LucasArts Star Wars: Battlefront

Provided by NothingButSoftware

Experience the chaos of battle as you fight the greatest wars in the Star Wars universe.



Star Wars Battlefront is an action/shooter game that gives fans and gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of the classic Star Wars battles like never before. Players can select one of a number of different soldier types, jump into any vehicle, man any turret on the battlefront and conquer the galaxy planet-by-planet online with their friends or offline in a variety of single player modes. Single player modes include "Instant Action," "Galactic Conquest" and the story-based "Historical Campaigns" mode that lets gamers experience all of the epic Star Wars battles from Episodes I-VI, fighting from the perspective of each of the four factions within the game.




During the course of Star Wars Battlefront, you will be able to play four sides, depending on the mission or map which you have chosen. Throughout the game, you will be able to assume the guises of Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, Republic Clone Army and Separatist Battle Droids. As soon as you start a map, you will have to make a selection from one of the two sides, each having five separate classes, ranging from soldiers, pilots (who are able to "repair" vehicles, so why not call them “engineers?”), snipers or grenadiers in one form or another, each with his specific weapon and abilities. Any of the available classes are able to drive or fly vehicles, so you do not need to have any specific training or abilities to do so; just stand under or near a vehicle and press the action key to climb in. One of the interesting abilities for some of the classes is the jetpack, which will either let you fly around for five seconds (after which gravity takes its course, but you can take off again immediately) or allow you to perform some sort of double jump, depending on the map you are playing.

Each of the 16 available maps is based on one of the Star Wars movies: Geonosis and Kamino from Attack of the Clones, Endor and Hoth from the Empire Strikes Back, and each one of them has a different theme, look or feel to it. Kamino has interconnected sets of landing platforms with mixed indoor and outdoor settings, Geonosis is a large outdoor desert map, and Endor is a forest map, with some nasty traps hidden left and right. The premise of the maps is quite simple in style; you have a bunch of spawn points, and whoever controls them all wins, Battlefield style. To add something extra to the mix, some of the maps have "alternative" objectives, like the Geonosis map, which requires you to destroy three large pillar generators, while on Hoth, you need to destroy AT-AT's on their way to destroy an Ion Cannon.

Star Wars Battlefront allows you to play in either first or third person perspective and switch on the fly, even when inside vehicles. Speaking of vehicles, many have multiple “seats,” such as the Republic Gunship, which can hold up to six people, several of them mounting guns, which was one of the reasons why the Geonosis map became one of my favorites. While it is a known fact amongst my fellow WP editors that I cannot fly any vehicle worth a damn, I was extremely pleased that flying in SWB is really a piece of cake. The spacebar makes you lift off, increase altitude as you fly, or land when in stationary position, but apart from that, the controls are the standard WASD format, and you fire away with the mouse.

The “historical campaigns” mode provides a story-based experience for players as they progress through the two most famous conflicts of the Star Wars universe, the Clone Wars and the Civil War. The initial missions in each campaign are designed to teach the player the basics of the game, along with all the different units, vehicles, and maps. There are 17 missions in total, seven in the Clone Wars and 10 in the Civil War.

In the Clone Wars campaign, you will play first as the Separatist faction as you attack Naboo in an attempt to further their interests. Then, you will switch over to the Republic and attempt to stave off Separatist attacks throughout the galaxy. In the Civil War campaign, you will play as the Imperials first and attack Yavin after the destruction of the first Death Star. The perspective will then change to the Rebels, as you defend Hoth from Imperial attack. Still playing as the Rebels, Endor is the final mission where you attempt to destroy the shield bunker with the Death Star II with it. In both campaigns, famous characters such as Yoda and Emperor Palpatine will brief the players on the objectives of the missions.

The “instant action” mode kind of speaks for itself; you can choose one of the four factions to fight battles on any planet.

In “galactic conquest” mode, you can create your own campaign and attempt to take over the galaxy one planet at a time, using any of the four factions in the game. You will be able to control various game options, such as: number of planets, victory conditions, factions, etc. After that, each team will take turns deciding which system to invade or defend. Each system in the game has a special bonus that will be available to whoever owns it after a period of time. For example, if the Imperials hold Endor long enough, they can gain the use of the Death Star. Other bonuses include the ability to unleash memorable Star Wars characters, like Luke and Vader, onto the battlefront to help out their side.

• First and third-person gameplay – depending on player preference.
• Three single player modes including "Instant Action," "Galactic Conquest" and the story-based "Historical Campaigns" mode.
• Multiplayer for up to 16+ players (plus AI units) online.
• Split-screen mode for multiplayer 'offline' play.
• Battle in more than 12 environments across 10 diverse planets from the classic Trilogy and Clone Wars eras including Hoth, Endor, Tatooine, Kamino and Geonosis.
• 20 different soldier types from 4 factions: Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, Republic Clone Army and Separatist Battle Droids. Soldier types include standard infantry, scouts, heavy weapons and pilots - each will have their own unique abilities.
• More than 30 Star Wars weapons including blaster rifles, rocket launchers and thermal detonators, in addition to ground-based turret guns that can be manned and used to defend command posts.
• More than 25 diverse ground and air vehicles including the AT-ST, X-Wing, and speeder bike, as well as the massive Republic Gunship that can hold up to five different soldiers.
• Customizable controls on all systems.
• Supports voice chat via compatible headsets (PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC).
• Requires PlayStation 2 network adapter, Xbox Live kit and Internet PC for online multiplayer games.

Choose your allegiance -- take the Empire head on or crush the Rebellion -- and pick a soldier from one of four different armies. Fight on ten legendary planets and use a variety of weapons and vehicles, including X-wings, snowspeeders and AT-ST's. Play in intense multiplayer battles. Keep your wits about you and victory may be within reach!

• Required: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible computer
• Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, and XP
• Intel P3 1.0 GHz or AMD Athlon 1000 MHz (Recommended: Intel P4 2.0 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2400+)
• 256 MB of RAM (Recommended: 512 MB of RAM)
• 64 MB 3D Graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability (Recommended 128 MB 3D Graphics card with Hardware Vertex and Pixel Shader (VS/PS) Capability)
• 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
• 8X Speed CD-ROM drive (Recommended: 16X Speed CD-ROM Drive)
• Keyboard and mouse (Supported: Joystick and Gamepad)
• Microsoft DirectX 9.0c is included on this CD. You will be prompted to install DirectX during the installation of this game if this or a more recent version isn't already properly installed on your system. NOTE: DirectX may require the "latest" updates for your operating system. This may also include the latest drivers for your motherboard, sound, and video hardware.
• Installation requires 2.7 GB of free hard drive space. (It is recommended that you have an additional 200 MB of free space available after installing the game for the Windows swap/page file.
• Internet Connectivity for Multiplayer:  DSL, Cable, or faster connection