Lucasarts teamed up with Pandemic to bring us another installment from the familiar world of Star Wars. I know, I know, Star Wars games are like Star Trek Movies: you have a 50-50 chance that the game is going to suck or disappoint you (That's in my humble opinion, Star Trek fans; don't write me--I've got "Botany Bay" tattooed on my butt. Star Trek II ruled). Every so often, one of these games from a Galaxy Far, Far Away comes along and gives you a few moments of glory and fun. Such is Star Wars Battlefront.

I must say, Battlefront is a daring move for a game company, since great games with spawn-capping mayhem are already a-plenty. While developers should make games that are trying to be better than the rest, Lucasarts has a knack of making games like the rest: topping the Battlefield series was not Battlefront's goal, making money was. This game attempts to take the key features of a successful game structure and overlay it with the sights and sounds generations have come to love. The result? Read on.

Gameplay:
Battlefront plays VERY much like Battlefield 1942 or Battlefield Vietnam. You pick a team, pick a spawn point, and then try to capture all the spawns or kill the other team more than they kill you. If you happen to find a vehicle along the way, even better. Each team has a limited supply of reinforcements which tick down as kills are scored. When a team supply reaches zero, they lose. As you wage war you travel across the galaxy fighting in familiar Star Wars environments. In single player mode you can play a quick battle, a fairly straightforward set of campaign maps, or jump into a conquest mode. The latter allows you the limited flexibility of picking the map order, as well as earning and using special abilities on each map: healing units, partially damaged enemy vehicles, or even a Jedi Master. Sadly, playing the conquest mode feels almost exactly like playing the campaign mode and offers little enhancement to the game overall.

You may choose from four factions that are split over the old and new eras of Star Wars. Play Episode I as the droid versus clone armies, or in Episode IV as the Imperials versus Rebels. Each army has the standard units: assault, heavy, and sniper, along with a special unique unit: Droid armies have Droidekas, Imperials have the Dark Trooper, etc.

There are a few areas of the gameplay, however, that just didn't get enough attention. The GUI is unique, yet unfitting. It felt more like Mission Impossible than Star Wars. While the HUD matches up to the game menus, neither lends itself all that well to the overall aesthetics or usefulness. I think most fans of George Lucas' world could have come up with a better overall scheme to get players into the game. The HUD actually got me killed a few times because I could not readily interpret the gauges and numbers in the heat of battle (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it). The campaigns have little-to-no storyline holding them together, and they rely on cut-scenes from the film and poorly acted audio clips to stick them together. Ground vehicles are insanely powerful. I found that I could get scores like 73-2 against the computer AI if I piloted an AT-ST. Air vehicles were ruined by slow speeds and a very low cap on the map ceiling. All of these factors added together to severely limit my enjoyment of the game.

Graphics:
I really enjoyed the 3D engine. It looked great, played fast on my midrange system, and was UNIQUE. I usually can be heard ripping Lucasarts another exit over their lack of innovation in the 3D market (see: Quake3 engine revisited). Pandemic was tasked with the job, and came out with a decent product. The game will actually soften edges of game objects on maps that are more majestic. Maps that are more stark or harsh have no such brushing. The shadows give good depth and don't drag the game down when they are on. I ran with a small amount of anti-aliasing without issue. The explosions are satisfying and somewhat randomized. Getting caught in one will fling your poor unit across half the map, but this effect if often fun to watch or dish out (note: Ewoks fly no farther than Stormtroopers).

Sound: Nearly perfect. This game captured music, sound effects, and explosions that all gel wonderfully with the films. The developers actually recorded sounds made with original movie props on various surfaces. Firing weapons in this game is very satisfying! John Williams' tunes help encapsulate a player.

Multiplayer:
Nearly ruined. LAN play might be alright, but I feel that online play is severely limited. Maps are over in less time than it takes to find and load a game in the first place. With the last patch, server location is a bit less tedious, but still too much effort to justify waiting for many games. If you manage to find a game, you run the risk of finding a full server and having to redo the whole process. Couple frustration with the fact that when a team only has a few points remaining, their number of live players decreases. A team with only three points left will only have three players on the field versus an opponent who may have 16 or more. This was a huge departure from other similar titles, and makes a team's last points irrelevant.

Replay value: I found myself coming back to the game, but only for certain maps, and only for certain teams. I kept trying my hand at flying, only to get frustrated all over again. There are bright moments in this game, but not enough to persuade me to spend my time at length when I have more polished mechanics in EA's series, as well as even more innovative titles coming out soon. I give props to Lucasarts and Pandemic for a stroke at originality in the 3D engine, but I give squat for copying gameplay while failing to improve upon it. Is it really all about the Benjamin’s?

Conclusion:
This game frustrates where it should rejuvenate. I still have my Battlefield Vietnam, and more great games coming out this fall. This game is not $45 good, it is $20 good.

Key High Points:
-Music and Sound Effects - almost right from the movie
-Fun to fight in ground vehicles Jetpacks add dimension

Key Low Points:
-Vehicles too powerful
-Team points leave limited number of players on map
-Multiplayer nearly ruined by poor game balancing and load times