Star Wars Battlefront First Look

Last year has seen two memorable titles based in the Star Wars universe - Bioware's RPG masterpiece SW: Knights of the Old Republic and Raven Software's renowned lightsaber-fest, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. The ever-growing community of countless loyal fans worldwide has long since been waiting for LucasArts to push Star Wars action games further towards multiplayer gaming. Recently, the idea was set in motion. LucasArts struck a deal with Pandemic Studios to work on a cross-platform open-ended multiplayer third-person shooter, entitled Star Wars Battlefront. Employing a few full-proof ideas from EA's multiplayer marvel Battlefield 1942, LucasArts and Pandemic created a game where two different teams compete against each other, locked in classic Star Wars style shootouts. The game is in presently in development for PC, Xbox, and PS2 platforms, and is targeted for a release during fall 2004.

The Empire will strike swiftly and efficiently!

What do you say your watch looked like again?

Most of us have grown to appreciate the last two episodes of George Lucas' movie saga, even though some dissatisfaction still comes from fans of the classic trilogy. Now, you're probably wondering which Star Wars setting was chosen for the game. Commendably, the game is aimed to give you a taste of two key eras in the Star Wars timeline. In short, players can opt to fight during the period of the Galactic Civil War (from Episode IV to VI) or the time of the Clone Wars (Episode I though III). You get to participate in various types of multiplayer matches throughout more than fifteen unique environments and ten different planets. Recreating certain momentous sceneries the designers and artists worked closely with LucasArts, using crucial movie material to slot in well-known Star Wars locales including Hoth, Endor, Yavin 4, Geonosis, and Naboo. An all-out effort went into level design, accommodating various areas of the game towards a particular style of play. While some regions are ideal for vehicles, others are more appropriate for combat on foot. Looking at certain maps based on Naboo, where players can stroll around beautifully paved streets, courtyards, and plazas, it's easy to discern that the areas are more suitable for combat without vehicles. Then again, a few speeders or one of those cool devastating Trade Federation tank thingies might be spot on to make the situation slightly more enjoyable. We'll see...

As far as planets go, you won't be able to visit all of them at once. Should you be playing in the age Galactic Civil War, you won't be able to visit planets like Naboo or Geonisis. Subsequently, Hoth or Yavin 4 also won't be playable in the Clone Wars era. Yet, as most Star Wars fans already know, Tatooine is a planet present in both timelines and will be available throughout the entire timeframe.

The game is currently in the early stages of development and various features are still being pondered and tested. We're still curious to find out exactly which character classes will be on offer. For the present, we know you'll be welcome to choose one of the following factions: Rebel Alliance, Imperial Army, Clone Army, and Droid Army. The assortment of character classes, weapons, and vehicles, entirely depends on the faction players opted to join. Each faction is likely to have basic units such as infantry grunts, scouts, grenadiers, snipers, pilot/mechanics, etc. Well, from what we were able to find out, there will be around 24 different types of characters for you to play with. Each of them possesses different strengths and weaknesses, relying on their individual skills, health, and armor. There's also a plan to add certain specially trained units into action, which will understandably differ according to faction. For instance, a special clone trooper that's being incorporated to strengthen the Republic forces. This dude will be able to reach areas others cannot, due to his handy jet pack (*cough* BF 1942 *cough*). The Rebel forces can sometimes use the Rebel spy unit to infiltrate Imperial ranks by disguising himself as a Stormtrooper (provided he's not too short... wink, wink). To counter this, the Imperial forces will have an Imperial officer, who has the ability to sniff out an imposter. In addition to that, the Imperial officer can issue an order for orbital bombardment, so as to weaken enemy lines. A rather uplifting feature is that all character are allowed to man turrets, drive land vehicles, and operate flying units, regardless of their default aptitudes. When heading into combat, players will surely want to equip themselves according to the enemies they're liable to encounter. The development team is focusing their attention on making these aspects as straightforward as possible, so you'll get a clear idea of what you'll be coming up against during combat. Specific character classes, for example, stand a better chance against vehicles than others. The whole concept though, is to balance out units and weapons, offering you a chance to make up a foolproof strategy as you go along. So, you can be sure it will be an immersive and tactically rewarding experience all the way.

At first, we were quite concerned that the developers might overburden the game with stuff like Jedi classes, force powers, and features we're accustomed to experiencing in Star Wars games. An appreciated move by Pandemic and LucasArts was to leave out lightsaber-wielding units and other force-sensitive characters, which could easily upset the balance of gameplay. Hey, hey, hey, now don't pine away if you're a fan, because the designers are planning to throw several well-known Star Wars characters into the mix. You won't be able to control them directly, but you just might get a chance to fight along their side (or against them) in an epic battle (oh yeah, I'll follow ol' Darth Vader to the world's end, baby!).

The Star Wars universe is abundant in diverse vehicles, items, firearms, etc. Operating vehicles will most probably be the first thing on everybody's mind. If you're a SW devotee at heart, you'll immediately recognize vehicles such as Republic Gunships, AT-ST's, AT-AT's, Rebel snowspeeders, speeder bikes, and many others. Some of these vehicles are going to remain true to their movie counterparts, giving you a chance to use some of their unique characteristics during battle. The Rebel snowspeeder, for one, has a rear runner that shoots out a tow cable (your best bet against mighty AT-AT walkers). Other vehicles will be large enough to accommodate more than one character; such as the Rebel Gunship, which boasts six mountable laser turrets and blasters. Given the nature of the game and the extensive choice of vehicles to handle, Pandemic was determined to establish a clear-cut control system. Rather than encumbering the gameplay with overly-elaborate simulation-style controls, they made an effort to make the vehicles as easy to maneuver as possible. Star Wars Battlefront will not include any voyages to or battles in space, but there will be optional flying units available, so you'll even be able to hit the skies once in a while with an X-wing or TIE Fighter (maybe a Naboo Fighter as well?).