Wars, I mean come on. But while the success of the movies has fostered its own subgenre of sci-fi geekery (heck, it pretty much defined it), either a tendency of developers to rush out half-finished games or perhaps the ambition of LucasArts to expand its Death Star-sized catalog of digital entertainment offerings has allowed a disturbing number of lackluster titles to make store shelves.

BattleFront is your basic team-based, online FPS. Most fans of the genre are familiar with its conventions. Opposing teams of up to 8 players each try to achieve objectives while under fire, necessitating tightly focused teamwork. Think of it as Star Wars SOCOM. Sure you could strong-arm it, but where’s the fun in that? After all, the real attraction of the game is immersing yourself in the great cinematic battles of a galaxy far, far away. Most of us gamers have been dreaming of this moment since The Empire Strikes Back game on the exalted Atari 2600 where you flew a Snowspeeder against an ever-advancing army of AT-ATs aiming for that sweet spot below the neck.

Of course, there’s always an overarching storyline (usually for the benefit of those without Internet connections) to frame these set pieces, however flimsy. On the single-player side, you can choose to play the Historical Campaign of Galactic Conquest or simply jump right in to the Instant Action of the battle of your choice. So those of you – and we all know you’re out there – who’ve been dreaming of giving an Ewok a few laser blasts to the breadbasket can finally feel fulfilled.

While gameplay is easily summed up as a Star Wars flavored SOCOM [:Navy SEALS], the inclusion of AI bots and a wealth of vehicles make this game stand head and shoulders above such fare. The worlds are teeming with life and movement. As you run through Endorian forests, Ewoks are crying orders to each other as they aid the Rebels in fighting off the Imperial interlopers. And they do aid. Remember the old double-log sandwich smash of the chicken walker in Return of the Jedi? Yes, they do that here. As you spawn into the hangar of Echo Base and jump into a snowspeeder, an AI co-pilot will jump in with you and man the tow cable. Well, of course. You can’t take down an AT-AT without a tow cable. And I never tire of seeing my fellow “Rebel scum” rushing across the battlefield, lasers blasting, as I fly over them to take out an oncoming group of invading Snowtroopers.

Like SOCOM et al, you can switch between primary and secondary weapons at will using shoulder buttons. And like the newer Killzone, tossing a grenade is as simple as hitting a button, instead of the more traditional Rainbow Six style that requires you to switch to the grenade and use the fire button to throw it (I hate that).

Of questionable value is the optional inclusion of “heroes” in your missions, which places on the field an elite member of each side’s warriors. This means that Mace Windu can be seen brandishing his signature purple lightsaber as you run into battle as a Republic Trooper while Count Dooku deals out death for the Separatists.

If you prefer Galactic Civil War, either Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker assist the Empire or the Republic respectively. The problem is that they are invulnerable and dumber than a dewback. This means that you can barely direct or escape them depending on what side you’re on. It would have been better to use them in a very limited capacity like an air strike where you get one a round and it clears a load of enemies in one fell swoop. Other bots are fairly stupid too, but can be handy nonetheless when fighting alone or with very few live players. They can be commanded to stay and protect an objective or follow with you to attack.

All in all, it’s far above games like the Ghost Recon or SOCOM: Navy SEALS series’ graphics engines. Where other console versions surpass it is in the absolutely amazing looking flavor-of-the-month known as normal mapping which makes the snow-encrusted sides of Imperial Walkers fill you with glee as you approach them. It really is an incredible effect.

The John Williams score is every bit as rich as the movies and is blended into the menus and the gameplay to create an authentic Star Wars experience. There is a modest amount of speech, mainly restricted to the mission briefings which is clear and easy to understand. Say what you will about the legacy of Star Wars games, they have always had impeccable sound and music and Battlefront is no exception.

After a while it does start to get a little old, especially when you discover that some levels are criminally imbalanced with one side having all of the vehicles at their spawn. There just isn’t enough firepower to get in there long enough to commandeer those crucial tanks. Here’s hoping a patch will fix that without the need for a hard drive. One patch has already improved lag, so it appears that Pandemic is genuinely concerned with long term support.

[Note to Star Wars Geeks: I know how the real quote goes, but it was altered to fit the context.]