Reviewed: November 17, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
LucasArts
Developer
Pandemic Studios
Released: November 1, 2005
Genre: Action
Players: 4 / 32
ESRB: Teen
8
8
8
9
8.9
Supported Features
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
A long time, or about 14 months ago, LucasArts released what has become their best selling Star Wars game to date. Of course I am speaking of Star Wars Battlefront, and what could possibly hope to topple their crowning achievement of multiplayer mayhem set in the vast Star Wars universe other than a sequel cleverly titled Star Wars Battlefront II.
Battlefront II doesn’t aspire to reinvent the genre but merely refine it with some major overhauls to the gameplay including the addition of space battles and seamless interaction of those space battles with running around and blowing things up in grand Star Wars fashion.
One of the biggest omissions of the original game was a cohesive story to tie together all the missions. For a lot of gamers, including myself, it was increasingly hard to care or get involved in a mindless series of battle scenarios tied together by a menu. There was little point to playing other than to win. Much like the Unreal Tournament games it was truly the definition of a multiplayer only game.
Battlefront II expands on the original with a token story, which falls short of any narrative in any other Star Wars game, but at least it’s there. You play as one of the members of the 501st Cloned Infantry Division, soon to be known as Vader’s Finest in the all-new Rise of the Empire mode. The story is merely a series of diary-like narrations and pixilated cutscenes that take you from a tutorial on Geonosis to a march across the galaxy for Imperial domination, but you do get some insightful looks into events that are merely hinted at in the movie.
Galactic Conquest mode has been expanded and is far deeper and much more rewarding than before. Perhaps one of the most requested features, Jedi warriors have been added to the mix so you can take on the droid army as Mace Windu or other famed Jedi Masters. Heroes also come into play and the further you progress into the instant missions the more likely you will unlock a classic Star Wars character like Chewbacca or Han Solo, who can then be substituted into the fracas for a short duration.
Opponent AI has been greatly improved and there are now much more challenging objectives in both the single player game and the instant missions. While this makes Battlefront II superior to the original it’s still not reason enough to purchase this game unless you really plan to take advantage of the multiplayer elements.
The Xbox mirrors the 32-player support of the PC, slightly above the 24-player max on the PS2, and is easily the best method to quench your thirst for galactic domination. Those who are Internet challenged can opt for split-screen, or networked system link play and still get a bit of fun out of the multiplayer modes.
My personal grievance with the multiplayer is that nobody online, or at least the ones I played with and against, uses any kind of strategy or tactics. It’s basically a big free-for-all and you’ll still have to revert back to solo gaming if you want to fight with any kind of style. At least that is the case with most of the versus modes that focus on sheer combat. CTF and Conquest modes are still a blast since you have other objectives other than just shooting the other players.
There are still some balancing issues. Snipers should be fun but it’s nearly impossible to lock a target in your sights, human or computer, and the longer you try the more time the enemy has to lock onto your stationary form. Vehicles are a bit better this time and no longer dominate the game when they are included. The more powerful turrets are stationary making their prolonged used risky at best.
There are a lot more levels in this sequel including a lot of the planets that were merely touched upon by Episode III. Fear not; all the classic planets are back like the icy Hoth and the very wet Kamino, but now we get to explore the Wookie home world, Kashyyyk, plus the endless void of space.
The introduction of space battles is a welcome addition but it’s exactly that, an addition. No one is going to mistake this for the classic battles of X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter or even the Rogue Squadron games. Combat is fluid and fun in solo gameplay but anything less than a flawless broadband connection and lag will make these battles aggravating and impossible.
Battlefront II is quite demanding in its multiplayer needs. PS2 and Xbox gamers will have a much harder time than PC players who can enjoy the luxury of dedicated servers running at low pings. Xbox Live gamers will need to pick and choose their matches wisely and possibly limit the number of players. Just because it says 32 players on the box doesn’t mean it will be playable with that many.
The epic sense of scale for a lot of the levels is impressive, especially battling in space seamlessly launching a fighter from one ship and landing in the docking bay of another then going on an internal rampage of that ship before escaping. Some of the interiors of these capital ships are just as big as levels you might find in other action titles.
Back on planetside, the levels are equally as large and just as impressive with lots of landscape textures, buildings, and all sorts of battlefield activity that keeps the action alive. You’ll be amazed at just how large some of these battles can get and at least for the solo game, the framerate is impressively smooth.
Character animation is really good and there are a nice variety of models, even for slight variations in the clone troopers based on their occupation. Sometimes it’s just a slight variation in color or insignia and others it’s a completely new shape of helmet or battle armor. Heroes are instantly recognizable whether you are blasting away as Han Solo or flinging your purple saber as Mace Windu.
Look for plenty of colors, detailed textures, smoke, particle effects, and lots of explosions. This game is just as impressive as any of the battles you’ve seen in the movies, and everything looks fantastic on an HDTV if you can make use of the 480p support.
Even the worst Star Wars game ever made (you decide which one that might be) had an epic score. After all, this is Star Wars and John Williams and no matter how much you remix and reuse those familiar themes, they will always inspire the appropriate emotional response and totally energize you for the game at hand.
Sound effects follow the same rules as music and with the vast library of sound effects in the Lucas vaults you are going to hear the exact same laser blasts, light saber hums, and droid beeps and whistles that we all grew up with in the theater. There are also appropriate environmental noises for each of the planets and space comes alive with screaming fighters and laser blasts.
There isn’t much speech outside of the clone narration for the story mode and the guide during the tutorial. But despite the lack of quantity, the quality is outstanding. And when you combine all of these individual elements and present them in a stunning Dolby Digital surround mix you have a theater-like experience that will blow your mind.
Earlier, I said you probably wouldn’t want to purchase this game if you didn’t plan on playing it online, and while that is certainly the case I won’t say there isn’t some substantial value to the solo experience. The Rise of the Empire mode is a lot of fun for as long as it lasts – about 8-10 hours, and the new and improved Galactic Conquest mode is bigger and better than ever. Look for at least 20-30 hours of solid gaming before you even have to think about going online, but in reality, this is just all practice for playing against real people.
For most of us, going online is why you are going to get this game and Battlefront II delivers one of the consistently best multiplayer experiences in the Star Wars catalog. There are always a large number of gamers playing, and you will quickly find your favorite maps, characters, and tactics, and then exploit them for countless hours.
Star Wars Battlefront II doesn’t mess around with the successful formula of the first, but rather builds upon it adding a story mode, space battles, Jedi, heroes, and plenty of new levels inspired by the final movie. It’s still best played on the PC, but if console gaming is your choice then the Xbox is the preferred format.
Fans of the original will delight in all of these new additions and find endless gameplay opportunities, both solo and online. Sure, the game still has a few problems, unit balancing and online framerate rising to the top of the list, but even these are overshadowed by the Death Star-like presence of what is still one of the best multiplayer Star Wars games you can experience.