I have a real love/hate relationship with games based on the Star Wars Trilogy (and the soon to be trilogy of prequels). For every
TIE Fighter,
Jedi Knight 2 or
Rogue Leader, we're given a
Super Bombad Racing or
Flight of the Falcon. The games really do range from the great to the truly awful. So when it was announced that Pandemic, makers of the so-so Episode II
Clone Wars game, was working on a title that would make the large scale battles of the trilogies playable by up to 32 people at a time (depending on the version), I and a legion of fans were skeptical. The
Battlefield games are great, and a Star Wars game that plays anything like those would be a dream, but would Pandemic be able to pull it off? The answer is a slightly hesitant yes.
Star Wars Battlefront makes no qualms about borrowing heavily from Battlefield 1942/Vietnam. For those unfamiliar with the style of play found in the Battlefield series, here's a brief explanation. Two teams start with a set ticker and compete to take over a group of control points littered about the map. The more control points your team has, the more areas you can spawn from and the slower your team's ticker goes down. The team whose ticker runs out first loses. It's worked great for the Battlefield games and it works great for Star Wars Battlefront.
Visually, Battlefront is exceptional. Never before have the Star Wars battles been so well recreated and detailed. The landscapes of Yavin, Hoth and Naboo, for example, look great, but going outside into the pouring rain on Kamino is a real sight to behold. The sound effects and music are exactly what you'd expect if you've played any PC or console Star Wars game over the past 8 years. Voices are used intermittently by your squadmates and any nearby locals, but they neither detract nor enhance the game experience any. The most annoying voice, obviously, comes from the Gungans on Naboo. Even though they resemble the smarter Captain Tarpals, they repeat the same few lines of idiotic Jar Jar-speak over and over again. Do everyone on the map a favor and take them out as soon as you see them.
The game can be controlled in first or third person, each having their own distinct advantages and disadvantages based on the situation. The control in both viewpoints is tight and makes walking, shooting, flying, and driving feel like second nature after some practice.
The single player game consists of two main modes - Campaign and Galactic Conquest. Campaign gives you a series of linear levels that take place during either the Clone Wars or Galactic Civil War, while Galactic Conquest allows you to choose from a number of different scenarios and lead your forces in an attempt to capture every enemy controlled planet. Unfortunately, each of those modes keeps the exact same style of play and offers no real reason to play the same levels again and again, other than to learn the maps for multiplayer action. The AI in the single player game is also pretty weak. This works both ways; not only does it mean you can mow down waves of enemies without getting touched, but when you need your teammates to help you capture a point, they're usually nowhere to be found. You can issue commands to them such as "Follow Me!" and "Stay here!", but they appear to be largely ignored.
The multiplayer side of things, however, is excellent. The online play is mostly smooth (depending on the server) and, truthfully, there's nothing quite like sneaking in to steal a control point right from under other players' noses. SWBF was really made to be played with two sides of human players so if you don't have online access, you're probably better off with a more single player-centric game.
When jumping into a game, the first thing you'll do is choose your character class. Each of the 4 sides shares the same basic classes plus one special class unique to their faction. The classes include basic infantry, anti-vehicle (complete with rocket launcher), pilot (the basic support class) and marksman (with sniper rifle). The problem is, for the most part, the basic soldier will win any normal firefight and is usually the best choice for almost any situation.
The maps in Battlefront are based on planets from each of the six movies. Yes, six movies, since two of the maps take place on a planet seen in Episode 3. Hoth, Bespin, Kamino and the forest moon of Endor are all accurately represented along with a handful of other settings. Each is complete with control points denoting key locations; for instance, Hoth's Echo Base and Shield Generator. For the most part, the map layout is very well done, the only real exception being Geonosis, which ends up too unbalanced and confined - most definitely a far cry from the gigantic battlefield we saw at the end of Episode II.
Even with the inclusion of many of the main areas of interest in the Star Wars universe, it would've been nice to see a few more maps included. The Star Wars geek in me can only imagine how cool a near perfect replica of the battle aboard the Tantive IV could've been.
Multiplayer games, such as Battlefront, rely heavily on balance, so that one side or player doesn't have an unfair advantage over another. Unfortunately, out of the box, this aspect is more than a bit lacking. From the start, the game quickly turns into a rush for any unmanned vehicles, as infantry has almost no chance of competing with any tank or ship. As realistic as it may be for an AT-ST to completely wipe out an entire troop of Rebels, that doesn't exactly make it fun (unless of course you're that one guy hogging the AT-ST).
To even think about destroying a vehicle, especially the powerful AT-AT and AT-TE, it either takes an equal or better vehicle or concentrated firepower and teamwork. Encouraging teamwork is all well and good, but from what's been seen so far, Pandemic may have underestimated the difficulty of getting JarJarSux316 and TheTominator to work together on stringing up an AT-AT. This imbalance is marginally helped by the fact that people in vehicles can't capture control points (as they can in just about every other game), but a little more tweaking would've definitely helped the game's longevity.
Even after all the hype, Battlefront manages to stand tall as a great game that does the best job we've yet seen of playing out the battles of the Star Wars movies. Though the game has some balance issues that may hurt its long term appeal, it's still likely to become a huge favorite online. But beware - if you don't have online access for your PS2, Battlefront probably isn't the game for you.
Author:
Derek , 03/28/2008
Score: A
This game is so fun with the ways you can choose different sides with different weapons. The explosives and snipers make this game extra fun.
Author:
the , 08/03/2006
Score: N/A
Star wars is a hit movie made over a billion dollars in theaters and in memorabilia bottom line its like the greatest movie of all time. In this star wars game you have the choice of choosing everything right down to the kind of soldier you are first off there are 2 kinds of games you can play you could have a lot of fun playing the campaign or you can choose out of the many levels/missions you have already experienced to practice up on your knowing of the level, getting comfortable with the game or just basically having fun doing what you want when you want. This game lets you choose everything and when I say everything I mean everything first off to start a quick battle (which isnā??t really quick I may add well atleast not the first time. First you start by choosing which war you want to take part in you have the choice of playing the galactic war or the clone wars. After you choose the war you choose the side you are on they very from war in the galactic war you could either be on the rebels side or on the galactic empireā??s side. But if you play the clone wars then you have a choice of the republic (clones) or the CIS (droids). For each side and wars the soldiers vary but basically you could choose from a sniper, scout, pilot, or a jet pack dude, of course these will be different looking and have maybe better weapons or what not either way there all kind of the same for each army you choose. On top of that in many of the levels there are an assortment of vehicles they as well are different for the different wars you choose (galactic, or clone) weather itā??s an x-wing or a AT-AT there still really fun and the controls for them are very comfortable actually for the hole game the controls are comfortable they are just so right for this kind of game. This game has also very good qualities I mean the graphics are crystal clear beautiful the soldiers can be alittle blocky in some spots some times but you hardly notice the environments are awesome there so indebth it looks like your watching the star wars series all over again the creators of this game should stop right this second and pat themselves on the back because this game is a job well done.
Author:
Darth , 11/24/2005
Score: A+
Since I joined 1UP after playing the sequel to this game I can say without an inkling of self doubt that the original Battlefront was and remains the greatest Star Wars game ever! The ability to fight all the classic Star Wars battles was the key for me, and in my opinion the reason why this game was superior to all previous SW games and even its sequel is the fact that it follows the movies more closely than even the games sequel BFII. In my humble yet extremely rare opinion, games based on movies should follow the movies storyline as closely as possible, and BF II only followed the story of the movies loosely and only from Episodes II-V, not to mention subtracting what I consider the Empire's greatest victory, Bespin. In BF I you get all 6 movies, even a taste of III.
This game oozes nostalgia which is BF II's weakest point, BF I has all the maps from all the movies with each map having a location which brings sweet nostalgia back to SW fans minds. From the Bespin gantry, to Han in Carbonite, to the Sarlacc Pit, to the Shield Bunker, to the Millenium Falcon on Echo Base this is the game for every Star Wars fan. The ability to fight alongside Darth Vader was a major selling point for me and although the sequel is superior in its ability to play as Vader, what's the point of playing Vader it you can't fight on the Bespin Gantry or stand in the Carbon Freezing Chamber since BFII has no Cloud City level like its predecessor.
In short if you are a Die Hard Star Wars fan to the point of 100% canon continuity the BF I comes closest to it. However if u are a forgiving SW fan or just an occassional SW gamer BF II is probably your better option. But in my opinion SW BF I will always be the better of the 2.
Author:
Justin , 11/01/2005
Score: A
Star Wars Battlefront is one of the best Star Wars games made. The game of Star Wars Battlefront focuses on the battles that is in the Star Wars saga (except for episode 3). There are even some battles that are not in the movies but are still alot of fun to play. There are about four different armies that you are able to play as, the cis, the clones, the stormtroppers, and the rebels. There are two ways to win a battle,you capture all the cammond posts or defeat the entire enemy army. There are about 5 different classes that you play as each with different weappons and abilities. The game of Star Wars Battlefront is fun and is perfect for anyone that is a fan to the Star Wars saga.
Author:
Sean , 09/15/2005
Score: A
Star Wars fans, perhaps more than any others, have had to endure a lot when it comes to games. Most Star Wars games fail to capture the essence that is Star Wars, while others (Jedi Power Battles, Obi-Wan, Super Bombad Racing . . . do I really have to go on?) have completely marred the Star Wars name forever.
Star Wars fans feel that if there is a bright center to the universe, Star Wars games are the furthest from it.
To put it simply, Battlefront, above all else, captures the feel of Star Wars. From taking down an AT-AT with a snowspeeder to riding a speeder bike on the forest moon of Endor, this game just feels like Star Wars, and that is by far the games strongest point.
Battlefront is a 1st or 3rd person shooter that revolves around the idea of capturing command post (aka spawn points). When all of the post are captured or when the other sides counter reaches 0 the game is over. The game offers sixteen very different and unique maps, four factions to play each with five character classes, close to 20 vehicles are represented, there is
online play, and three different game types. Despite all of this, Battlefront still feels a little shallow. Because despite all of these options the game play is the same. On some levels there are objectives, but they donā??t really matter that much. While it would have been great to see more modes like capture the flag, Battlefront instead focuses on one thing and does it well. Overall, this is ok because this style of play, while common on the PC is something the console has not seen.
Despite the fact that it has drawn some criticism, the gameā??s AI deserves some credit. While, the computer is nowhere near as good as human players, it is still the best that any game has ever offered. Occasionally, an AI will lose its way and just stand around doing nothing, but this only becomes extremely obvious while snipping. The strength of the AI makes single player a viable option on a game that is geared towards online gaming.
Battlefront takes a huge step forward in redeeming Star Wars games. For anyone who is a fan of the classic franchise this game is a Must Buy. For shooter fans, it defiantly needs to be looked into because it will not fail to disappoint.
Final Rating: 9/10
