Previews

Perfect for anyone who's a little short to be a Stormtrooper...

When EA released Battlefield 1942 in 2002 it unleashed both a slow-burning mega-hit, and a fantastic twist on modern combat games. Not only could you choose to be one of numerous troop types with a wide range of abilities, it also allowed you to pilot any land, sea or air vehicle in the game.

As with practically any title that makes a splash in the PC community it was soon followed by a Star Wars-themed modification - Galactic Conquest. It wasn't much cop, but the potential was immediately noticed by gamers everywhere, and of course by LucasArts themselves - who decided to do it properly, albeit as a thirdperson shooter.

Galaxy-spanning

In Battlefront you'll be able to utilise the thick cover available on Endor, take down AT-ATs on the frozen battlefields of Hoth and battle Imperial Droids through the picturesque streets of Naboo. All in all there are fifteen environments recognisable from a long time ago and far, far away.

You can choose to be one of 20 different troop types, representing the Empire or the Rebels from the only trilogy that matters or you can represent either the Clone or Droid armies from those so-called prequels George Lucas is banging on about.

In fact, we're going to completely ignore that side of the game. Are we all thinking "Man, I want to be Wookiee!" or "I want to be one of those really annoying and flimsy droids that say stuff like "RogerRoger" all the time."?

Precisely.

Each troop type carries a selection of weapons and equipment accurate to the Star Wars universe and available vehicles involve AT-STs, Speeder Bikes, X-Wings and Snow Speeders (sounds like my letter to Santa, circa Christmas 1984!). The Jedi however are nowhere to be seen and it is not yet known whether they feature in the game at all.

Although a more-than-competent single-player game seems to be on the cards, it is online where Battlefront is really set to shine, with the PS2 and Xbox versions catering for 16 players per battle and the PC upping the number to 32.

Impossibly impressive

There have been some mighty dodgy Star Wars titles in recent years, but also some excellence in the form of Knights of the Old Republic on Xbox and PC. With Pandemic (who recently made quite a splash with their urban combat sim Full Spectrum Warrior) handling development duties and with such a wide array of material to pull from it seems impossible that Battlefront will fail to impress.

We're all itching to play it, and it is now only a few weeks away. Stay tuned to the website for the full review as soon as we get the chance to put the finished game through its paces.

Preview by: Jonny Austin