bit-tech Shopping: LucasArts Star Wars Battlefront II (Xbox)

• Headset Microphone
• Xbox Link Cable

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3

Strengths: +Vast use of Star Wars Universe, easy-to-pick-up gameplay, new space combat, more characters and vehicles

Weaknesses: still feels too arcadey, A.I. is a bit laughable at times,

Summary: Star Wars fans, this is the ultimate game for you. You have nearly the whole Star Wars universe at your disposal. You have various characters, vehicles, and battlegrounds from the entire Star Wars saga. New additions to this sequel is the inclusion of Episode III, space-combat, and the ability to play as Jedi/Sith. Star Wars Battlefront II is basically the first game with better graphics, more levels, more characters, and more vehicles. The one flaw is the game still feels too arcadey. It feels like you're playing with cheap, plastic toys. Other than that, this game is a BLAST. Star Wars fan rejoice----the force is strong with this one.

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Incredibly fun 3rd person shooter that makes excellent use of the Star Wars licence

Weaknesses: None - but bring on the next-gen version please!

Summary: This is hands down my favorite game for the original Xbox console. I have never been a big fan of shooters (either first or third person) but for whatever reason this one hooked me. It plays very similar to the original Star Wars Battlefront but with better graphics, a deeper single-player campaign, and the addition of space missions. The space missions are slightly less entertaining than the core on foot/vehicle/low-flying ones but add some variety to the game. In a standard game you pick one of 2 factions in either the original trilogy or prequel trilogy eras. Thus, if you want to play in the prequel trilogy settings you can either be on the side of the Republic or the CIS (battle droids). The original triligy, of course, features the Empire vs the Rebellion. Once you pick a side you choose one of several soldier types. Each faction has a basic soldier, a heavy trooper (with missile launcher), a sniper, a pilot, an engineer, and a few other special categories unique to each faction. In the beginning of a battle some of the higher-end categories are not available and you will need to get some kills to unlock them. As in most games of this sort you battle to get a hold of control points (where you can also spawn when you die) with limited reinforcements available. There is also a capture the flag mode and a few others. But I spent nearly all my time playing the basic mode. The battles can get pretty furious and hectic and were a blast when I played online a while back. The online community may be pretty sparse now but the game is also a blast using local splitscreen multiplayer. The regular maps are places such as the interior of the Death Star, Mos Eisley, Jabba's Palace, Hoth, Geonosis, etc (a nice mix from both the original and newer movies). Of course you can hop into any of several vehicle types including Tie Fighters, X-wings, the huge lumbering AT-ATs, and just about every other vehicle in the Star Wars universe. This excellent use of the license is what makes the game so fun. The vehicles control well but aren't overpowered (look out for those heavy troopers with missile launchers!). The space maps do feature an on foot portion - you start off in a capitol ship and head to the hangar to engage the enemy. What makes this mode more fun than just a space battle is the fact that you can board the enemy's vessel and take out its systems from the inside. So there can be planty of on foot shootouts in this mode as well. You can also play as various heroes and are given the option every so often during play. These are the main characters from the movies (such as Luke, Anakin, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, General Grevious, Yoda, etc) and they are very powerful but can only be played for a limited time and are not invinceable - a few mines or missile blasts will take them out. Still, they are a blast to play as you can usually cut through normal troops if you are careful. All in all, this is one of the very best Star Wars games to date. I can't wait for a next generation version of this game for the 360 or PS3. Hopefully that will come soon. But in the mean time this game can be found cheap ($20 or less, new) and is well worth the investment. It will play just fine on an Xbox 360.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Strong online/multiplayer support, excellent audio, playable Jedi, new space combat maps, solid graphics

Weaknesses: Weak single player campaign, wonky flight controls, doesn't expand much from original game

Summary: Star Wars Battlefront 2 expands on the original Battlefront with playable Jedi characters, space combat maps and expanded single player modes, but these incremental changes do little to take the series beyond what the first Battlefront offered. Like the first game, Battlefront 2 offers excellent audio (with music and sound effects from the films) and solid graphics, but single players will quickly become bored. Most of the replay value is found in the online multiplayer segments of Battlefront 2, so if you don't have Internet access, you'll miss half the fun this title has to offer. If you enjoyed the original Battlefront, you'll enjoy Battlefront 2 as well, and with its re-release as a Greatest Hits/Platinum Hits title, it can easily be found for $20 or less. Just be aware that you won't get the full enjoyment of it without Internet access.

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: improved grapnics

Weaknesses: spaceships hard to control at times

Summary: Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a third person shooter for the X box. It is a great improvement over the previous Battlefront in that there are even more stages taken from the Star Wars universe, especially from Star Wars Episode 3. you can now fight in the Rocky environments of Utapau or even in the volcanic, lava filled mining planet of Mustafar. Not only are there now more stages added to this game, but you can could now fight in outer space and take control of classic Star Wars space craft such as X wings and TIE fighters. You can either destroy enemy starships by simply shooting them, or you can board them with Your Imperial Marines and blow them up from the inside. My only problem is the starships are somewhat difficult to control at times, and sometimes hard to chase down enemy fighters. The graphics in this game are vastly improved than the previous incarnation and have also added more characters to play as , such as the Clone Commander with his massive Gatling gun. You can also now play as Jedi and Sith characters such as Luke Skywalker or Darth Maul. You also have new vehicles to control in the battlefield. Overall this is an excellent game and I highly recommend getting it, especially if you're a fan of the Star Wars universe.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 7 Weeks

Strengths: Theme, gameplay, added characters

Weaknesses: Very similar to the first game

Summary: Star Wars Battlefront II gives you more of the great gameplay created by Star Wars Battlefront. Not much has changed here with the exception of added playable characters like the Jedi. The online modes is what makes this game stand out. The graphics are a bit better on the Xbox, but other platform gamers really won't notice much difference between the ports. Single player missions are enjoyable as well. I would definitely recommend this game to any fan of Star Wars Battlefront.