11/14/05 >> Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (PlayStation 2)
Genre: Third-person Shooter
The Star Wars franchise is well known for butchering its franchise with cheap games designed to capitalize upon the success of the movies and many, many shoddy games have been released under the Star Wars logo. However, every once in a while a decent game comes along that makes full use of the franchise and actually becomes a stand alone game that could succeed without the Star Wars overtones. I am thinking mainly of Knight of the Old Republic (X-Box), Rouge Squadron (N64) and Jedi Outcast (PC). These games fully expanded the universe with interesting and liberal usage of the franchise title while simultaneously offering the gamer a challenge and pure enjoyment. I am pleased to announce that Battlefront II can join the ranks of these games due to its competent game play and just sheer fun. You play as the 501st Legion of clone troops and the game chronicles their involvement in the Star Wars universes greatest battles over a period of 20 years and sees them develop into a fearsome fighting force.
Graphics
The graphics are adequate, not brilliant but not bad. That said the game takes place on many battlefields and there is always a lot of activity as the two armies engage with units being blown up left and right and explosions sometimes missing you by only inches it certainly gives the impression of being in a battle with real life or death consequences. There are usually nice background graphics such as transport ships zooming overhead and nice touches such as dead fish floating in the water after explosions. Little touches such as this may go unnoticed but nonetheless help to imbue the game with this spirit of being in the heat of battle. The units that you control are given ample variation also with their uniforms and amour changing to fit the locations such as changing from the regular Stormtrooper uniform to that of a Snowtrooper on the Hoth level and so on. By far the most beautiful levels are the space battles where the planets can be viewed below the mayhem and provide a momentary distraction as a blaze of color in an otherwise blackness of space.
Sound
The music is everything you have come to expect from a Star Wars game in that it is fully orchestrated using the classics of John Williams to the full extent of the license. In all it is nothing you haven't heard before but still imbue the game with that timeless quality of an epic space opera that fits the series so well. The troops have tips and battle cries that are a nice touch also often warning you about imminent dangers so you can work as a team. A good use of voice acting in casting Temuera Morrison (the actor who played Jango Fett) as the clone troops of the 501st Legion.
Some of the other voice acting is not so good and do only barely pass as their on screen counterparts. It was with the sound that I experienced the most problems especially on the Space Battle levels where the game would get stuck on one track of music and become glitchy, slowing down the games frame rate and producing an annoying dance music sort of sound that did not fit the game at all. However this could just be my console which is over 3 years old.
Gameplay
This is where the game shines. It is addictive and just plain fun. The game allows you to select a team, either the Republic, the CIS in the Clone Wars or as the Empire or Rebellion in the Galactic Civil War. Each team is basically the same except for the skins. The real fun in the game comes through blasting away your enemy and capturing their Command Posts where you can re-spawn later and push the enemy back. It does not take long to pick up the nuances of the game and soon you will be running around the maps completing mission objectives and blowing things up. By far the most fun comes from playing in the vehicles that litter the battlefields which possess great firepower and are fun to use. The feeling of using the AT-AT on Hoth is a dream finally realized for me, for all those years that I was forced to play only as the Rebellion in those annoying Snowspeeders...finally I can take it to them! Walker Texas Ranger style!
Another nice feature is that periodically during a battle you will have the option of using a Hero who is usually a Jedi to come in and wreak havoc amongst your enemies. These heroes have a certain time limit on the field so that you don't feel cheap using them and they can be interesting to play as. The multiplayer feature is added fun and perhaps is the crux of the game especially with the online features.
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Game Score: 8.5
