Star Wars: Battlefront
| Star Wars: Battlefront | |
|---|---|
| developer |
 Pandemic Studios Free Radical Design Rebellion Slant Six Games LucasArts Digital Illusions CE  
|
| Publisher |
LucasArts Electronic Arts Disney Interactive Studios
|
| First title | Star Wars: Battlefront (2004) |
| Last title | Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017) |
| Platform (s) | NDS , PS2 , PS4 , PSP , Xbox , Xbox One , Windows , Macintosh |
| Genre (s) | First-person shooter , third-person shooter |
Star Wars: Battlefront is in Star Wars is moved universe computer game series of the shooter genre. It was originally developed by Pandemic Studios , but later adopted by other studios. The titles have already appeared for numerous platforms, such as the PS2 , Xbox , Macintosh and Windows . Only the third part of the series, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron , was released exclusively for the PlayStation Portable game console , as was the fourth part, Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron , which was also released for the Nintendo DS .
The concept of the entire series is similar to that of the Battlefield series . On different maps, which show well-known places from the Star Wars films , two factions fight for command posts distributed on the map. If one of the teams has conquered all positions, it wins. The player takes on the role of a soldier in one of the two fighting armies.
Main series (2004-2005)
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront is the first part of the Battlefront series. It was released in 2004 for Windows, PS2 and Xbox, and a year later it was ported to Macintosh and cell phones.
In Battlefront , the player has the opportunity to fight battles in well-known locations in the Star Wars universe. He can play on the side of the four major factions from the Star Wars films. For Battlefront were 10 planets ( Hoth, Geonosis, Rhen Var, Bespin, Endor, Tatooine, Yavin 4, Naboo, Kashyyyk, Kamino ), 4 fractions, 20 types of soldiers and 25 vehicles from the Star Wars universe modeled.
There are three game modes in total. The story of the Star Wars films is roughly retold in two campaigns . The campaigns consist of loosely connected missions that hardly differ from the usual game events. In the galaxy conquest , the player takes command of an army and tries to conquer the planets shown on a galactic map. Instant Battles are individual battles that are fought on the maps from the two previous modes.
There is also a multiplayer mode . For online gaming, there can be up to 16 players on a PS2 host, up to 32 on an Xbox host, and up to 64 on a PC host. As with car racing games, the console versions also have a split-screen mode in which 2 players can play on the same gaming device. The official multiplayer servers were deactivated in 2012.
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Star Wars: Battlefront II (usually briefly called SWBF II ) is a video game set in the Star Wars universe. It is the successor to the successful first-person and third-person shooter Star Wars: Battlefront . Like its predecessor, the game was developed by Pandemic Studios and published by LucasArts for Windows, PS2, Xbox and PSP in late 2005. The PSP port was developed by the Savage Entertainment studio.
In the game, the player takes on the role of a soldier on behalf of one of the four central factions of the Star Wars films and takes part in military conflicts. Unlike its predecessor, Battlefront II includes a cohesive campaign in which the background story plays a bigger role. Hence, the missions of this campaign vary from one another to a greater extent than they did in Battlefront . The campaign deals with the rise of the empire and the Galactic Civil War, so it is timed between the Star Wars films episode 3 and episode 5. Other innovations include new weapons, playable hero characters and a medal system.
Development of the game began shortly after Battlefront was released . An early version was demonstrated at the E3 game fair in 2005. Technically, the title is based heavily on its predecessor. The multiplayer mode was expanded, as it allows up to 64 players to take part in a game.
Overall, Battlefront II received a mixed or positive reception from the trade press. Testers praised the expansion of the content known from the predecessor. In return, they criticized computer opponents that were too weak and unspectacular level design. The title was also successful from a commercial point of view. With over seven million units sold, the title is one of the best-selling of all Star Wars video games.
New edition (since 2015)
Star Wars Battlefront (2015)
After selling LucasFilm to Disney, Disney licensed the development rights for Star Wars games to Electronic Arts (EA). As one of the first new games EA announced a new part of the Battlefront series on June 10, 2013 at E3 . The game was developed by Digital Illusions CE , EA's subsidiary responsible for the first-person shooter series Battlefield . The game has its own storyline and takes no account of the previous titles in the series. The open beta of Star Wars Battlefront ran from 8 to 13 October 2015 on the online game platform Origin . Over nine million players took part in the open beta. The game was released on November 19, 2015, close to the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens , for PlayStation 4 , Windows and Xbox One . After enormous criticism due to a missing campaign, an offline mode was released in July 2016, which allows players to compete offline against bots as part of a solo mission or with a friend on the co-op split screen.
Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)
At the end of 2016 it was announced that a sequel to the reissued series would appear. In contrast to its predecessor, it should contain its own single player campaign. In addition to Digital Illusions CE, developers include Criterion Games and Motives. The game was released on November 17, 2017 for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Mobile offshoots (2007-2009)
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Another sequel is the Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron developed by Rebellion , which was released in September 2007 exclusively for the Playstation Portable game console by Sony Computer Entertainment .
Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons
Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons is a mobile game that was developed by the Singaporean company Mikoishi and published by the American publisher THQ Wireless . It was announced by THQ in January 2009 and appeared on May 4, 2009 initially exclusively for download from the American telephone company AT&T . From May 15, 2009 it was also available from other providers.
The game comprises fifteen levels in which the player controls different clone soldiers. He can choose one of four factions: Rebellion and Empire from the classic Star Wars film trilogy and clone army or droid army from the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
Elite Squadron is another offshoot of the Battlefront series, which was developed by LucasArts for the portable game consoles PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS and was released on November 6, 2009.
In this game, the player takes on the role of the clone soldier X2 in the Clone Wars, the galaxy-spanning war that also served as the scene of the previous Battlefront parts. The player can control the character on foot as well as vehicles and spaceships.
The PSP version supports multiplayer battles with up to 16 players, the DS version up to 4 players.
Discontinued projects
Star Wars: Battlefront III
According to reports from various game magazines, LucasArts commissioned the British game developer Free Radical Design to develop a third part of the game series. In December 2008, however, it was announced that Free Radical Design had lost the contract with LucasArts after two years of development on the not yet officially announced game and had to file for bankruptcy as a result .
Under the name Star Wars Battlefront 3: Galaxy in Turmoil , those responsible at Frontwire Studio are trying to bring the project back to life. The game was supposed to be released for the PC after a revision, but was discontinued after an injunction by Electronic Arts .
Novels
- Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed , February 2016, Panini Verlag , ISBN 978-3-8332-3259-6
- Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Command by Christie Golden , October 2017, Panini Verlag , ISBN 978-3-8332-3568-9
Web links
- Battlefront series at MobyGames (English)
- Official EA website (multilingual)
- Official Website of Dice (English)
- Battlefront series on Jedipedia.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ GameSpy - New owners shut down some servers ( Memento from October 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ starwars.ea.com - More than 9 million players played the Star Wars Battlefront Beta October 12, 2015
- ↑ Tobias Münster: Star Wars: Battlefront - Should appear "promptly" for episode 7. In: GameStar . IDG Entertainment Media GmbH , July 23, 2014, accessed on December 13, 2014 .
- ↑ Tobias Ritter: Star Wars: Battlefront - Should get the most out of the PS4. In: GamePro . International Data Group , May 2, 2015, accessed May 12, 2015 .
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront - Offline mode coming next week. In: ps4info. Retrieved July 17, 2016 .
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront 2 - Official Trailer from the Star Wars Celebration. Retrieved April 15, 2017 .
- ↑ Pocketgamer.co.uk: Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons coming to mobile . January 8, 2009.
- ↑ AT&T Announces Availability of Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons . AT&T press release. May 4, 2009.
- ↑ a b c LucasArts .com: Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Storms PSP (PlayStation Portable) System and Nintendo DS this Fall . May 26, 2009.
- ^ Edge Online : Source: Free Radical Locked Up ( Memento December 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). December 18, 2008.
- ↑ Star Wars Battlefront 3 - EA prohibits Star Wars elements in the fan project. In: ps4info. Retrieved August 2, 2016 .