Star Wars: Battlefront II Announced for PS2, Xbox, PC

Star Wars: Battlefront is a firm favourite in my household. Most times it’s a literal battle just trying to get a go on it. So fans like myself will be glad to hear the sequel, aptly named Battlefront II, is out this fall/autumn on the PS2, Xbox and PC. In addition to the new levels - yes, they have added the Death Star! - there’s a host of new features including space combat, playable jedis and an extensive “open-ended mission-based single-player mode spanning 12 locations”. Plus multiplayer enhancements. All sounds good to me, I’ll be pre-ordering mine asap.

Here’s a few snippets from GameSpot:

With the impending release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith–the final movie in George Lucas’ six-chapter space drama–the Star Wars-licensed games have really begun to roll in. Lego Star Wars was released earlier this month, Star Wars: Empire at War was announced early this year, and Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees will both be released in the first week of May. If that weren’t enough for insatiable Star Wars fans, LucasArts today announced Star Wars: Battlefront II, the sequel to the popular third-person shooter released last year.

..The main draw of the original Battlefront was the frenetic action of a raging battle between the Rebel forces and the Empire–Battlefront II will be no different in that respect. Once again, the game will take place during events of all of the films in the sci-fi franchise. Levels will range from the interior of the Death Star from the original 1977 film, to the volcanic Mustafar, the setting for the final duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader in the upcoming Revenge of the Sith.

Battlefront II will also mark the debut of space combat in the franchise. Players will be able to commandeer various cosmic vessels. Once at the helm, they can dock with capital ships, exit the vehicle, and continue to fight on foot in the spaceship’s interior. Regarding the flight system and controls, Shara Miller, a producer at LucasArts, told GameSpot, “It’s more Rogue Squadron style than X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter.”

Gamers eager to use the Force will be happy to know that the mighty lightsaber-wielding Jedi are now playable, though it isn’t yet clear how they will be incorporated into the balanced roster of characters.

Pandemic has also added a more extensive open-ended mission-based single-player mode spanning 12 locations. The online portion of the game has been taken up a notch as well. In addition to new modes, the multiplayer portion supports up to 24 players on the PS2, 32 on the Xbox, and 64 on the PC.

Official Star Wars Gaming website
Star Wars: Battlefront website