STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II GAME REVIEW 

Star Wars Battlefront II: A playable Revenge of the Sith, and much more

Star Wars Battlefront II is a worthy sequel to the original Battlefront game.

BY A CORRESPONDENT

9 February, 2006
MUMBAI, INDIA

Battlefront II is being widely acclaimed as a huge improvement on the original Battlefront game. Latest in the Star Wars gaming scene, it is based on the grand-finale of the Star Wars series, Revenge of the Sith, and even features scenes not included in the original film. An incredible soundtrack, great animation and massive mission-based campaigns across the entire Star Wars trilogy are only a small part of what make this an essential asset for the Star Wars fan.

The game offers players three major playing modes, a training period and a game that follows the Revenge of the Sith storyline, a series of campaigns where players can choose to play as a part of the Imperial, Rebel, Confederate or Republic team, and finally an Instant Action mode that allows players to pick any world (land or space) listed and instantly play a conquest game, or an exciting chase the flag game. The Instant Action mode has an interesting level on the Mos Eisley world, where the player can choose to play as a 'Hero' or 'Villain' and will then have a list of heroes or villains to choose from, and play with and against the legendary Star Wars characters.

An interchangeable first-person/third-person shooter game, it also allows the player to play as a hero if that option has been previously activated. While Jedi/Sith heroes have special force powers that make them significantly more powerful (such as Force Push, Speed, Lightening, Choke, etc.), other heroes like Boba Fett and Han Solo have special blasters or detpacks that allow them to quickly move around the battlefield or cause special kinds of damage.

The objective-based gameplay means that players have to accomplish special missions to progress through to the next stage. Additionally, special units and weapons can be unlocked by scoring points. Battlefront II awards its players medals when they accomplish exceptional feats in battle. For instance, killing six enemies with a pistol unlocks the Precision Pistol. Fulfilling missions and killing a certain number of enemies in one life (or tanks) grants the player medals. The game has an award system that will ultimately make the special medal or bonus permanent if the player reaches Legendary Status in that area.

Players can also control troops as they gain points and medals and increase their rank. A rank of General means that a player can command four troops to guard his/her back. Units in each team also vary, with standard all-purpose unit such as the Clone Trooper, a Sniper, a Heavy Weapons unit and an Engineer/Smuggler to make repairs and pass on ammunition and health. After that, each team has two special units unique to that team. The Confederates have the Droidekas (remember who stopped Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in The Phantom Menace?), the Republic has the Clone Commander, the Rebels have the Wookie Warrior and the Bothan Spy (who can be deadly thanks to his ability to become invisible and creep across enemy lines), and the Imperials have Dark Troopers who can use force lightening like the Emperor's.

Players will be able to play on every planet featured in the movies: volcanic Mustafar where Anakin was injured, Yoda's forested retreat Dagobah, the ice planet of Hoth, Tantive IV, Coruscant, and many more. The graphics are no laughing matter, players have been known to stop playing and go explore the beautiful architecture on Naboo. Space battle is another exciting component in the game, as each team has customized fighter planes that lead to exciting battles. One interesting fact about this game is that no player can single-handedly win the game, although the contribution of each player will significantly affect the team's overall performance in the single-player mode. 

The story mode features 16 locations, and the player will get to play as a part of Darth Vader's elite 501st. The game is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, Playstation Portable and Playstation 2.