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Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (PSP)

• Developer:
• Publisher: LucasArts
• Genre:
• Official Website: http://www.lucasarts.com
• Score: 2 of 5: Strictly Rental

I don't really remember when there was a Star Wars game that truly rocked on a handheld system; most of them outright blew, like Apprentice of the Force for the GBA. To be honest, I was rather skeptical about how Battlefront 2 would turn out on the PSP, with controls being my biggest fear. Was it fulfilled?

Overall, the graphics are pretty good-an obvious step up from the side-scrolling games on the Nintendo systems, the game looks almost like PC and console counterparts! As I flew threw space, and as I massacred Ewoks on Endor, it was almost as if I was playing it on the PC ... but uglier. Of course, there were fewer polygons, and things weren't as crisp, but otherwise, it was great-looking.

The sounds are exactly like on the PC or consoles. No more crappy synthesizer music, which were poor imitations of John Williams' classic tunes, but the real sound effects and music.

The controls are pretty poor, and it takes a while to get used to. Even when you get familiar with them, it still doesn't feel quite right. There are multiple combinations to choose from, but none of them feel good on a handheld with only one analog stick. It's quite odd, since on Socom: Fireteam Bravo the controls were pulled off very nicely. What a shame, because the controls sometimes ruin the game experience.

The gameplay is severely different than the other versions. First of all, we all know that the Battlefront games are based on the Battlefield games, which are heavily online-dependant. On the console version, you could play with up to 32 people, and on the PSP, you can play with a grand total of FOUR fellow players. Pretty weak, in my opinion.

The newly added single-player campaign to the other versions is nowhere to be found. Instead, you get three PSP exclusive modes: Imperial Enforcer, Rogue Assassin and Rebel Raider. I loved playing Imperial Enforcer, because in that mode you had to kill off the planet's population (Gungans, Ewoks, etc). Very fun. Rogue Assassin is sort of like Imperial Enforcer, but here you play as a … well … a rogue assassin, and you have to kill certain targets in a certain amount of time. In Rebel Raider, you have to steal certain items on the map. Obviously, these are guarded by the enemy, so you must play carefully. The levels get harder and harder each time, and a few times they might test your patience. The game also has Galactic Conquest and Instant Action, which aren't much different than in the first game or the console games.

Battlefront 2 is an interesting port. While it is the same in many aspects, it is different in some. The bad controls and the fact that you'll get bored of it quite quickly (due to the little replay value and four-player online) might put some people off. But on the positive side, this is a decent handheld Star Wars game, it's available on the road and there's more opportunity to kill Gungans and Ewoks. It's too bad the game lacks the insane online madness and misses that something special to qualify it as a ‘purchase.' Maybe it was because the developers were not too familiar with the PSP hardware, but hopefully next time around, they will pull off something that feels like true Star Wars.

Jan 19, 2006 | 0 comments
Mate Bors