- Platform: IBM PC Compatible
- Release Date: September 21, 2004
- Genre: Shooter
- Style: First-Person Shooter
- Similar Games: Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (IBM PC Compatible), Unreal Tournament 2004 (IBM PC Compatible), Call of Duty (IBM PC Compatible)
Game Description
Players who log in to this corner of the Star Wars universe find live-action battle against like-minded gamers and fans from around the country. Likely inspired to some extent by Digital Illusions' successful Battlefield series, this LucasArts shooter features the same style of fast-paced, large-scale, multiplayer warfare, but is set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Instead of Axis versus Allies, or the United States fighting North Vietnam, Imperial Stormtroopers and separatist droids face off against rebel commandos and clone army soldiers in Star Wars: Battlefront.The battlegrounds featured in the game are intended to highlight the most memorable conflicts from all six Star Wars films, and offer a dozen different environments on ten famous planets, including Hoth, Endor, Tatooine, and Kamino. In many locations, a selection of drivable vehicles can be found, such as speeder bikes, Imperial walkers, and X-Wing fighters, and these may turn the battle in favor of the soldiers who can put them to best use. The game can be played from either a first- or third-person perspective, and offers split-screen multiplayer modes for consoles without Internet connections. At least 16 players can battle together online, and three single-player modes are offered as well: "Instant Action," "Galactic Conquest," and the plot-driven "Historical Campaigns."
~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Instead of controlling noble Luke Skywalker or a ruthless Sith Lord, Star Wars: Battlefront lets you take a different perspective on the well-known Star Wars canon: an opportunity to play as a rank-and-file Imperial Stormtrooper or rebel soldier. You'll participate in some of the most memorable large scale battles from the movies, from the frozen wastes of Hoth to the steamy jungles of Endor. Although Battlefront feels epic and exciting at first blush, the repetitive battles and average AI make for a curiously empty experience, resulting in an enjoyable albeit mindless, first-person shooter.The story's the thing when it comes to the Star Wars franchise, and this is an area in which the game is sorely lacking. The campaign mode, which is the main single-player experience, merely throws you into historical battle after historical battle, increasing the number of reserves the enemy has while decreasing your own as you progress. Battlefront trades entirely too much its Star Wars pedigree, and doesn't add anything new to it in the process.
In the course of an action, you're ostensibly given objectives, such as "Protect the shield generator!" or "Gain a foothold on Yavin 4," but they're essentially meaningless. Controlling one side or the other, the only way you finish a mission is by completely exhausting the enemies' reserves or capturing all of their command points, resulting in a tedious slog through map after map. Maps hold large numbers of bots (or players, if you're playing multiplayer), sometimes as many as 30 on a side, with hundreds of troops in reserve. In the course of a battle, you can play as various classes, from pilot to soldier, which provides some variety as each class has different weapons and specialties. However, an option to play Capture the Flag or missions that required you to actually complete an objective would have been a welcome change.
The best part of Battlefront is its superior control and gameplay, balanced factions, and all of the little details that go into making an authentic LucasArts Star Wars game. Controls are clean and crisp, and running and shooting is a breeze. You're also given the opportunity to pilot several famous Star Wars vehicles, such as the ponderous and powerful AT-AT walker on Hoth, or the landspeeder on Tatooine. These handle about how you'd imagine they would. The AT-AT walker, for example, is ponderously slow and yet unstoppable -- a perfect symbol for the Empire. Presentation-wise, the game gets the graphics and sounds just right, from the sound of the blasters to the little bleeps and whirrs that come from medical and ammo droids.
Battlefront may have succeeded in presenting the life of a frontline soldier in war a little too well. Once you get past the glamour of those first few battles, all that's left is more of the same, battle after battle, war after war.
Review: Enjoyment
Great fun for a while, but then becomes tedious once you've mastered the maps and controls. Multiplayer can a blast with enough players, however.Review: Graphics
Well-done graphical representation of the Star Wars universe, although characters within the game can look slightly blocky from up close.Review: Sound
Nothing beats a stirringReview: Replay Value
The campaign is bland and forgettable, not worth replaying. However, instant action and multiplayer games are always compelling in short stints.Review: Documentation
A simple, bare-bones description of the various gameplay controls and displays. Information on the different character classes or some of the maps would have been welcome.Production Credits
Company 1: Pandemic Studios LLC.; Director: Eric Gerwirtz; Producer: Chris Williams; Lead Designer: Jens Andersen; Lead Artist: Dean Betton, Matthew Palmer, Juan Sanchez; Programmer: Chris Baker, Adam Batters, Steven Duan, Chris Fandrich, David Givone, Nathan Mates, Stewart Miles, Ken Miller, Salah Nouri, Brad Pickering, Jason Scanlin, Josh Verrall, Greg Walker; Production Coordinator: David Baker; Associate Producer: Phil Hong; Designer: Paul Baker, Chris Fusco, Joe Shackelford, Dellekamp Siefert; Artist: Chris Arden, Moon Bae, Walter Cosico, Sungpil Im, Robert Keenan, Chris McGee, Tom Myslewiec, Bryan Norton, Graham Traynor, Scott White; Executive Producer: Greg Borrud; Production Coordinator: David Baker; Associate Producer: Phil Hong; Design Consultant: Trey Watkins; Production Support: Marc Turndorf; Additional Programming: Jeromy Walsh, Adam Pino; Additional Art: Christopher Hunt, RC Montesquieu, Caragh O'Connor, Huan Phan, Timo Pihlajamaki, C.J. Sarachene, Sean Sullivan; CEO: Andrew Goldman; President: Josh Resnick; Executive Art Director: Carey Chico; Director of Human Resources: Tina Cruz; Support Staff: Mario Cabrera, Joseph Donaldson, Sean Henson, Tim McMahon, Michael Smith; Lead Tester: Ethan Levy; Production Tester and Intern: Fred Badlissi, Todd Bergman, Laura Cabrera, Josh Cole, Robert Cordova, Adam Davis, Manuel Diaz, Rob Finney, Nick Fofi, Greg Foster, Jason Hammer, Christopher Hong, Ryan James, John St. John, Greg Johnson, Dylan Lu, Marshall Miller, Kevin Minne, Ricky Monge, Mike Robinson, Eddie Rojas, Ryan Rubianes, Eric Trenchard-Smith, Dean Tsai, Ian Vasquez, Ivan Vasquez, Brian Warrinton, Mike Zaimont; Additional Online Code Supplied By: Quarium Inc., Bart Besseling, Rod Ang; Interface Design and Animation Supplied By: 1K Studios, Marco Bacich, Nicholas Howard, Nick Di Napoli; Company 2: Lucasarts; Producer: Jim Tso, Dan Pettit, Rachel Bryant; Assistant Producer: David Silverstein; Supervising Producer: Peter Hirschmann; Lead Tester: K. C. Coleman, Chane Doc Hollander; Assistant Lead Tester: Patrick Bratton, Jeffrey Earl Gullett, Matt Rubenstein; QA Tester: Ahmad Abbott, Ryan Adza, Seth Benton, Gabriel Bootz, Diarmuid C. Bosse', Laura Cabrera, Josh Cole, J. D. Diaz, Jeff Sanders, Manuel Diaz, Adam Goodwin, Henry Hall, Erik Heitmeyer, Zak Huntwork, Greg Johnson, James Morris, Chris Navarro, Ian Parham, Gregory Quinones, Xavier Rodriguez, Eddie Rojas, Michael Roland, Troy Sis, Eric Trenchard-Smith, John St. John, Chris Ward, Brian Warrinton, Brianna Woodward; QA Compliance Lead: Davdi Chapman; QA Compliance Tester: Matt Chang, Davey Lei, John Lowenthal, Justin Van Alstyne, Ian Wolfard; International Producer: Hiromi Ikamoto, Huan-Hua Chye; QA International Lead: Phillip Berry; QA International Tester: Ken Balough, Gary Chew, Gregory Frank, Jason Pimentel, Orion Tiller; QA Compatibility Supervisor: Lynn Taylor; QA Network Compatibility Lead: Darryl Cobb; QA Compatibility Technician: Brian G. Deksnys, Ben Estabrook, Kim Jardin, Kristie Lauborough, Dan Martinez, John T. Shields, Isiah Webb, Jason Lee, Scott Taylor; Quality Services Computer Technician: John Carsey; Additional Testing-Beta Breakers: Jeff Custis, Ben McElroy, Christopher McMahan, Robin Villescas, Alex Marcelo, Keith Metcalfe; Build Engineer: Colin Carley; Launcher and Installer Programming: Charlie Smith, Dennis Crowley; Sound Design: Nick Peck; Additional Sound Design: Andrew Cheney, Jim Diaz; Music Editing: Peter McConnell; Original Star Wars Sound Effects: Ben Burtt; Original Star Wars Music Composed By: John Williams; Voice and International Department Manager: Darragh O'Farrell; VO Director: Will Beckman; Lead Voice Editor: Harrison Deutsch; Assistant Voice Editor: G. W. Childs; Voice and International Coordinator: Jennifer Sloa; Voice of Imperial Infantry: G. W. Childs; Voice of Alliance Infantry: Chris Cox; Voice of CIS Infantry: Chris Cox; Voice of CIS Officer: Chris Cox; Voice of Gungan Infantry: Chris Cox; Voice of Alliance Officer: Nick Jamison; Voice of Darth Sidious: Nick Jamison; Voice of Emperor Palpatine: Nick Jamison; Voice of Admiral Ackbar: Tom Kane; Voice of Yoda: Tom Kane; Voice of Republic Infantry: Temura Morrison; Voice of Republic Officer: Temura Morrison; Voice of Imperial Officer: David Robb; Product Marketing Manager: David Zemke; Senior Marketing Coordinator: Chris Susen; Public Relations: Anne Marie Stein, Jason Anderson, Hadley Fitzgerald; Sales and Channel Marketing: Meredith Cahill, Terri Dome, Alyxandra Huynh, Greg Robles, Gemma Baiocchi, Mike Maguire, Tim Moore, Katy Walden; Internet Marketing: Jim Passalacqua, Chris Adams, Paul Warner, Michelle Martinez; External Art Director: Matt Omernick; Additional Art: Ashot Melkumov, Michael Cottam; Content Coordinator: Ryan Kaufman; Lucas Licensing: Chris Gollaher, Kristi Kaufman, Stacy Cheregotis, Stacy Arnold; Manual Writing: Matthew Keast; Manual Design: Patty Hill; Product Support Supervisor: Jay Geraci; Mastering Lab: Kellie Walker, Wendy Kaplan, Eric Rauch, Jay Tye
~ Keith Adams, All Game Guide
