Star Wars Battlefront, as an experience, is long overdue. Finally we have a game who's single aim is to recreate the large scale blistering action of the Star Wars saga's finest action scenes - a feat that despite the odd glimpse here and there, hasn't really been achieved in a video game before.
That said, we saw some truly stunning space battles in the Rogue Squadron series, and we've also witnessed our fair share of land based action in numerous other titles, but never has a Star Wars game merged the two together so seamlessly like this.
It is a Period of Civil War
The aim is simple. You pick a side, choose a map, then just jump head first into the action. Both you and the opposing side have a set amount of reinforcements ticking down as the fight progresses, taking causalities and losing control points in the process, and the first person to run out of those reinforcements loses. Move to next battleground, rinse and repeat.
There are four sides to pick from; the Rebels and the Empire from the classic trilogy, and the Republic and Separatist armies from the prequels. Each side has various classes ranging from scouts to pilots, each with their own bonuses and the like, and truth be told, they're all fairly run-of-the-mill for a game of this type. The exception would have to be the Separatist's droid armies, especially the rolling Droidekas that were such a highlight of The Phantom Menace. Rolling around maps in these destroyer droids at high speeds is great fun.
The battles wage over ten planets encompassing pretty much all the places we saw in the films, along with one or two others (including an occasional glimpse into Episode III).
This Will Be a Day Long Remembered
Just pausing to catch a breath during a game of SWB, it's amazing what you'll see happening around you. Infantry taking pot shots from behind trees, tanks blowing the shit out of each other, and even starships dogfighting up in the sky. This really does look like the movies come to life, and in large part you can thank some (generally) impressive AI for that.
Computer controlled troops on both sides are really rather good at sizing up the world around them and thinking about how best they can contribute to the battle at hand. They'll capture outposts, share ammo, jump on board vehicles - even verbally respond to orders you give them.
Attack of the Clones
While Battlefront is certainly a fun game, if you strip away the franchise, you're left with something that's little more than a remake of the PC game Battlefield 1942, with very few advancements to the formula.
Just as in that aging shooter, you have a certain amount of freedom in how you wish to play; charging in on foot, grabbing hold of a vehicle, or taking to the skies, but it lacks Battlefield's sense of wonder and just all feels a bit like deja vu this time around.
Of course, here you're flying X-Wings and TIE Fighters instead of spitfires and bombers, which is pure sweetness in and of itself, but with all that in mind, originality isn't SWB's strongest point.
Maybe I'm being too hard on it though. After all, as popular as Battlefield 1942 is on the PC, the consoles have never had an equivalent. Yeah, Halo had vehicles and such, but believe me when I tell you, engaging in Battlefront's epic warfare is a whole other kind of carnage. It makes Bungie's prize fighter feel like a couple of kids playing with Toys 'R' Us lightsabers in the garden.
Wars Not Make One Great
In a way, it can get a bit
too hectic at times though. The game can just seem a bit too fast and jumbled to really start forming any kind of large bearing strategies and tactics. This isn't helped by both the ease of death and the slightly small scale maps, which all opt to keep the action tight, cramped and constant for most of the time, rather than providing more open and strategic layouts. That's a shame really, 'cos the tools are all there to create some fantasticly tense warfare, when it can all feel like brainless deathmatch a lot of the time instead.
A game like this really needs an enormous playing field to realise its potential, and other than the occasional examples such as Geonosis or Hoth, they just don't exist here. This is especially obvious when taking to the sky and reaching the map limits in just a few seconds of flying in a straight line.
I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
I have other complaints too. While the computer controlled team mates demonstrate decent AI for the most part, they have a tendency to steal all the vehicles, forcing you into playing the role of foot soldier 90% of the time.
If you can catch up with a vehicle that's already manned, you have the ability to chuck the computer out and take control yourself, and with the slower land vehicles that's great, but how is my cumbersome stormtrooper meant to commandeer the TIE fighter miles above him in the air?
The field of view feels a lot smaller than in any other shooter I've ever played as well - this means you can't actually see as much on your screen at any one time, and thus find yourself constantly having to look around in all directions to keep a hold on the action. These sorts of games aren't a joy to control using a gamepad in the first place, and this adds some minor salt to that wound.
I'm Not Afraid
Regardless, I must praise Battlefront on still maintaining playability through the gamepad for the most part. It always feels a bit hit and miss whether a console shooter is gonna work with a gamepad or not, and sadly the majority of the time they miss, but Battlefront comes out okay all in all.
I do however, think playing on a PC will be a heck of a lot cooler, as per the norm with this sort of thing. The same could be said for online play.
Stay On Target!
Make no mistake, this is primarily a multiplayer game. Yeah, you can play it in single player, and true the game does throw a few nice additions in there to make the campaign a little more interesting than in Battlefield 1942, but ultimately it's a lonely process going into war by yourself.
Throwing some mates in though, either online or split screen, you'll see it spring to life. Co-piloting an AT-AT with your buddy for the first time is rather an iconic moment for a child of Star Wars such as myself.
In fact all the vehicles in general are absolutely brilliant. Just wait until you hop into a speeder bike and go whizzing through the forests of Endor for instance.
Who is She? She's Beautiful
Graphically, Battlefront surprised me. It never struck me as a pretty game in all the pre-publicity, but seeing it in the flesh, it's actually, well, gorgeous. The detail is low, but it keeps things moving along at a brisk pace, and is more than made up for with some impressive animation and beautiful lighting bloom effects (much like those used in Prince of Persia). There are even some rudimentary physics that kick in for the big explosions, sending bodies flying and flailing off in all directions.
On some of the more architecturally complicated levels such as Mos Eisley, the frame rate started to stutter on occasion, but such moments are barely noticeable on the whole.
Naturally the Xbox version looks the better of the two, being the more powerful machine, but don't take that as a huge strike against the Playstation 2 version, as it looks surprisingly good too. The sound is also, as to be expected in a Star Wars title, just about perfect.
Great Job Kid, Don't Get Cocky
Still, I do worry about all this inter-platform standardisation. Looking at what the Xbox and PC have been capable of recently, namely Doom III and Riddick, it's sad to see them limited by PS2 specs in order to put this out as a cross platform title.
I don't have anything against the Playstation, but I do think its time has been and gone, and games in general will improve considerably when its aging architecture is no longer the lowest common denominator throughout the industry.
The Force is Strong With This One
Despite its problems, Battlefront is a very fun game that delivers on its main promise. If you're a Star Wars fan, or simply a fan of online shooters with the appropriate hardware to play this with your mates, I can recommend it wholeheartedly. I also eagerly await seeing how the PC version stacks up against both of these.
If, however, you're a single player who couldn't give a toss about the Star Wars franchise, I'd have a hard time recommending this one. It just won't hold enough longevity for your cash I'm afraid.
Then again, the ability to mow down ewoks and gungans is pretty fucking priceless isn't it?
This review/report was created by the great team at TPSreport.co.uk:
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