Star Wars: Battlefront

This article is about the first game in the series. For the series, see Star Wars: Battlefront (series). For its sequel, see Star Wars: Battlefront II.

Star Wars: Battlefront
North American PC box art
Developer(s)	Pandemic Studios
Publisher(s)	LucasArts
Series	Star Wars: Battlefront
Engine	Zero
Version	1.2 (January 16, 2005) (PC)
Platform(s)	Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh, mobile phone
Release date(s)	September 20, 2004 (PC, PS2, Xbox) July 2005 (Mac) November 1, 2005 (Mobile)
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T
Media/distribution	DVD, CD
System requirements 1 GHz processor, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 9-capable GPU

Star Wars: Battlefront is a first and third-person video game based on battles in the Star Wars film series. It was developed by Pandemic Studios and LucasArts and released on September 20, 2004 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, the same day as the release of the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set. Aspyr released a Macintosh port in July 2005. A cellular phone version, entitled Star Wars Battlefront Mobile was released November 1, 2005. A sequel, Star Wars: Battlefront II, was also released on November 1, 2005 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Star Wars: Battlefront. The objective is to eliminate all enemy forces or capture all command posts (seen in red in the background).

Star Wars: Battlefront encompasses battles between four main factions from both the original and prequel trilogies: the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) of the prequel era, and the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire of the classic trilogy. In each faction, five different classes of characters become available. Four of the classes are similar for each faction: infantry, heavy weapons, pilot and sniper. The fifth class is faction specific: Droidekas (CIS), Jet Troopers (Republic), Wookiee Smugglers (Rebels), and Dark Troopers (Empire). Each faction also has an non-playable hero character that participates: Count Dooku (CIS), Mace Windu (Republic), Luke Skywalker (Rebels), and Darth Vader (Empire).

The game is played as a game of conquest. Each faction has a finite amount of reinforcements, and each is given control of a set number of command posts in a given level. The object is to either eliminate enemy forces or capture and hold all command posts simultaneously for 20 seconds. Several ground and air vehicles are available on the battlefield. These range from the hulking AT-AT to the fast speeder bike and vary based on the level. There are more than 25 vehicles in-game. Some larger vehicles also function as mobile command posts, which cannot be captured, but are lost if the vehicle is destroyed. In addition, some maps have indigenous forces. Some are neutral to both factions, such as Jawas, some are hostile to one faction, as with the Wookies, others are hostile to both, such as Tusken Raiders. Command post belonging to hostile natives can also be captured to minimize their presence.

Star Wars: Battlefront can be played online with up to 50 players on Microsoft Windows via local area network (LAN) or over the internet via GameSpy. The Macintosh version is limited to 32 players online or 50 players via LAN. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox can accommodate up to 32 players or played in splitscreen mode with two players. The PlayStation 2 version utilizes specialized GameSpy servers, while the Xbox uses Microsoft's Xbox Live network.

Modes

While the game is played similarly in every mode, each is a unique scenario which utilizes mode-specific features to further extend gameplay. Three modes are presented to the player: Campaign, which serves as the game's story mode, Galactic Conquest, in which the player must conquer planets, and Instant Action, which allows the player to select the battle they wish to play and adjust settings such as reinforcements to their liking.

Campaign groups several battles together in a set order based on the historical campaign of either the Clone Wars or Galactic Civil war. Since Episode III was not released at the time of production, the Clone Wars campaign ends at the battle of Kashyyyk. Footage from the five films then released are used as cutscenes between some battles. The player starts the campaign as a member of the Separatist army or an Imperial Stormtrooper. Around halfway through the chosen campaign the perspective switches to the Clone Troopers or Rebels. To maintain continuity, missions prior to the battle of Geonosis pit the Separatists against native forces only, and for the first two missions the super battle droid is unavailable, being replaced with a standard battle droid.

In Galactic Conquest the player uses strategy to take control of planets and dominate an area of the galaxy. First the player chooses a map configuration based on conflicts from both eras of Star Wars history. Some maps start both sides evenly and some favor one faction. Next the player chooses what faction to play as. The game is played in turns, with the player starting first. The player can select an enemy controlled or neutral planet to attack. After selecting what planet to attack, the player is able to activate a bonus from one of his already owned planets (if any). Each planet provides its own unique bonus, but must be captured before the player can use it. Bonuses help the player in battle by impeding the enemy or assisting the players team. If one side manages to win four battles (not necessarily in a row), they gain access to their faction's Secret Base bonus. Secret Base bonuses are very powerful and can change the course of a game. They can be used on any enemy planet, except for the enemy's Secret Base. The game is completed when one faction controls all of the planets on the map.

Instant Action mode allows the players to jump right into a battle of their choice. The player can also customize a list of battles, which then can be played through in the order they have chosen, or in a random order. Players can choose between playing as the Republic, the CIS, the Empire, or the Rebels on each of the maps excluding four of them. Kamino, Geonosis, Endor and Hoth are the only four planets which do not allow the player to select their battle era, as these follow their canonical settings. Players can also choose whether or not they would like to have heroes fight for each side.

Development

Development for Star Wars Battlefront began at Pandemic Studios in 2002. Greg Burrod, executive producer on Battlefront stated "We wanted to create an online shooter title for the Xbox, PS2, and PC which would allow for team strategy and would feature battles and worlds from every one of the six Star Wars films." Models and animations for the game were created in Softimage XSI, a 3D development studio. Most characters used a common animation set and the minimal number of bones were used due to concerns with hardware limitations at that time. World environments were created with the developer's proprietary editor, ZeroEdit. The terrain-based landscape is formed using the editor's brushes to adjust height, texture application, and color shading. 3D models are then laid on this foundation along with general objective pathing for the artificial intelligence (AI).

Temuera Morrison reprises his voice acting role for the Clone Troopers in Battlefront.

Some sounds and foley for the game were taken from Star Wars reference material, while others were recording during a two day visit to Skywalker Ranch, near Nicasio, California. The game has some 1,200 foley sounds that are used to convey things such as interaction with flora and fauna, water, and metals. Actor Temuera Morrison voiced the Clone Troopers, reprising his role from the Attack of the Clones film.

The AI used two main systems, again to ensure a minimal load on the hardware. A higher, overall objective, such as which command post to head towards, would only be calculated every few seconds per unit. Lower level objectives such as which enemy to fire on or what defensive strategy to take against incoming fire, are calculated continuously.

In late 2004, LucasArts and Pandemic Studios released unsupported mod tools for Microsoft Windows, allowing players to create their own maps, as well as edit the weapons and characters for all sides in the game (CIS, republic, Empire, and Alliance). This release is not supported by Lucasarts. A number of communities now exist solely based around creating maps and characters using these tools, and uploading them for others to download. On November 1, 2005, mobile developer Mikoishi and publisher THQ Wireless released Star Wars Battlefront Mobile for cellular phones.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	82.7% (PS2)
Metacritic	82% (PS2)
Review scores
Publication	Score
GameSpot	7.9/10
IGN	8.4/10
GameSpy
1UP	B+

GameSpot editor Bob Colayco praised the gameplay, which he presented as a Star Wars version of Battlefield 1942. He gave high marks to the versatility of playing modes, such as vehicle control and foot battle. The GameSpot team also praised the PC version for its extensive online play.

External links

• Official website
• Star Wars: Battlefront at MobyGames