Well...I have rented Star Wars Battlefront (LUCASARTS for PS2, Xbox, PC) and I am playing the PS2 version.
I will say this: You will definitely feel like you are a part of the vast Star Wars universe. Lucasarts got this title right. Otherwise, the only other games I would recommend are Jedi Starfighter (for consoles), and The Xwing/TIE Fighter series (including X Wing Alliance) The title I would give honorable mention to is the Jedi Knight Dark Forces series.
So far, the game in singleplayer mode is okeeday fun. Not the best First Person shooter I've played (actually, much like SOCOM US NAVY SEALS..you can switch between first and third person views in foot combat).
The game get progressively tougher. Playing as an Imperial, or a Rebel is a blast. And in some of the battles (most notably the Battle of Hoth) you do get kind of the epic scale that Lucas was gunning for (no pun intended) in the original movies.
Hell, I even managed to bring down an AT-AT with some ground cannon fire. The best place to hit an AT-AT (the big mofos) is in the neck section. And from the distance in which you fire one of the cannons (yes, you can actually use cannons, and whatever vehicles are available throughout the sixteen levels), you definitely have to lead your target.
You can play in one of two eras: The Repblic era, or the Galactica Civil War era (which I am currently playing.)
There are four factions: In the Rep. Era you have Clone Troopers, and Federation Battle Droids.
In the Civil War, obviously you have Rebels and Imperials.
The weapons in the game do have unique characteristics and purposes.
Blaster Rifles --basically sub machine guns as far as their rapid fire goes.
Scatter Guns -- Laser shotguns
Sniper Rifles -- MY favorite. Pick enemies off from a distance...and I mean a CONSIDERABLE distance.
There are more blaster type weapons, including rocket launchers. These weapons are unique to the character archetypes you pick. Each archetype carries four weapons. A primary and a sidearm, and two secondary grenade type weapons. Secondaries are usually thermal detonators and concussion boms. Your sidearm is almost always a blaster pistol.
Example: If you pick a scout class character on either side (either faction) your primary weapon, is the Sniper Rifle. If you pick a Rebel Vanguard, or heavy trooper, your P.W. is a Rocket Launcher.
The best strategy if you find yourself suddenly in a reload situation is to switch to your sidearm so you can continue to fire. When you switch back to your primary weapon, it will be fully reloaded. (Nice.)
On the graphics side...the environments are NICE. Very very NICE. The characters themselves look rather dated when compared to other FPS games. The blaster fire is F***ing BEAUTIFUL. You feel like you are actually firing a Star Wars weapon. Explosions and particle effects are also wonderous.
Audio wise..well...it's all Star Wars, and it is masterfully done in the game. It fully enhances the Star Wars experience. On the Playstation 2, the audio is presented in DOLBY Pro Logic II. (Not exactly Dolby Digital 5.1, but then again, all I have is a 5.5 inch PS2 monitor screen, so I just plug in headphones for true stereo.)
The game play is fairly smooth for the most part.
Now here is something that might bring some of you down. I am sure we all remember Doom, and Doom II. Remember when firing the Plasma Rifle (the blue energy spewing cousin of the chaingun), that if you tried to fire it too close to a corner, the wall would eat up your gunfire? Well...that happens here in this game...so do NOT fire a weapon from corner cover if you can help it...there is at least an 80% chance that you'll be wasting ammo. However, if you are firing from a rampart, you will fare much better.
Cloud City is BEAUTIFUL..and looks as if it was ripped straight from the movies (as did Hoth). And you get a true sense of scaling. I mean the AT-AT's are BIGGGGGGG!!!!! You get up close to one...stay the hell out of its way...'nuff said! Safest to admire from a distance.
I still have yet to partake of the online experience. And I do know that , like SOCOM, you can use a PS2 headset to communicate with your teammates. NICE.
I will try a technical breakdown like this:
Graphics:
Characters and animation: 8
Weapons fire and explosions: 10
Vehicular appearance and animation: 9
Environments and Environmental elements: 10
Overall: 9.25
Sound:
Music: Hey, it's Star Wars 10
Effects: Hey, it's Star Wars 10
Voice overs: 10
Overall: 10
Controlability:
Movement: 7
Targetting: 8
Button response: 10
Configurabilty: Total 10
Intuitiveness: 10
Overall: 9
Artificial Intelligence:
Enemy A.I 7
Friendly A.I. 7
Overall: 7
Environmental Interaction:
Manned Weapons: 10 (weapons respond as they should, and pack a punch)
Vehicles: 10
Sniper Points: 8 (depends on what kind of cover you are firing from)
Overall: 9.3
Is it fun?
Immersiveness: 9
Authenticity: 10
Replayability: Singleplayer 8
Multiplayer unknown (haven't tried)
Can I kill EWOKS? Yes. 10
Can I kill Gungans? Yes. 9 (Hey, I kinda like Gungans..and it's my review so
)
Overall: A conditional 9.2
OVERALL GAME RATING (Based on Overall Scores in each category
8.95
It ain't perfect....but for ground combat, and reenacting a few of Star Wars most epic battles (and HOLY S*** I cannot wait to see what the Clone Wars are like), it comes damn close. I would highly recommend it to any and all Star Wars fans who feel like being heroes (or Villains..muha ha ha ha hah aha)
I would love to see what other players think. I will be buying this game, ASAP.
May The Force Live Long and Prosper With You,
Martok2112 (now..let's go kill me some EWOKS)
Star Wars Battlefront..INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
