Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 120
 Reporting for duty, SIR! November 13, 2005
Robert Mcadams (Sac, CA, USA)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This game series is simply, hands down, the most entertaining game series I have ever played -- with a caveat -- to get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of these games, you *must* play it in multi-player mode.
I have never had more fun playing a video game, than I have when this game (or its predecessor) with a buddy or two in either split-screen or system link mode. Although I wouldn't recommend playing over X-Box Live, due to all of the racist, sexist, screaming, lamers on that service -- but I guess if you do so without the headset, then you are okay.
Improvements over the last game, which I love:
- Multiple game modes! You can now play capture the flag (1 and 2 flag versions), assault, and a new type of mode, called "hunt." Hunt is basically the local, indigenous species, versus a human team. So: Ewoks vs. humans, Gungans vs. humans, Hoth Ice Creatures vs. humans, etc. It is a lot of fun.
- More than 2 players in split screen mode! You can have up to 4 players in split screen mode now. This was really needed in the last game, and I am glad to see they added it.
- Better balance! They have balanced all of the player classes against each other better. The basic solider class is now less powerful (their blasters don't shoot as long, or in a straight line as long, when constantly firing) -- Engineers (the old "pilot class" in the last game) now have a shotgun, instead of that stupid scatter gun, and they now have explosives they can use -- making them an actual, playable, class on the ground.
- More levels! That is always a bonus, but they have also better balanced the levels, to support the new game play modes -- which is cool.
- Player awards! You can now earn rank in your profile (allowing you to command other troops -- up to 4, once you reach general), and you can earn medals while playing and doing well, that grant you special bonuses (such as increased damage from your attacks, or increased weapon recharge rates, etc.).
- An actual single player mode, with an actual story! Enough said, although ... I would prefer to play the "good guys" over the bad guys ... but I digress.
- New and improved Conquest mode! The new layers in strategy and overall game play for the conquest mode, make it much more enjoyable.
- Intelligent AI! The AI of your allies is much less idiotic (although they do still get stuck in corners, etc.), and allows you to control up to 4 other AI soldiers which will follow you around like wingmen -- MUCH better than the "follow me" command from the last game, which would grab your AI compatriots attention for about 15 strides, and then they would get distracted again. In the new mode, they will stay with you and follow your lead, until you die or they die, or you release them.
- Space combat! There are now game modes, and encounters that exist only in space. You can choose to play as a "space marine" and just board an enemy ship, and blow it up from the inside, or you can man a turret on your own ship, and just shoot at enemy ships and their fighters. But, if you have the knack for flying, the space fighter combat as a pilot, is where it is really at.
I highly recommend this game. It may not be a Halo (but you can play it in first person mode, if you so prefer) -- but then again, even Halo fans, I have spoken to, weren't all that fond of number 2, while every Battlefront fan I have spoken to, has *loved* the sequel to the original.
The same in many ways, the new in many others November 15, 2005
Aaron Alexander (AL, USA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
I, for one, am normally terrified by change. In the weeks prior to the release of Star Wars Battlefront II, I couldn't decide whether I should get it or stick with the original. When I finally gave in, I wasn't the least bit disappointed. There was a new auto-target system that I didn't like, which was also using the old reload button. I immediately dropped the auto-target and put the reload button back where it belonged. The rest of the game was smooth sailing from then on. The same four armys (empire, rebel alliance, the trade federation and the republic) are back, each one having an extra unique unit added to the selection, while keeping all of the old unique units. The empire now has an imperial commanding officer, armed with a sonic blaster and a grenade launcher, and an attack upgrade power that works on friendly units within his range, the rebels now have a bothan spy, armed with an incinerator gun and has the ability to turn invisible, the trade federation has an assassin droid with a rapid firing rocket gun, and the republic now has a clone commander with a chain gun and a defense boost power. The old unit classes have been heavily balanced as well. One major problem with the original was that many of the classes had unfair advantages and disadvantages next to the same unit type of a different side. The pilot class was the worst case of all. The rebel pilot was armed with a deadly shotgun, while the trade federation and the imperial pilots had a hopelessly inaccurate grenade launcher that rarely delivered a kill shot unless it hit the target directly. The republic had the worst of it, with a pilot that had an almost completely useless electric bolt caster that did about as much damage as being hit with a baseball. All the pilots now have enhanced shotguns and remote bombs and are now my favorate combat units. There is also a new sprint feature that allows a player to get across the battlefield on foot faster than before. The graphics haven't changed much aside from the much better looking explosions, vehicle destruction, and smoother character models. They also added lots of chatter during battle in an attempt to add to the intensity of combat, but just ends up being annoying. However, this can also be turned off. There are tons of new levels and some of the best old ones as well, such as Hoth, Endor, Kamino, Geonosis, Mos Esley and Yavin 4. One disappointment is that they took out the random order setting in instant action. At least they added 2 extra split screen slots, for four players at once. The new campaign follows the elite imperial 501st devision, from the clone wars to the galactic civil war. The objective based missions are supprisingly fun and challanging, forcing you to make your way across the battlefield to destroy certain targets, retrieve items and capture specific command posts that follow along with the story of the infamous 501st. The new capture the flag game mode is fun, but hunt isn't all that great. I was happy to be able to play as Ewoks and Tusken Raiders and other creatures that are in the movies, but it's basicly the same thing as normal battle with no vehicles and poor weapons (if using weapons at all). The space combat is my favorate new addition to the game. The starfighter controls are strange at first, (using the left thumbstick to pull up, nose down and control the pitch while the right thumbstick controls the roll) but makes sense as there is no up and down in space. You can either get on one of your capitol ships gun turrets and defend it from fighters and bombers or jump in a fighter and attack the enemy capitol ship from the outside, engage in dogfights with enemy fighters, or land inside the enemy capitol ship and destroy it's internal systems or turn it's own gun turrets on itself. There are also many new fighters that you can fly into battle with, such as the ARC-170, V-Wings, Vulture Droids, TIE Interceptors, A-Wings, ect. The most anticipated new feature is the ability to play as jedi. While you can only play as jedi after getting a certan score in each battle, the jedi are tons of fun to use and have dramatic affects on the outcome of each battle. Hacking your way through a clone trooper filled Mos Esley as Darth Maul never seems to get old. Star Wars Battlefront II has a lot of new things to make it actually stand out as a new game, and leaves a lot of the old things that made the first Star Wars Battlefront so great.
 A Star Wars gaming classic falls to the dark side November 24, 2005
Steven A. Zaccardi
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
First off, I am an avid Star Wars gamer. I have played pretty much everything Star Wars for Gamecube and Xbox.
I am a huge fan of Battlefront 1 and have invested many hours playing it. So, when Battlefront 2 was announced I waited with great expectations. On the day of release I was there picking up my copy.
Unfortunately, after a month of playing, I find myself wishing I had been sick that week and waited before I pluinked down my hard earned cash.
Simply put, they (read: the developers) went and horked up the game. I assume they believed deep in their hearts they were improving things. Or at least I hope they were. But, as often happens, a follow on development team takes over a classic and decides to make "just a feww tweaks". Arrrgh!
The gameplay has declined from BF 1. Yes, you have more worlds to play in but they are smaller, less grand than the original. Where is my huge battle of Geonosis I came to love? Gone. Now it is a smallish arena with no major feature of interest. And that's one point gamers of BF 1 will see playing this game: There are no memorable features to any of the battlefields. Case in point: What happened to the command post names? Gone. On Yavin 4 temple I miss seeing the "Dry Pool" fall and rush over there to retake it. I miss hitting the overlook early in a gambit to eliminate sep tank production. In BF 2 there are no place names for the command posts, just an audible "A command post has fallen". Arrrggh!
You can't play several of the characters immediatly from the get go in a mission. For example, the Clone Jet Trooper, by far my most favorite unit is not available until I have killed a certain number of enemies. Also, the unit has, in gaming terms, been "nerfed". In other words, made less powerful than his old version.
Here's a killer for me: The old method of giving commands to other friendly characters has been changed. From an available four commands I am now reduced to two. "Follow Me" and "Disperse". Follow Me used to mean in BF 1 that nearby units would follow along with you and take action but generally stick with you. Now I use that term "stick with you" to set you up for my description of the new "Follow Me". In BF 2 a nearby unit will now EXACTLY mimic your every move. Stepping when you step. turning when you turn. At one point I had two other clones with me and I formed a dance line with them. My kids were rolling on the floor with laughter! The look and the action was absolutely rediculous.
The space battle capability is mediocre and after the novelty wears off you realize that it is not nearly as fun as what you imagined it would be. And they took away the the LAAT/i gunships in land battles for that! Arrrghhh!
Another last point and a deep deep dispointment. The big guns of the game are gone. The main gun on the AT-TE shoots little tiny blasts that must hit precisely to do real damage. I miss the devestating firepower of the BF 1 version where the cool-down was long but when that puppy connected every sep in the vicinity said good night. The same goes for the AT-AT guns in the Hoth battle. They have been reduced to pea shooters not the devestating guns they should be.
I could go on but I leave it to you gentle gamer to decide for yourself. My reccomendation is to wait until this game becomes used at 24.99 or less, or even just go rent it and try out the jedi and work your way through the story-line game.
Why did Lucas Arts and Pandemic fall down completely on what should have been a blockbuster follow-up? I can't say. But I hold the development team at Pandemic and the approvers at Lucas Arts responsible for letting this chum out of the bucket.
The best game ever November 4, 2005
5 out of 13 found this review helpful
This game rocks! I wish I could give this game 1 billion stars!
here are some good facts and for you to buy this game.
1.you can be anyone you want from the starwars trilogy.
2. you can fight anywhere you want.
3. you can fight as any jedi
The Only Thing Missing is Jodo Kast.......Just Kidding November 13, 2005
Jeffrey James Gwillim (Kalamazoo, Michigan)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Most people have covered what it is I have to say but there are things I would like to mention. First of all the air vehicle combat has been made much better with tighter controls, when you combined this with space battles the fun is outrageous. The revamped story mode is well done and surprisingly by the end I cared about every character in my company even though they were all genetically the same. There was one thing that scared me immensely about this title and that was the ability to play as heroes. However my fear turned out to be misplaced since heroes are no longer the mortal gods they once were. Heroes are now fun to play as and more powerful than regular troops but while playing as them you can not earn rewards from medals, you can not heal normally only slaying an enemy recovers health, and like everyone else your only one rocket away from the end. All in all this game is great and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the original game, star wars, and for all those like me who suck at halo.
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