Title: Star Wars Battlefront .............................................. Publisher: LucasArts Entertainment Company .............................................. Developer: Pandemic Studios .............................................. Release: 09/20/2004 .............................................. Xbox Live: Yes .............................................. ESBR: Teen ..............................................

I’ve never really been a true Star Wars fan; I didn’t hate it or love it. The idea of laser guns, lightsabers, and “force” powers have fascinated many people. There were many amazing battles in the movies and Star Wars Battlefront puts you right in them. You now have the choice of being a rebel, imperial, the clone troopers, or even the battle droids!

Gameplay

This game isn’t just “a shoot everybody game” like Halo, you actually have to strategize. You command your army by giving them orders. The ability to tell your AI allies to stay and guard key points on the map, telling them to scatter, or even follow you. Before you even respawn into the game you have to strategize. You have to choose your weapons very carefully; you can choose between a normal soldier, a missile launcher, a pilot, or a sniper. Taking a sniper to a location where the enemy is already there is not a very good idea, trust me.

Now there is more than just shoot your enemies in this game; you have to capture their command posts. This also makes it possible to win other than decimating your opponent. In this game you have so many reinforcements, usually around 300 troops. Every time you or your ally dies, another reinforcement troop takes it place. Reinforcements can only spawn if you have a command post.

Another feature of the game is the ability to operate the many vehicles of Star Wars. They range from the little speeder bike to the gigantic AT-AT, even fly the starfighters! You can even ride some of the animals in the battle. Some battles, you even get a Jedi, like Luke Skywalker, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, and even Darth Vader to fight along side you.

Storyline

There is not much to say about the storyline, it follows the movie’s storyline. The game even has scenes from the episodes just to show you some of the events leading up to the battle.

Graphics

All I can say is that everything looks beautiful, from the vehicles, landscapes, and the people and droids. The animations are very smooth and realistic looking. They really couldn’t have done it any better.

Sound

The sound of a laser whizzing by your ear and the breathing of Darth Vader when he is beside you, everything was done perfectly. All of the background music is from the movies, but it still sounds great! It will make you feel like you are actually in the battle.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer in this game is spectacular. There are always the co-op missions of all the battles, but they have included another multiplayer mode, Galactic Conquest. It pits you against a friend for control of the universe playing battles over planets, first to control all the planets and take out the opponent’s home planet, wins. Some of the planets you control in this mode will allow you to have certain advantages over your enemies, ranging from having a Jedi fight alongside you to the sabotage of your enemies vehicles.

The ability to also take the game onto Xbox Live was another great feature. It pits you in the battle with 15 other people from around the world, so the game never gets old.

Overall

Overall this game is a must if you are a Star Wars fan. Many were disappointed that they were unable to be a Jedi in the game, but in my opinion, the other qualities of the game makes up for that disappointment and more!

9 Overall Score  Fun 9  Gameplay 9  Graphics 10  Sound 9.5  Replay 9

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Xbox Core Rating System