Star Wars Battlefront II (Sony PlayStation 2, 2005)

Not only is this game a masterpiece in my mind, it is a timeless classic that players and fans of the series will return to over and over again to take part in the glory that is "Star Wars".

This game offers several different maps with the new feature of 'Space Battles'. Not only does this offer an entirely new concept to the previous releases game-play and features, it keeps you involved in the story - even while the story goes to the stars. There are good, bad and ugly things about every game, and to save time, I'll mention just a few of my favorite likes and dislikes that I've encountered while playing.

Good: The controls are great. If you aren't much for the first-person shooter style games, but want to take part in a semi-realistic Star Wars battle, then this game is definitely for you. The option of sticky targeting makes the game not only easier to focus on gathering control points or destroying key areas, it allows you to literally go in and (single-handed) take out a chunk of the rebel's defensive numbers. Usual problems with other shooter games involves forcing you to get good at them after placing you in the battle without experience with the controls. This game allows you to get into it the second you start. There are several new cool features from the last game SWBFI, but it also has new ideas from other games of its variety. Sure, it has basic units with various guns... little ammo pick-ups and health pods. Sure there are vehicles to get into... but are any of them truly the same? The vehicles are unique in how they move and react to the landscape along with the weapons they all have. Some are small and can ride right into a base, some are large but pack immense firepower. It's all about what you want to do. You are also given a class to combat not just a different class, but the environment as well. Engineers can splice into enemy vehicles while the enemy is occupying them, snipers can use recon droids that drift around AI controlled, Droid Echa have a defensive shield that forces units back. The overall feel of the game leads to a self justification. "If you strategize and act accordingly instead of mindless shooting, you'll get farther than if you just hold down the fire button."

Bad: The game lacks originality when compared to the old game. Many of the same maps are ported over, and even with this, they leave out some of the favorites from the previous game. Some new features just aren't useful. This may be my opinion, but while the Jedi kick-ass - giving them to the player gives the battle an unfair swing. Online, having one player get this also makes it extremely unfair when you come face-to-face. This doesn't bother me but, you can't turn team-damage off. Sometimes you need to use grenades and you just can't without getting all those negative points. In my case, I'd turn it on if given the option, but it'd be nice to have the option present.

There are plenty more features I could give the game an explanation on, but I'll leave the ultimate decision up to you, the reader.

Overall score: 9.5

Final note: "Addictive, fun and competitive with minor drawbacks."

This game was given very good ratings by many people. I am the same also because i too was thrilled.The jedi part is pretty cool where you can be them and fight against some. The classes of people you can be is like the first with the added detail.

The story is where you take the 501st and help out other generals and planets that need to be taken over or protected.I like the set up of which they put abou having checkpoints and actual story type objectives. Then in midst of a tough battle, you can be a jedi that is leading or coming to help for support.

Then the weapons are mostly the same and the classes, as said, were the same. I thing the cool feature of having a First person perspective is pretty awesome. You can see up close the weapon details/power look. That feature shines only on the single player type only; multiplayer has only a reticule, so be warned.

Multiplayer on this game is a very big key to the franchise. Yet, with the idea of awards in battle for a certain number of frags, is very brilliant. Then in galactic conquest the strategy comes into play. You buy the bonuses and troops rather than having them all and selecting a planet as a bonus. THAN, the space feature of objectives and combat is very awe-inspiring. I absolutely loved it.

PRO'S: ALL OF THE MENTIONED ABOVE.

CON'S: ENEMIES HAVE SOME SNAPS OF TOO MUCH BRILLIANCE, STUPIDITY, CHEAPNESS.
THE FLIGHT PART OF ENEMIES CAN BE OVERWHELMING.
CAN'T HAVE MORE THAN 2 GUYS FOLLOW YOU.
CONTROLS CAN BE A BIT CONFUSING AT TIMES, BUT ONCE YOU'VE GOT IT, YOU GOT IT.

Star wars battlefronts II is a very good sequel to the original battlefront saga. This game is fun and has many updated game types. You can play as the rebels, empire, droids, and clones. The graphics are solid as is the gameplay. The grenades could be better.They have added space battles, which can be annoying at times, but are fun.
There is a story mode where you play as the 501st clone troopers and must help, then betray the jedi. This story mode is more of a checkpoint based shooter. You can play this on multi player as well, which is excellent.

Multiplayer is the best part of this title. From galactic conquest to story modes to versus each other, it is addicting. Galactic conquest is a great deal more fun than the original. Now you can buy more upgrades, including a jedi bonus which allows you to control an environment specific hero, as well as purchase character types. The purpose of this conquest is to erradicate the opposite team from the map in either space or land battles. It is great fun and supports up to 4 players on the same system.
Another new addition to the game is player profiles. Now all of your statistics are saved and players are rewarded for certain in- game feats. This includes weapon, skill, and health upgrades. For example, kill 12 people in one life with your assault rifle and you earn a frenzy then receive an award rifle. The award rifle will last for a little while and shoots 3 shot bursts. It is sweet.That's not all! Upon getting 64 frenzies with your profile, you will permanently gain the award weapons. This goes for all the bonuses for each weapon type and character type. Once you have legendary status in all categories you will be the total package of power, endurance, and skill. Being a "legend" helps you immensely in the story and coop modes, but where it would set you apart would be during on line play.Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Online mode is where this game is ludicrously weak. Having an upgraded character does not help you at all.The one player game online has a great deal of hiccups and lags constantly. When compared to a game like Halo 2, this looks like the oregon trail. It is difficult to kill other players online because they randomly disappear from your screen. Also as far as i could tell you cannot play multiplayer online. That means if you have friends and you want to play against worldwide competition you cannot. Why any game nowadays would not have a online coop mode but have an offline coop mode is beyond me.

Overall this game is worth buying in my opinion. It does get repetitive at times but being able to play as quite a few characters makes it enjoyable. The offline multiplayer is my favorite part of this game. four people on one screen in an epic battle is pretty amazing. The addition of the profiles makes the replay value go up. The game stays "fresh" for a while because of all the different galactic conquests and story modes. I hope that this franchise continues, and the online play becomes more of a focus. An arena mode would be fun for multiplayer, similar to a fps like Bond or Halo.

I bought the first Battlefront almost two years ago and loved the rich graphics, pumping music score, ease of play and multitude of options. I soon mastered each battlefield.

Battlefront II offers a much of the same attributes. There are land battles on Tatooine, Geonosis and Kashyyk, for example that feel a lot like the scenarios from the original game. Some new landscapes like the Death Star, Leia's blockade runner and Coruscant add breadth of landscapes. One really fun aspect of the land battles is fighting as a Jedi or Sith Lord. Once you get your mojo as a regular soldier, you'll be interrupted with the option of transfering to a really badass character, who with the sweep of a lightsaber can clean up scores of the enemy. This is great fun.

The campaign game includes space combat, usually prior to any land actions. Again, the graphics are rich and vibrant. But having previously played the Jedi Starfighter series, I feel that this element of Battlefron lacks playability. Down is up, Left is right, etc. As an older gamer, I found this very disorienting. I don't really aim to learn how to fly a starship, I just want to blow off steam, shoot stuff and enjoy the pyrotechnics. I grew frustrated with the space combat sequences and will probably avoid the campaign games because of it.

Still, LucasArts has never really failed to bring me great entertainment. I probably own all the StarWars games, in part because I love the genre but also because the games push the envelope in terms of innovation and richness. If you like Star Wars at all, this is worth the money. If you like first person shooters, don't hesitate. If your looking for great air/space combat, you probably can do better.

This game is a one of the best 3rd person shooters I've ever played. The controls are smooth and the gameplay moves right along. You control one soldier until your blown up, and then are immediately started back at one of your remaining command posts to continue fighting the war until all your squad or the enemy squad is toast. The game itself has a rather simple concept, but the gameplay is so intense it holds your interest until your contacts dry out and your eyes can't take any more action! The multiplayer is fun to play either head-to-head or co-op and can also make a good date night if your guy or gal is into that kind of thing. The campaign has a great storyline that follows the Star Wars universe and makes it fun for the Star Wars diehard, but can also be enjoyed by people who've never known the galaxy far far away. I give it a five because of good graphics, great storyline, simple controls, anyone can enjoy it, and you can pick it up and play it years later and have fun all over again.