After the success of the original Star Wars Battlefront title, it was no surprise that a follow up was quickly made with added features that tickled the fancy of fans of the first game. This game is a favourite among fans as it was one big fan service to Star Wars fans.
It allowed us to play as iconic heroes, have space battles and expanded on the chess type of mode called ‘Galactic Conquest’. It also came out around about the same time as Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of The Sith, so it acted as a huge marketing scheme for the film and featured a few maps ripped right from the film. Below we have a look at what else made this game so great.
Heroes and Villains
For the first time, players were able to take on the role of iconic heroes and villains from the series, unlike the previous instalment, where these characters were controlled by AI. There was nothing like sweeping through a platoon of clones in a tight corridor as Darth Maul or taking on an AT-ST as Luke.
The game felt like more of a Star Wars-themed war sandbox than anything else and that is one of the highlights. The story that followed a Clone Trooper through the Clone Wars to the height of the Galactic Civil War was memorable but it was the Galactic Conquest mode that stood out the most.
Galactic Conquest
This was my favourite pass time in the game. It was basically a game of chess between the player and the AI. Players move their ship to a planet to attack and then the AI would have their turn to make a move on the galaxy map. Each win racked up credits, which could be spent on perks or buying another fleet. Each loss cost credits as players needed to rebuild their fleet.
I spent hours in this mode and it featured both timelines and the option to play as the hero side or villain side in both the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War.
Space Battles
The Space Battles were another highlight. The two fleets would be positioned across from one another and players could either target the vital points on the enemy ship or they could board the enemy ship and destroy these points from within. It was a lot of fun and the boarding mechanic is something sorely lacking from the reboot series.
Star Wars Battlefront II is a fan favourite and looking back it’s clear to see why. Modern installments in the reboot series still borrow some mechanics from this game to an extent. This was the title that established the Battlefront franchise as a favourite with Star Wars fans.
