STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT,
LucasArts
Hearing a Jar Jar Binks-lookalike Gungan yell "Meesa gonna die!" as my droid tank shot him point-blank may have been the best part of this game. An excellent match for anybody with a set of Star Wars action figures in the closet -- or anybody who just likes blowing things up -- Star Wars Battlefront re-creates most of the movies' memorable battles.
| | | | ___Personal Tech E-letter___ Washington Post personal technology columnist Rob Pegoraro answers reader e-mail and expands on themes he touches on in his weekly newspaper column. The e-mail version of this weekly feature includes links to the latest gadget and software reviews.
• Click Here for Free Sign-up
• Read E-letter Archive
| | | | | | |
|
You can fight from a first- or third-person perspective and on a variety of sides -- the Trade Federation's Droid Army, the later Empire or the Rebel Alliance. Gameplay follows a popular pattern: Its large battlefields are dotted with command posts, and your job is to run, fly or drive to one and occupy that position for about 30 seconds while blasting anybody who tries to take it back.
If you capture all the enemy's command posts or wipe out all its troops, you've won the battle. Battlefront features most of the flicks' settings, including the snowbound trenches of Hoth, Tatooine's deserts, the jungles of Yavin and Cloud City's towers, and just about every Star Wars vehicle you might remember.
In each battle, you can choose five characters, with the ability to select a new person to control if one gets killed (up until you run out of reinforcements). In most scenarios, you get one everyday soldier, one sniper, one heavy-weapons specialist, one medic or engineer and one "special troop." The last category includes the likes of destroyer droids (to mow down the opposition while generating a shield to protect themselves) and the Empire's dark troopers (who use their jet packs to fly to the tops of buildings).
Battlefront offers a single-player campaign mode, in which you play through the movies' battles in the same order as the original storyline; a multiplayer mode that's already drawing crowds of gamers to LucasArts' servers; and a chess-like conquer-the-galaxy mode that, like a game of Risk played with X-Wing and TIE fighters, requires a careful choice and timing of battles. For anybody who likes raw combat and wants to play with all the great toys from the movies, Battlefront is your ticket. -- John Breeden II
Win 98 SE or newer, PlayStation 2, Xbox, $50
SLY 2: BAND OF THIEVES,
Sony/Sucker Punch Productions
