Portable Gaming Revolution

Released October 31st, 2005, Star Wars Battlefront II was met with great anticipation. Even more so when announced that this title was to be brought to the world of PSP. Having played the original Battlefront, it has burrowed itself in a special place in my heart. Something about partaking in the battles and conquests of the famous Star Wars stories was just so pleasing that I found myself coming back for more. Now, for all those fans like me, you have another chance to prove your superiority in the Star Wars universe. Will you stand in the face of your opponent and claim victory or will you be stricken down like the many that have tried before you? Only through Star Wars Battlefront II, will you live out your true destiny.

Star Wars Battlefront II, if you haven’t played the original Battlefront, lets you lead one of the four major factions in the Star Wars Universe. The Rebels, the Empire, the Republic, and last but not least, the CIS. You can choose any one of the above mentioned factions and attempt to shut down your counterpart. You can be part of the Rebels and free the universe from the Empire’s tyrannical control or become one of the CIS and show the republic what you’re really talking about! The game has three single player options. Galactic Conquest, being the most in depth and time consuming. Secondly, Challenges, which I will go into further a bit later. Lastly there is Instant Action which is pretty self explanatory.

Galactic Conquest has been overhauled from the original Battlefront. This time around there is more strategy involved, giving it a more “hands-on” feel. The prior Galactic Conquest was just based on the battles in which you were engaged in. The opposing faction never came to one of your controlled planets to challenge your presence, bonuses were available only on the planet it was on and who controlled it, and all the classes of soldiers in the game were all ready for your use. This is not so in Battlefront II. Like I said before, this time around there is more complexity and strategy involved which adds for a more immersive gaming experience. The basic layout is like that of a game board. You and your opponent move in turns. There are nine planets from the Star Wars universe, Hoth, Polis Massa (which is not actually a planet but rather an asteroid.), Mustafar, Dagobah, Naboo, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Yavin 4, Mygeeto, and Endor. They’re arranged in sort of a web with some empty spaces in between. In order to take over planets, you must construct fleets. Constructing fleets is not a “click and build” operation, they cost money, credits to be specific. When you start off you will have one fleet ready at your disposal. The more fleets you construct the more they are going to cost you, and you can only build fleets from planets that are under your control. Can you smell a strategy? The amount of money you gain is determined by two things, your win or loss in a battle and how many planets you control. Yet another part of the complexity Galactic Conquest has to offer. Besides constructing fleets, how will you spend these credits? On bonuses and recruits of course! They are the upgrades to your fleet that might win you that one sided battle. There are nine bonuses that you will have to buy. Same from the previous Battlefront with some new ones that include: combat shielding, energy boost, auto-turrets, and the most acclaimed feature, leader. Adding to the planning involved, these bonuses are one time use only. So if you buy the leader upgrade and decide to choose it as your bonus in the battle, you will be able to play as one of your faction’s heroes, be it Jedi or other, for that battle and have to buy it again if you wish to use it in the next battle. As for the recruits, when you start off you will only have the soldier and pilot to choose from. As you acquire credits you will purchase other classes of fighters such as snipers, demolitions men, etc. Unlike the bonuses, once you buy these recruits they will be available to choose in battle for the rest of your campaign. These different classes will prove to be the win or loss of your faction. Now onto the most anticipated part of Battlefront II: space battles! Space battles occur when one of your fleets and one of your opponent’s fleets encounter each other on a space of the “game board.” If you win, the opponent’s fleet will be destroyed and you can keep on moving. If you lose, your fleet will be history and you will have one less pawn in the chess game that is Galactic Conquest.

Next there is the second single player mode, which is exclusive to the PSP, named Challenges. Challenges include Imperial Enforcer, Rogue Assassin, and Rebel Raider. They are basically the same, but with different factions. It’s like a “one on many” sort of game. You are instructed to take out selected targets who are accompanied by several protectors. You alone must break through your target’s defenses and take them out within the given time limit. The first missions are relatively easy, about three targets and some soldiers to help in foiling your plans. As you pass each mission the number of targets and protectors will increase, but the time in which you are given to complete the task decreases to almost impossible.

Instant action is like I said above, self explanatory. You pick from the nine planets and three space battle maps, choose the type of game you wish to play, choose your side, and let the other team have it or vice versa. One important thing to note is that the factions and game type are restricted by which map you choose. For example, some maps have the empire some don’t.

Multiplayer had one very disappointing side to it although very fun, the lack of infrastructure. Battlefront’s console brothers have this nice little feature and it was awesome. Yet sadly for us PSP owners, we don’t have this pleasure and we are confined to finding up to three friends that have Battlefront II to play using Ad hoc. Again, the available game types are governed by the specific map you choose, but in all there are twelve different game types for multiplayer. The likes of which are: Conquest, 2-flag CTF, Assassin (co-op and competitive), 1-flag CTF, Hunt, Imperial Enforcer (co-op and competitive), Rebel Raider (co-op and competitive), Space Assault, and lastly Assault. All are very fun, but could have been that much better with infrastructure.

Upon hearing that Battlefront II was coming to the PSP, I knew that the graphics were going to take a deep hit. And rightly so, a lot of detail that is present in the console and PC versions had to be brought down in order for the PSP to handle it. The game lacks visual luster, but you can’t ask too much from the CPU since it has to also keep tabs on all the units on the battlefield along with the graphics. I would trade graphics for keeping the gameplay quality any day. The good thing is that all the different soldiers, maps, etc that are available in the console and PC versions are still there for us to enjoy. Even though the graphics were toned down for the PSP, the load times at the beginning of battles are somewhat painful. This changes instantly when I went to put the PSP in sleep mode. Most games have to load a bit when returning from sleep mode, but this where Battlefront II shines in all its glory, the game doesn’t have to load at all! Once returning from sleep mode, you’re right back in the fight with no waiting.

One major concern on my mind, while waiting for this title to be released, was the controls. Like this hasn’t been said before, the lack of the second analog stick is a problem. To attempt to over some this, Battlefront II comes with four different control schemes: Default, Basic, Advanced, and Retro. For those who are comfortable to the ways most first-person shooters are arranged on consoles, Retro is a good choice. Retro also gives you the most familiar layout with more precise aiming. For beginners, default is more appropriate. It’s all up to how you play and which feels more natural to you. It would be nice to not need these at all, but there are three options that help overcome the control handicaps, Auto Target, Aim Assist, and Sticky Reticule. These options help your accuracy, one aspect that was definitely going to be hurt the most in the controls. The control of your soldier feels dismembered from that of a fluid gaming experience. It handles clumsily and allows for some errors, even when you know what you’re doing. It comes close to feeling natural, but never quite gets there. Yet the fact that the controls are customizable should help you out a bit.

A new aspect to the game would be the energy bar. Now you can run, dodge, and roll. All these take away from your energy bar, but luckily the bar will regenerate. Jedi’s have use for this bar as well. Using powers such as force pull, force push, force lightning, force choke, and jumping (the Jedi way) will all drain your energy bar. These powers are nice and give you the upper hand in combat, but they are a double-edged sword. If you keep using these powers constantly, you will be a sitting duck and become someone’s “easy kill of the day.”

Space battles are also new to the game and came with great applause, especially since it wasn’t left out for the PSP. Fortunately, the various starships handle differently and have different weapons so the vehicle you choose will matter based on what you want to do. For instance you wouldn’t pick a Y-wing to go against a Tie Fighter. It just makes the game that much better. There are only three different space maps to fight in, that being said, after a while they get repetitive. Since the capital ship positions don’t change, there is little room for strategy. Again, the PSP version doesn’t control like the consoles do and this is even more apparent in space combat. Even so, they are still great.

The Star Wars games have always had always included the music from the movies that made you feel like you were re-enacting them. The PSP version is no different in this aspect. The great scores add to the gaming experience. Battlefront II couldn’t be called a Star Wars game if it didn’t have them.

As far as replayability goes, Battlefront II only holds grounds in this area through the Ad Hoc multiplayer. You can go back and complete the Galactic Conquest again, but that’s up to you. For the average gamer, multiplayer and instant action offers the only authentic replayability.

In the end, Battlefront II for the PSP does a respectable job of trying to keep up with its console brothers, yet it lacks the “fire in its eyes”. While it still gives the player the same overall satisfaction, it lacks the luster that the other versions offer. Still being fun and a solid Star Wars experience, the PSP just couldn’t handle some of the features that make the PC and console versions that much prettier. Even so, this title is definitely worth a purchase.