Well, the time has come for the second edition of the fantastic Star Wars: Battlefront franchise. This sequel has a lot to live up to. How could a game where you fight in classic and new Star Wars battles get any better at all? Well this game simply improves on the original a lot, although the improvements are mostly features that they added or improved on.

One of my favorite parts of this game has to be the new space battles. There are two warships usually above a planet, one of which is yours, one of which is your opponents. Your mission in the space battles is to disable the other ship before they disable your ship. This involves destroying it from the outside, or going in and destroying it from within. Either works, but you get more Player Points for going from within.

The biggest and most well known feature is the ability to command your troops as a Jedi-type character. Depending on when and where, you will play as one of the many Jedi from the movies. Jedi include the infamous Darth Vader, the valiant Obi Wan Kenobi, the traitorous Anakin Skywalker, and even Yoda and the Emperor. This is the biggest change to Star Wars: Battlefront because having these characters is an enormous advantage. Although you are only able to use one Jedi per side, per battle, it is still an enormous advantage. Which Jedi you use can get you different Force powers. For example, Yoda can do Force Push and Pull, while the Emperor can do Force Choke and Lightning.

There is a special mode called Hero Battle. In this mode you take two sides of Heroes and battle. No regular troops are used in this mode. The only problem is that there is only one map available for this mode, the map on Tatooine. While this is quite interesting, it does get old after awhile, since only one map can be used for the special battle. These special players who were granted the power to be a Jedi can change the course of a battle, and thus plays a huge part in online play.

The online for Star Wars: Battlefront II is very similar to the first version. You do a search of rooms and you can choose when and where to play. These battles are always fun, and you can choose which types of settings and rules you wish to use. The only issue with the online play is that it seems like there really aren't too many players playing, or at least creating matches. I did a search and found a mere 3 or 4 games being played at one time. That was in every kind of gameplay, regardless of settings and rules. But, if you can start up a game, and get people to join, this is an amazing online experience.

The single player mode is once again excellent, with Instant Action and Galactic Conquest making comebacks. Galactic Conquest is much easier than it was last time, and more interactive. It is much more player friendly, and you do have to have common sense playing the AI, on any difficulty. There are many bonuses you can purchase to give you a slight edge you might need in a battle. These range from Hero (Yes, you have to buy it in Conquest) to Bacta Tanks (healing) extra troops, and many more. The basics of the game has a Galaxy is displayed before you, and with your fleets, you take and capture worlds, while also defending them from your opponent. Once you have chosen a world to invade, you select a bonus, and then off to war! It is much better in this game, more fluid, and moreover, it is more fun!

Time for the Pros and Cons:

Pros

*Play as a Jedi, what could be more fun?

*Single Player will keep you coming back for more.

*Online is usually lag free.

*Rein act Star Wars battles! My wish was granted!

*Well put together and overall just a great game.

Cons

*$50. Kind of pricy, but the price should drop soon.

*During online play, it is very difficult to become the Jedi, and when you become it, you don't last long.

*Depending on the Host, the game can have a little lag, but not for the most part.

*Graphics are average; bodies often land in the same positions no matter what happens to them.

Final Word

If you are a FPS, Third Person Shooter, or a Star Wars fan, or even own a PC, this is the game for you. It has lots of great gameplay that can be played over and over again, and the online is great. This is a spectacular game.