Gameplay: SW:Battlefront in a nutshell is a more hectic version of the gameplay pioneered by Battlefield:1942. Players are divided into two teams and the goal of each team is to control various strategic points on the map. There are two different sets of two factions each. One set of opposing teams is from the original Star Wars trilogy, the other from the Prequel trilogy. Similar to BF1942 and other games of this genre, each team has multiple classes with different weapons and abilities to choose. I won't go into anymore detail on the game description as this is all covered in depth in the main Gamespot review. SW:B plays relatively straightforward. The level design for the most part is simplistic and the maps don't allow for much variation or tactics. It's pretty much just a slugfest at the local control point/choke point. This might turn off players used to the less deliberate and more open ended level design found in the Battlefield series. However, it works pretty well when you accept it for what it is. The infantry classes balance out nicely in relation to one another. I haven't seen an instance where one class or weapon rules the battlefield with impunity. The larger vehicles are a little overpowered in my opinion and do require quite a beating to be destroyed. On the flip side, players in vehicles cannot capture control points, so teamwork is really needed to make the larger vehicles strategically effective. As far as the single player mode, it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. While the AI controlled bots aren't at the genius level, they are miles ahead of the lackluster AI found in the Battlefield series. They will throw health and ammo packs to you when appropriate and are good at locating and fighting the enemy for the most part. They also do a good job at avoiding grenades and can effectively use cover on occasion. There are problems to be sure, they seem to get caught up in the fighting and don't attack control points in any coordinated fashion. Also they tend to have a real problem with snipers. If you want to sit back and snipe while your AI teammates capture the points, you can rack up ungodly kill levels without the enemy paying you much attention. Eventually a bot will flank you or an enemy sniper will find you, but it takes awhile. Overall, while I'm not teribly fond of the level design, the game is a blast to play and offers some real fast-paced action. I think if additional maps are released by either Lucasarts or the player community, the game could find some staying power and evolve into something much more tactical than just a slugfest. As it stands now, the staying power of the game might be negatively impacted by the simplistic level design. Graphics: It looks like Star Wars, that's for sure. The player and vehicle models all look relatively true to their movie based counterparts. Animation is acceptable but nothing revolutionary (Some silly rag-doll physics and ugly player barrel rolls being the only low points). The laserblasts, explosions and other various special effects all look fantastic. The game runs very well on my PC across a variety of graphic settings and should be scalable to run acceptably on mid-range systems. (I'll post my PC specs at the bottom). While nothing in the game will blow you away graphically, like say Far Cry or Doom3, this really is a good looking engine. Sound: Best use of 5.1 surround I've heard in a game. You'll hear exactly where everything is coming from if you pay attention. All sound effects are spot-on and the use of John Williams' music from the movies makes everything that much better. The only complaint is some of the voice messages in single play can become repetitive, but that's not a knock on the sound quality so much as a side-effect of the gameplay. Value: High action, fast paced multiplay, passable single player combined with the Star Wars license and BF:1942 gameplay seems like an unbeatable combo. However, the simple level designs make the game more action slugfest than a tactical assault. There isn't anything wrong with that exactly, but fans of the 1942 series may be a little disapointed. Tilt: This is where I'll mention the in-game GUI and main menu browsing. Both are simply poor and need a major rework. I won't go into the specifics, as they aren't so terrible as to ruin the overall experience. Still, browsing for online servers is frustrating as the browser just doesn't seem very accurate. The menus all have a tacky console feel about them, which is expected with the game also being released for PS2 and Xbox. That's my only big beef with the game and it's why the Tilt rating took such a hit. Summary: If you are a fan of Star Wars and 1942, this is it! It won't blow away the die-hard 1942 fans, but it offers an exciting experience all it's own. Hopefully the game will garner enough fan support for some additional levels to be created that will make the game a little more tactical and a little less hectic. This game was played on: AMD 2800+ 1 GB PC3200 DDR RAM ATI Radeon 9800Pro / 128MB SB Audigy 2
Battlefront for the PC is a good game. Don't get me wrong. The battles are fun. And the single player is surprisingly both challenging and enjoyable. But it's multiplayer where this game really falls flat. The bat... Read Full Review
Before I begin, I must say this: Star Wars: Battlefront doesn't even try to implement state of the art, advanced gameplay mechanics. For me, though, this isn't the point of the game, in fact, if you buy this game expecti... Read Full Review
