Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1267 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2004-09-24
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: PlayStation2

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's probably not a complete coincidence that Star Wars: Battlefront comes out on exactly the same day as the original trilogy (or at least what's left of it after the Special Editions) DVD box set. The fact that Battlefront sounds like a lot like Battlefield (as in 1942, Vietnam etc) is also probably not entirely down to chance, since this is essentially a Star Wars-ified version of EA's online classic.

As such the game features first or third person shoot-'em-up gameplay over 15 different environments from both the classic trilogy and the not-so classic trilogy. Unfortunately you can't mix and match the different eras, so each of the two sets of opposing factions have to stick to their own levels.

Although the game has a much stronger single player mode than its PC based inspiration, the heart of the game is still the multiplayer mode that allows for up to 16 players online playing as more than 20 different soldier types, which sadly doesn't include Ewoks or Gungans (although the former are at least in the Endor levels as non-player characters). There are more than 30 different authentic Star Wars weapons to use (although not, as far as is known, lightsabers) and 30 different vehicles to pilot, including Scout Walkers, X-wings and speeder bikes.

Despite its obvious steals from the Battlefield series Star Wars: Battlefront is shaping up to be a more than worthy title on its own, with excellent graphics, plenty of variety and, most important of all, the chance to essentially "play" Star Wars, except with virtual characters instead of action figures.--David Jenkins

Customer Reviews

Star Wars: Battlefront
On paper, it's the best idea in the history of all things, ever, A massively multiplayer Star Wars game that allows you to re-fight all those legendary cinematic battles, from Hoth to Endor and beyond. Fried gold, right?

Well... if you're lucky enough to have wrestled with your PS2 long and hard enough to have successfully got it online, then yep, Star Wars: Battlefront can be a thing of transcendent beauty - depending, of course, on the depth of your love for all things Lucas.

But it's not without its problems, the chief of which is that, as a single-player game, it can be extremely pedestrian. Once you get your head round it, it does become more involving, but initially, at least, it threatens to be nothing more than generic Star Wars shooter no. 113.

The single-player game is divided into two main sections. One is a series of 'historical' scenarios that follow the events of the films and see you playing as both Empire and Rebels. The Imperials are arguably a bit more fun than the rebels, being jolly evil galaxy-spanning despots without a shred of mercy, and so on. The second, Galactic Conquest, introduces strategy, in that you're asked to choose which planets you're fighting for and each conquered planet gives you certain bonuses, such as reducing enemy health or guest appearances by the characters from the films. It's here that you'll probably spend much of your single-player time and it's eventually quite engrossing.

But the first time you're thrown into the fray it feels, well, underwhelming. The guns feel weedy, the vehicles unsophisticated, and trekking across the battlefield is a pain. It's only once you understand how to win - by taking strategic points - and learn how to command your troops in order to do so, that the single-player game gets interesting. But it never really flies.

This is unlike the online game, which soars skyward in a burst of Star Wars goodness, taking the tactical kernel present in the single-player game and watering it with actual human ingenuity. It's then that the simplicity of the vehicles becomes a boon, with people mobilising in a skiff to mount a concerted attack on an enemy-held strongpoint, or a dedicated pilot hopping into an X-Wing to give them cover and keep any fun-spoiling TIEs away. It's unfussy, as simple as can be and all the better for it, so that action and tactics can be concentrated on.

It's obvious that to fully experience the beauty of Battlefront you're going to have to be online. And while it falls short of truly classic status, it's a tremendously fun romp that proves to be one of the best reasons yet to get connected.

Not the best graphics but great fun
Have only played on the game for a few hours and am not the best player of computer games but seem to be cruising through the levels with ease on the middle difficulty level. The sound effects are very good but the graphics are a little disapointing. It is hard to make out who is on your side and who is the enemy, due to the graphics, unless you are directly in front of them which is sometimes a little too late!

Don't get me wrong; this game is great fun and lots and lots of action and if you're a Star Wars fan, (who isn't), then you can get a lot of fun just from the sound effects, characters and vehicles used throughout the game.

Good game but you feel they could have improved the graphics a little but still worth the money.

Wage war in a galaxy far, far away...
This is a game which allows you to clad the white armour of a stormtrooper, grip the cold bowcaster of a Wookiee, see through the scope of a clone sharpshooter and roll into combat as a ruthless droideka, battling armies in a galaxy far, far away. Within the game, there are four different factions to fight for upon the battlefield: the Empire, the Rebellion, the Republic and the Confederacy- each with their different units and vehicles. Every faction has the same types of soldiers- basic troopers, long-range snipers, anti-vehicle heavy units, pilots and certain unique units to each army (eg: the agile Dark Trooper for the Empire and the strong Wookiee smuggler for the Rebel Alliance). You can take the role of any of these units, allowing you to choose how to fight in combat- be it sniping enemies from a Mos Eisley rooftop or launching missiles at Republic gunships on Geonosis.

Concerning the many maps for you to wage war upon, these vary from Kamino's stormy Tipoca City to the icy wastelands on Hoth, the vast clean streets of Theed to the Wookiee villages upon nighttime Kashyyyk and several more. These maps feature famous landmarks from the Star Wars films such as Echo Base on Hoth, the Ewok village in the dense forests of Endor and the lethal Sarlacc pit in the dusty canyons of the Tatooine's Dune Sea. Scattered around each of the maps are command posts (CPs) that can either be controlled by your faction, the enemy's faction or be neutral, ready for the taking. These command posts are a vital part of playing Battlefront as not only are they spawn points for your reinforcements, but also if your faction has seized all the CPs on the map, you are victorious and have won the battle. This is not the only way to win however, as by killing all of the opposition you will also gain victory.

To get the upper hand on your foes, you can utilize vehicles in combat. The land vehicles in the game include: the sturdy AT-ST and AT-AT walkers, swift Speeder bikes and STAPs, AAT tanks, Rebel combat speeders, Desert Skiffs, AT-TE walkers, rapid Hailfire Droids and others. On certain maps, starfighters are also available. The airborne vehicles in the game include: X-Wings, Y-Wings, Geonosian and Jedi starfighters, Snowspeeders, TIE fighters and bombers as well as the bulky Republic and Confederacy gunships.

Overall, this is a very good game, enabling you to relive some of the most epic Star Wars battles. It is accurate to the films in most places and is great fun to just pick up and play- be it alone or in multiplayer.