Mediocre at best
SWBF1 was a great game, no two ways about it. I was very hyped about SWBF2, unfortunately I was somewhat let down by a mediocre game. It tried to change certain features from the original to make it seem different, but ends up just messing up a solid game, “If it isn’t broke don’t fix it” springs to mind.
The sound is pretty good, for the most part, and the blaster rifle and rocket noises are satisfying to listen to. However this game has a sound bug which causes the character voices and sometimes the music to glitch and freeze in the single player. This can be very annoying and frustrating.
The game also has some (at least on the original PS2 console) loading issues where the menus, along with the music will just freeze up for seconds at a time. This is very frustrating when trying to navigate the game, although this was a problem that was also in SWBF1. I didn’t try it on the slim ps2, but on the old console these bugs are present and annoying.
There are a few other features in the game which I found to be not ‘broken’ but not fully operational or though through:
Aim Reticule: The original reticule was great, not overly complicated and yet perfect for its task... aiming. There were even different variations for Rockets, Rifles, Pistols etc. yet in SWBF2 it is replaced by a clunky, large circle which is not very good for aiming. It is the same for every weapon and somewhat detracts from the ‘uniqueness’ of different weapons.
Aim Sensitivity: Somehow the developers decided to totally ignore one of the key elements of any shooting game: aim sensitivity. Whether set to 10, or 1 it makes no difference in SWBF2, seriously it seems to move at the same speed whatever you set it to, its almost as if the option was just thrown in to make the menu look better.
Multiplayer: I loved playing SWBF1 online, it was great fun and I spent many a night running around Hoth and the like with my chums. I was really expecting SWBF2 to improve on the first game and really kick the multiplayer up a notch, but I didn’t. For example it has an inexistent scoreboard and ranking, the friends list is very poor and thought these features weren’t much better in the first game I expected them to be improved in the sequel. There are also some minor gameplay issues, for example in space battle when you fire a missile for some reason you cannot see it. The lag is very bad, almost a down step from SWBF1. However the biggest disappointment is that all the servers were pulled down within the first few months, as if the gamers were tricked into getting the game and then Lucas pulled the plug. This happened in Europe, I’m not sure about the US.
To its credit, it does have pretty good graphics. The maps look pretty good; some of the old maps have been given a face lift and look much better, and the character models are nice too. The space combat was a nice idea, though not fully developed and every battle feel pretty much the same.
I find this game to be hugely overrated. The truth is it was a very disappointing game, at least for me(not helped by the fact that I traded in like 10 games to buy this thing). The gameplay is hampered by bugs and poor gameplay mechanics like the aiming and lag in multiplayer. It was rushed in development due to the release of Star Wars ep3 in theatres, it could really have used a few more months in development to iron out a few of the bugs and improve on the general gameplay which could have made it a better game. In the end it was a mediocre experience at best. If you are a Star Wars fan looking for a good SW game, or just a shooter fan looking for a good 3 person shooter for the ps2 (In 2008, yeh right) look no further than the original Battlefront, it was a much better game than this.
Note: I originally wrote this when the game came out, but decided to dig it up and re-write some of it today so I could post it on the site to test out the user review function.
