Star Wars Battlefront II – XB – Review

From the
sparking blue waters of the grand lake came the synthetic sounds of crafts
approaching quickly and before the grand droid army of the CIS hit the shores of
the lush green mainland the various Clone Troopers on the beach aimed their
rifles and joined the even grander army of the Wookies in a massive battle that
became well-known throughout the history of the Clone Wars. The grand battle at
Kashyyyk is but one of many of the battles gamers will get to play out in Star
Wars Battlefront II, sequel to the best-selling and memorable original.

The first game
allowed Star Wars fans to recreate familiar battles from the first three
original movies and the last two George Lucas prequels, while offering the
chance of play out fantasy battles that never took place but can be brought to
life nonetheless in any of the available familiar locations. With the prequels
now finished, Battlefront II is able to introduce battles and locations that
span all six films as well as drop in a few from the original thanks to a new
addition to the series … but we will get to that in a minute.

You will still
get a chance to simply jump into the fray with Instant Battle, picking and
choosing from any of the available maps. The best part is that there’s now an
even better variety of game types available such as 1 or 2-Flag CTF, Hunt and
Assault as well as the usual conquest mode (that has you attempting to take
control of all Command Posts). Hunt has you hunting down a team selected as the
hunted and thus has the hunted team attempting to stay alive until the time runs
out. Assault has gamers destroying as many of their enemies objects as well as
enemy units as possible. It’s great stuff, indeed, but if you want to unlock
various extras it is done in the game’s two single-player modes Rise of the
Empire and Galactic Conquest.

Rise of the
Empire not only chronicles the rise of the first Galactic Empire and the
beginning of Palpatine’s rule as Emperor but it also allows us to witness the
history of the Clone Troopers. We are introduced to the 501^st
infantry division on the planet of Geonosis during what will soon come to be
known as the start of the Clone Wars. This  being their first time being field
tested (as it was seen in “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones”), we go
through a short tutorial that introduce basic movements as well as the various
useful classes. Different situations arise in the game that allow us to switch
classes, putting us in the role of sniper and an engineer (a class that
specializes in repairing gun turrets, repair and medical driods) but as an
infantry trooper its all about the fighting. From there we follow the career
track through the eyes of a Clone Trooper that is witness to his clone brothers’
need to follow Palpatine’s every orders including the one that leads to the
eventual fall of the Jedi order.

As deep as the
Rise of the Empire mode is, however, Galactic Conquest is a turn-based game that
has you moving your side across a map and matching up in battle whether it takes
place on the surface of a planet like ice planet of Hoth or the watery planet of
Kamino. Then again the battles can also take place in space, meaning you will
get to pilot your side’s various ships whether it’s a TIE Fighter or a TIE
Bomber. Space battles look and feel epic since you will be surrounded by
fighters battling it out. These missions have you attempting to destroy your
enemy’s massive destroyer ships either by taking out the life support system or
engines and communication devices. These battles are actually quite thrilling
once you get the hang of the awkward flight controls.

The ground
battles still feel the same as the original and if you’re playing the game using
the computer-controlled bots they still make some pretty questionable decisions
on the battlefield. You will, again, die quite often since the enemy still has
the habit of ganging up on you. This time, though, the game introduces heroes.
Since there are heroes on both sides, the good guy list ranges from young
Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Yoda while the bad guy list of heroes range from Darth
Maul, Darth Vader and his still human incarnation Anakin, Boba Fett and even the
Emperor. The problem is that controlling them is not as smooth as controlling a
Clone Trooper, Rebel or CIS battle droid. When the enemy takes control of their
hero it usual means you’ll be chopped up pretty quickly when you come
face-to-face with a Jedi or Sith Lord.

As for the
multiplayer aspect of the game, which is one of the reasons you will still be
playing the game long after you finished the single-player modes, it is still
just as great as the original. You can still play the game using a single Xbox
(in which case it’s a four-player affair) but it can also be played using a
System Link setting or online through Xbox Live that will allow up to 32 players
on screen at once. Most of the issues with the AI are gone thanks to actual
players taking control and, for the most part, the game runs at a steady
framerate. The only slowdowns you will encounter come from the heavy explosives
but the slowdown does not cripple the overall experience. If you don’t have Xbox
Live, this is the game that will convince you to consider signing up.

The game’s
visuals have been upgraded just a bit when it comes to the environments and
certain characters but other than that the game looks much like the original.
The various locales look nicely detailed and places like the Wookie planet as
well as Yoda’s chosen exile planet of Dagobah are particularly easy on the eyes.
What still steals the show visually, though, is the visual effects. The allies
and enemies still fill the screen beautifully and the explosions, laser fire and
lightsaber look amazing. While the CIS droids and Clone Troopers look great, the
game is still not able to properly render faces human or otherwise.

The game’s sound
still gives each battle its feeling of grandness. Every sound you hear in the
game comes from the movies and it will certainly have you turning up the volume
or playing this one with a good sound system. This is topped off by John
Williams’ amazing score that punctuates each battle perfectly. Even the voice
acting is handled right, with the Clone Troopers sounding a lot like the actor
that portrays them all (they’re clones of one person, after all). Darth Maul
sounds great but Yoda and Darth Vader could have used better voice actors.

In the end, the
game has not changed dramatically nor will it feel like a new game but Star Wars
Battlefront II is still the best time you’ll have offline or on. The new
features are nice additions to an already action-filled game with battles any
Star Wars fan could possible ask for in a game. There are just a few things that
could have been done a bit better (better handling of fighter ships and heroes
for example) but overall this is a game you won’t want to miss out.

Gameplay: 8.0
Control-wise
the game hasn’t changed from the original and that’s not a bad thing at all.
Space battles are fun once you get the hang of the awkward control scheme but
the Jedi and Sith feel a bit clunky. The maps cover everything from Endor to the
volcanic planet of Mustafar. Both Rise of the Empire and Galactic Conquest are
delightfully deep and the Instant Battle mode contains a nice variety of modes.

Graphics: 8.5
The visuals
have been slightly reworked and on the Xbox the game just looks a lot sharper
and the character and backgrounds a tad more detailed. Some characters don’t
look so good, such as Mace Windu or Han Solo. The visual effects, though, still
look amazing.

Sound: 9.2
Nothing says
Star Wars quite like John Williams’ gorgeously epic soundtrack that covers all
six films throughout the game. The sound effects are straight from the films and
hearing a lightsaber slash through enemies still brings a smile to my face. The
voice acting is also well done, although Yoda doesn’t quite sound right.

Difficulty:
Medium/Hard
You will die
many a death in this game and once again it could be a bit frustrating at times
but then again it adds to the challenge. Going up against Jedi Knights or Sith
Lords mean instant death in most cases. Rise of the Empire and Galactic Conquest
are wonderfully deep and challenging game modes.

Concept: 8.0
Aside from a
few cosmetic changes the addition of heroes like Yoda and villains like Darth
Maul spice things up a bit. The dogfights are particularly tasty with both Clone
Wars era ships and the oh-so familiar Republic X-wings and TIE fighters from the
original movies.

Multiplayer:
8.5
Once again the
online multiplayer is the star of the show and with up to 32 players battling it
out in the various familiar locales there is very little to complain about. The
framerate does dip a bit, especially when there are multiple explosions
occurring at once but it does not slow the action down or keep the epic battles
down.

Overall: 8.2
If it’s more
of the same action-packed battles you crave, Star Wars Battlefront II for the
Xbox will not disappoint. With more playable maps, including the excellent space
combat battles, and the inclusion of heroes and villains makes this a
particularly satisfying Star Wars games fans will love.