Product Reviews
Imperial soldiers and Rebel insurgents are called back to duty in Star Wars: Battlefront II, a multiplayer-oriented sequel shooter based on the famous movie series. Like the original Battlefront, scenes are set in environments familiar from the films. For example, mission maps in the sequel have players fighting on the swamp planet of Dagobah, as seen in Empire Strikes Back, or defending Princess Leia's diplomatic blockade runner, as in the opening scene of the original A New Hope. While designed to retain the features that helped make the original Battlefront the best-selling Star Wars game to date (at the time of Battlefront II's release), the sequel's technological refinements allow for new gameplay elements as well. With seamless transitions across an entire mission map, players could now begin a confrontation on their own capital ship, board a fighter to engage the enemy in a dogfight, then land on the enemy's capital ship and disembark for an assault raid, all in a single battle. In response to fan requests, playable Jedi characters are introduced by the sequel, allowing gamers to take control of heroes such as Yoda, Grievous, or even the Emperor himself. To keep the battles balanced, players can only play as these hero characters for a limited time, and may temporarily lose access to them if they are not used to their potential in battle. Once again, the single-player game centers on a "Galactic Conquest" mode, but map-specific objectives add new tactical elements. Online multiplayer modes support as many as 24 in the PS2 version of the game. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide