RBL CommLink - Battlefront 2

Battlefront 2 is a much more fun game. Supposibly there are critics against it, but I don't see why yet. Other than a bug or two (soldiers getting stuck against walls), it was a very smooth experience for me on my Playstation 2.

Graphics wise, they were a little better than in BF1. Sound effects were excellent. They changed some of the things you could do from the first game. Before, you could reload your weapon on your own, now they do it automatically and you can't no matter what you do. You can sprint now (not sure if you could before honestly) for short distances or until your stamina gauge runs out (or you run into something or someone). This also counts on your tricks, such as diving and rolling.

Jedi characters are a bit more difficult to use but they are fun. Unless you're fighting them, then they're tough. But they can be killed by a single stormtrooper (killed over 10 I think as I ran backwards from them...I'm not stupid! Those sabers usually kill you in one swing lol). Controlling them is kinda tough in enclosed spaces, at least using a PS2 controller it is for me. Open spaces though I do great. They have a really powerful sprint attack that, if there's lots of enemies in front of you, you just mow right on through them. Each Jedi has different Force powers, though all of them seem to have Saber Throw (handy really). They have a very impressive jump, and a powerful drop down saber attack (Mace Windu does at least). Makes a nice boom on the ground.

There is now an overall story involved, and a much more indepth campaign for single player. The first game was far far too short, something the game makers clearly figured out. Another big change was that you did not see the numbers of troops the enemy has, but you see how many you have left to work with. Essentially, they have unlimited numbers, and you don't. Plus there are triggers in the game that release more enemies sometimes as if in ambush. Also, if you captured a command post, it was yours for the most part until you either won, or lost, or it was disabled as part of the mission plot. Sometimes the enemy could retake a command post, and there's been a couple missions where I was the last trooper standing and had to complete the mission. Did it a couple of times, but usually what you want to do is capture each objective as quickly as possible. The instant you have done that, you gain a new batch of reinforcements to join what you already were awarded. So if you had 48 when you started and you took the objective, you gain 52 in addition to your 48 you still had.

Speaking of awards, they have added some powerups in the game if you manage to meet specific criteria within one life. So if you make 6 headshots as a sniper, you gain a more powerful beam rifle (Marksman award). Or if you make 24 points as a stormtrooper/soldier, you gain the elite blaster rifle, which packs a hell of a punch I must say, though the rate of fire is kinda slow (Endurance award I think). You can also change your soldier class if you're next to a command post, so you can be a sniper, a heavy trooper, a soldier, a pilot, an engineer, all in one life.

Galactic Conquest has also been expanded, though I didn't get a chance to really go indepth on that. You get to hire special troops from your base troops (you start with only stormtroopers for example), gain credits from your conquests and planets you control, and build fleets.

This leads to the Space combat part. It's tricky to say the least. But the missiles actually have some punch now, and are not simply glorified blaster bolts as they were in the first game. The controls are more responsive and you can do barrel rolls with your ship. Just like on the ground, you have a 'stamina' guage of sorts, which is your gauge for your special tricks. You can perform some built in manuvers to avoid missile fire or to get the drop on a pursuing attacker.

Attacking fighters and bombers is kinda difficult as they're hard to see in space, but it's possible to do. Much easier to attack the capital ships themselves. You can also board enemy ships and attack specific components on the ship to destroy them (but you cannot capture it looks like). You can also take control of the turrets of the capital ships and use them on fighters or bombers, or even on support capital ships if they're close enough (I think also on the other capital ships, but I cannot say for certain). If you fly a transport over to the other ship, you gain a spawn point for reinforcements or yourself if you die.

In short, there's a whole lot more going on in this game, and it's tougher. I played it on Normal, and only got as far as Princess Leia's ship being captured, and then had to take the game back. Once again...the movies lie to us. Those troopers in Leias ship fight like HELL to kick you off. Even when I took control of Vader, they swarmed all over the place.

That leads to my pet peeve...Hero life. Your hero cannot stay around indefinately, and will "die" if they don't kill lots of things. The more enemies they take out, the longer they live. Otherwise, their Hero points drain down, and they then fall out of combat. Which is a major problem if there are no enemies around for awhile. You eat up Hero points quickly as you try to get into action. If you take hits, you lose more Hero points. You can deflect attacks, but not from behind or the sides, so it's usefulness is limited (which makes sense to a degree). Again, no enemies...no hero after a short time, or you lose a lot of hero points that you can't seem to recover fast enough.

Ship flight controls aren't too bad that I've seen, though it looks like most of the fighters are equal in how they take damage. Haven't flown that many different ships though, so I could be mistaken.

And that's all I have. I loved it and recommend it for anyone. The PC version supposibly has even better graphics, but I cannot say for certain if this is the case. Rent it for a console and give it a try first. You'll love it I think.