Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Review

Game: Star Wars Battlefront 2
Year (s):  2005
Company:  dev.  Pandemic Studios
            pub.  LucasArts
Engine: Zero
Type:  Firts/Third Person Shooter
Game Time:  12 hours first time, default difficulty (single-player campaign)

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilwPny3tvOE


This post compares this game to the first Star Wars Battlefront (the post right before this one).  I recommend reading them both if you are unfamiliar with the games.


Plot

Unlike its predecessor, Battlefront 2 has a loose plot to tie the missions together: you are a clone trooper reminiscing over various battles throughout your career.  Some of these were taken from the movies, but many were not.  Thus, you are always on the side of the Republic/Empire, fighting robots; later, you're fighting rebels.  As a welcome departure to the first, every map in the campaign is an assault-style map, with progressive objectives to complete.  This was a welcome change to the same ol' same ol' of the first game.  A few maps return, but most are new.


Jedi

Now you can play as Jedi (or Sith) in all game modes.  Jedi are powerful, so this feature has limits on how often (and for how long) you can spawn as a badass.


Space Battles

Also new are the ship-to-ship fights.  Engage in dogfights, blast strategic points on the enemy command ship(s), and if you want, board their command ship to wreck havoc.  I found the flying vehicles to be clumsy, and every space fight is about the same.  This addition, while good in concept, became somewhat tedious in execution. 


AI and Gameplay

In the campaign, bots *CAN NOT* complete objectives, so you're going to have to pull the team.  Instant Action, multiplayer, and Galactic Conquest (the Risk wannabe) all return, virtually the same as before.  Kill enemies, take command posts, and you win.  You'll be mowing down computer-controlled bots pretty easily, but even if you're amazing your team can still suck (my most frustrating loss occurred after I had acquired 103 kills). 

Maps are more balanced in this one, so you don't have to know the one trick that lets you have a fighting chance on particular maps.   

Weapon loadouts (except for the above-mentioned Jedi) are identical to the first.  Same classes, same weapons.  If there was anything new, I didn't notice.  Vehicles (except in space battles) have all been seen before.


Final Thoughts

The campaign mode is frustrating at times, so this franchise continues to be multiplayer-focused.  Having drastically better map balance and a few new things thrown in, Battlefront 2 is the better of the two for multiplayer.  Both support tons of bots.  Really, the games have more in common then apart, so if you like playing one you'll like playing the other.  For single-player gamers, neither is impressive.

There have been rumors about Star Wars Battlefront 3 since 2006.  These assert that Free Radical Design (now known as Crytek) worked on the game for two years before losing the rights.  Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron was a 2009 spin-off released for the Nintendo DS and PSP.  Further rumors, art, and allegedly leaked footage of Battlefront 3 continue, but nobody has made a confirmation or announcement.