A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…. (Cue music). I don’t think there is anyone out there who has not heard of Star Wars, whether they have seen the films, read the books or perhaps played any number of the computer games. Battlefront is the latest instalment in the Star Wars franchise and could be one of the best so far. Star Wars Battlefront (SWB) allows you (the player) to relive all of the epic battles from the classic and prequel eras of the Star Wars universe and a few that you haven’t seen which could possibly be a spoiler for the next film – Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.

Gameplay:

Star Wars Battlefront offers a variety of modes for a single player as well as multiplayer action and Live. The single player game consists of two options, a Campaign and a Galactic Conquest. Both of these can be played from the classic Trilogy (Episode IV, V,VI) or the Clone Wars (Episode I, II, III) eras. The Campaign & Conquest are set in over 15 environments spanning across 10 diverse planets including Hoth, Yavin, Naboo and Tantooine with the basic concept of capturing enemy command posts and annihilate the opposition until their forces are no more. Both eras have two factions; Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, Republic Clone Army and Separatist Battle Droids and each of those factions are split into 5 different soldier classes; standard infantry, scouts, heavy weapons, pilots and specials. Each soldier type has their own unique abilities with their pros and cons, so not one of them is better than another; they are all good depending on the situation. If that wasn’t enough, you are able to pilot over 15 diverse ground and air vehicles including the AT-ST, X-Wings and speeder bikes, as well as the massive Republic Gunship that can hold up to five different soldiers. In addition to these vehicles, you can control any ground based turret guns in order to defend your command post.

In Campaign, you are presented with choosing the Historical or Clone Wars setting to battle in. Campaign concentrates on the main battles that you might have seen in the films and just in case you haven’t seen the film, you are greeted with a cut scene straight from the film that leads up to the battle. In Historical, you switch between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire depending on what planet you are fighting on, for example and one of my favourites is on Hoth where you take control of the Rebel forces defending the shield generators against the evil Empire. The campaign lasts between 7 to 10 planets, with each planet granting you access to some artwork which can than be viewed in the Specials (under options).

Galactic Conquest is slightly different to the Campaign in several ways. You first pick what faction you want to control, which will be your side throughout. Once that has been decided, you must pick a planet you want to fight on and a bonus feature that will aid you in your fight against the enemy. The more planets you control will expand the selection of bonus features for your troops. These bonuses range from starting with additional troops to the enemy to being aided by a Jedi. Each planet must be fought over twice before securing the bonus, but you can move onto another planet after the first battle and come back later to finish the job.

Graphics & Control:

It’s so easy to just say that the graphics are fantastic but that would not do it justice. To start with, each battlefield has been carefully detailed giving you impression of actually being there. The vastness of the deserts of Tantooine, snow and ice of Hoth and the lush green forest of Endor, to the enclosed corridors of Kamino and Bespin. The character models of each of the soldier classes are of the highest standard and you would think that they have been digitalised straight out of the films, considering that most of the soldiers in Episode I & II were computer generated. The fluid movement of each class is wonderful including the rag doll effect when they have been shot, trampled over or blown up. The vehicles move accordingly, the speed of the X-Wing, Snow Speeders and Tie Fighters to the cumbersome AT-ST and Republic Gunships. The controls are very simple employing all the buttons and triggers but can be customized to suit your style. The game can be played either in first or third person perspective depending on your preference, with a split screen used for offline multiplayer action.

Sound:

The atmosphere is enhanced by all of the original music found in the films that was composed by John Williams. As for the sound effects, nothing short of excellence as every laser shot can be heard, lightsabers humming and explosions of thermal detonators seemed to have come straight from the special effects department for the films.

Longevity:

The offline game has three difficulty settings to choose from, two campaigns, four Galactic conquests and 20 different characters to choose from. The game will last for as long as you want it to be, as every battle can turn out differently. With the inclusion of LIVE, this will only lengthen the lifespan of this game.

Round Up:

This is the best Star Wars game to grace the Xbox in my opinion. Forget renting this one, go out and buy it and May the Force Be With You !!

Pros:

• 20 soldier classes and various vehicles.
  
• Smooth animation and game play.
  
• Huge maps
  
• LIVE