The Star Wars gaming franchise has been a poisoned chalice for many publishers. Too often gamers have been treated to sub-standard titles that exist only to milk the Lucas Arts licence. Thankfully, this is starting to change.
While Jedi Knight Academy and Dark Forces did their bit to bring some much-needed lustre to the licence, the title that rekindled everybody`s interest in Star Wars was the brilliant Knights of the Old Republic. Released late last year, Electronic Arts (EA) scored a coup with this role-playing offering that has a sequel scheduled for release in January.
Now with Star Wars: Battlefront, EA is hoping to offer fans a title that is built on the success of its Battlefield multiplayer online games. The question is whether a fickle gaming public will see this as another attempt to play off the popularity of Battlefield and Star Wars.
May the Force be with you
Well, the short answer is that EA should not be worried. Battlefront, while far from perfect, is one of the most enjoyable first-person shooter offerings I have come across in recent times. Granted, it is no Doom 3 or Far Cry, but this is a game that perfectly recaptures the spirit of the Star Wars universe.
Players can choose to be military units from the timelines of both the old (Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire) and new (Republic and CIS) Star Wars movies. With five units available for selection in each of the armies, there is enough scope to accommodate different styles of play.
Of course, Battlefront would not be complete if you could not ride all the vehicles. There are six types of vehicles ranging from scout to attack transport flyers. Basically, if you have seen a vehicle in a movie, chances are that you will be able to control it in Battlefront.
The speeder bikes (from Return of the Jedi) and the AT-AT Walkers (The Empire Strikes Back) are certainly the most fun to control. I was amazed at the adrenaline-filled speed recreated with flying a speeder bike through the forests of Endor. Almost impossible to use effectively, but a wonderful example of developer Pandemic`s attention to detail.
It`s a wide world after all
The single-player of Battlefront is divided into Instant Action, Historical Campaign and Galactic Conquest. Instant Action will grab most players` immediate attention as they can select from a variety of ready-made battles to get them started.
The Historical Campaign allows you to experience the battles from the Clone Wars or the Galactic Civil War. Unfortunately, there are not that many missions and the hardcore gamers should be able to finish these in a weekend of play. Clips from the movies intersperse these missions. It is a pity that the clips do not appear in the same chronological order as the battles, but then, you are not playing this game for the movies.
In Galactic Conquest, the player can select a planet to attack and then choose his/her faction. Once a planet is under your control, you unlock a bonus. This mode adds several hours to the single-player experience.
Join the Dark Side
However, Battlefront is designed to be a multiplayer experience. There is something to be said for waging war in the Star Wars universe with 64 players simultaneously. At the time of this review though, there are no local Battlefield servers.
So unless you are fortunate enough to have ADSL and can access the international servers, you will have to wait patiently until the local ones start up. Luckily, this should not take too long, as this game is sure to have a loyal following very soon.
Caveats
While you cannot play as one of the main characters of the movies, you do get the opportunity to fight alongside them in battle. There is nothing quite as satisfying as laying into a bunch of Ewoks with Darth Vader at your side, not to mention getting rid of Jar Jar Binks with a laser blaster.
Some gamers might complain that the graphics are not as good as they should be on some of the characters, but the intense action, level design and beautiful game worlds more than make up for it.
Battlefront is one of the few welcome additions to the Star Wars gaming franchise and will see fans playing well into the wee hours of the morning.
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