Developer: Pandemic Studios
Publisher: LucasArts Entertainment

Star Wars Battlefront II improves upon the original game's single-player experience with open-ended, mission-based objectives inspired from all six Star Wars films. The compelling storyline spans more than 12 new locations, many from Episode III, including volcanic Mustafar and the space battle above Coruscant. All-new classic movie moments complete the Star Wars Battlefront II experience, as players battle within the interior of the Death Star and visit Princess Leia's blockade runner, the Tantive IV, as seen at the beginning of Episode IV A New Hope. In addition, at certain key moments within the battles, players can feel the Force as a Jedi.

For the first time ever, Star Wars Battlefront II players can engage in space combat and, during the same battle, board enemy ships to attack from within. Starting on foot inside a capital ship, players can enter the spacecraft of their choice and travel into space to dogfight with the rival faction. From there, they can dock within the enemy's capital ship, overtake the ship's command posts, man its turrets to disable its shields and destroy it from within! Or, they can simply stay inside their own capital ship and defend it from attacks and enemy fire. The choice is theirs.

The stellar online play that marked the original Star Wars Battlefront returns even bigger and better for Star Wars Battlefront II. Players can locate their buddies and track their stats as they battle alongside more players than ever (up to 24 on PS2, 32 on Xbox, 64 on Windows).

Battlefront 2's gameplay modes will feature some fan-requested tweaks, as well as offer a deeper, more narrative-focused single-player campaign. Furthermore, it will add to the already robust online multiplayer mode of its predecessor. The single-player game will offer open-ended mission-based objectives that will obviously owe a thing or two to the six Star Wars films. The game will have a broader feel thanks to the different approach Pandemic is taking toward the planets you'll fight on. Whereas the planets in the first game had multiple maps set on different parts of the world, Battlefront 2's 12 planets will only offer one map each, providing more variety overall. Expect to see some planets taken from Episode III, such as the crater world of Utapau (General Grievous' hideout) and the volcanic lava world of Mustafar (where Anakin gets the skin peel of a lifetime).

As you'd hope, the classic series will also be mined for some new locales. The interior of the Death Star and Princess Leia's blockade runner (as seen in the classic opening moments of A New Hope) will provide unique new environments to fight in. These new locations also hint at one of the biggest new additions to the Battlefront experience: space combat. This oh-so-cool addition to combat showed very well during our demo, despite its work-in-progress condition. The level we saw was set in the interior of a blockade runner, and it initially appeared to be following the standard Battlefront formula. However, when the troops reached the ship's hangar--which housed a TIE fighter, a TIE Interceptor, a TIE bomber, and an X-Wing fighter--the soldiers each hopped into the nearest ship and took it outside to join the fray going on between the capital ships.

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