Star Wars: Battlefront II returns you once again to the front lines of the battles that define Star Wars. Following the success of Battlefront, the most popular Star Wars game ever to hit the shelves, it is no surprise that a sequel was launched to coincide with the release of Episode III on DVD. What then does this add to the Star Wars franchise and is it, like other similar titles, a game for Star Wars fans only?

The game can be split into four areas of play, each with its own aims and slightly different style of play. The Rise of the Empire campaign follows the career of the 501st as they fight for control of capture points, vital objects or people, in the battles of Episodes III - VI. Increasingly disillusioned with the Jedi they eventually become Vader's private army, allowing you to take part in such battles as Hoth and the capturing of Princess Leia. While not an extensive campaign, there is plenty of playing time in this part of the game. For Star Wars fans this area of the game adds a depth to the story that is missed by the films and allows you to see events unfold from a soldier's point of view, adding intriguing and interesting elements to what becomes an increasingly large story. The appearance of playable heroes to fit in with the story reinforces this, as well as adding an exciting element to the game that was missing from BF1.

Galactic Conquest is the second main element of the game, which is a combination of a turn-based galaxy game board and standard conquest land and space battles. Victory in these battles earns credits that can be spent on upgrades for your fleets, such as increased weapon power and health, deployable turrets and different soldier classes. This element of the game opens up the CIS as a playable team and adds a tactical and credits system that fans of RPGs may appreciate. It certainly brings extra longevity to the game and while in many cases it is simply the replaying of maps encountered in the Rise of Empire section, the ability to determine how, where and when you fight, as well as the upgrades and bonuses, make this a welcome part of the game.

The multiplayer element will be perhaps the most appealing element of this game, allowing 32 players to fight it out over 24 different maps, in 5 different game modes, with 4 different teams. As team shooters go, it is as good as any available on console format and the offline version, Instant Action, is certainly good enough and varied enough to hold most gamers' attention if they don't have access to Xbox Live. There is also a decent, though by no means exemplary, co-op system that, while not a match for the likes of Halo, serves to add a more sociable side to the game.

The essentials of the gameplay remain the same as BF1. Choosing from a selection of soldier classes, battles take place in third or first person (switching between the views as you wish) as you hunt down the enemy, win capture points and achieve objectives. Capture points have a standard set up, changing from enemy to neutral to friendly over time, so long as no enemy soldiers are nearby, and serve, most essentially, as strategic spawn points. The playable teams vary according to the period in which the map is set, but the Rebel Alliance, Clone Army, Empire and CIS all present at one time or another. Several soldier classes are standard across the groups, such as standard riflemen, a shotgun wielding engineer class, a sniper, and rocket launcher, as well as pilots for space missions. Unique classes are available under certain constraints; Wookie warriors for the Rebels for example and Dark Troopers for the Clone Army. All soldiers look and play great, wielding recognisable weapons that make recognisable noises. A nice detail is the switch from Clone Army troops and weapons to that of the Empire in the Rise of Empire mode, as the story progresses to that point. All soldiers have a run capability as well as a jump and roll, all of which add greatly to the gameplay and are animated excellently.

In addition to these improved elements from the first version, two additional ones really bring the game to life, throwing more variety and playability into the game. The first of these is the ability to wield heroes and villains, who appear when certain checkpoints have been passed or sufficient points have been accumulated. Playable Jedi characters include Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda and the Emperor, while Chewie, Hans and Boba Fett are all present as ranged heroes. In multiplayer this privilege is given intermittently to the player with the most points, making the usage of a hero or villain quite often the exception rather than the rule. Playable heroes have a lifespan, indicated by a lightsabre at the bottom of the screen, which increases when an enemy is killed or decreases when damage is taken, thus allowing a hero to survive for extended periods and greatly influence a battle.

Although it can be difficult to use heroes, practice allows you to effectively wield powerful lightsabres, force powers and ranged weapons. Perhaps the most effective tools at the disposal of the heroes are their speed and their force jump, allowing rapid traversal of maps and the closing down of enemies and access to difficult to reach areas and the tops of AT-ATs. A criticism of the hero system must however be made, in that the experience can be over far too quickly at first and it can descend very quickly into dashing up to an enemy and thrashing the fire button until they're dead. Despite this, the hero system is an excellent addition that brings an extra dimension to the game and makes a welcome break from the at times monotonous ranged attacks of standard soldier classes.

The second of these new features are the space battles that occur intermittently in all parts of the game, allowing you to use the famous X, Y and R wing, as well as the Tie bombers, fighters and interceptors. Objectives differ according to the mode, but all basically consist of destroying capital ship emplacements such as radars, communications and engines. Most of these can be destroyed externally but, in a great twist to the game, they can also be destroyed internally. If the Y-wing bombs aren't doing the job, landing in the opposing landing bay and blowing them up with timed explosives or stealing one of their ships might work instead. Players can also utilise the turrets within the ship, adding an extra tactical option.

The flying element of the space missions looks great and plays excellently, with effective physics and exciting dogfights, while the addition of being able to land inside enemy ships makes these levels quite brilliant. The only criticism that can be made is the similarity and relative repetitiveness of the levels; objectives remain the same throughout all space missions and the only difference in looks is the different planet or moon in the background. Nevertheless, the dogfights and variety in ships on offer, as well as ways of completing objectives, means that space combat remains a key and enjoyable part of the game.

Awaiting your disposal on the planet surface is a range of vehicles, such as the AT units of the Empire and the tank units of the Rebels. All are well designed and conceived, having enough firepower and hit-points to turn a battle but not so many as to make them unduly powerful. BFII is not a vehicle-centric game and many maps such as Endor and others do not lend themselves to their use, but they are nevertheless enjoyable.

Despite all of these great qualities, Battlefront II is not without its failings. The tendency towards repetitive mission objectives cannot be overlooked, in both the space and land missions. Although the difference in map and the use of Heroes makes this less of an issue, it can still get samey after a while. On top of this is the slightly confusing nature of the upgradeable weapons and assets, but this can, with a little time with the manual, be understood and used effectively. The biggest complaint about this game however is the AI; it is not uncommon to see team mates as well as enemy units getting stuck in locked doors or running off cliffs. The result is a somewhat disjointed game that does not make you feel like a member of a team like it should. While not bad enough to ruin the game or make the experience unpleasant, it does prevent it from becoming a truly great team-based shooter. Those who have enjoyed BF1 may find that it has an awful lot in common with BFII, however, the addition of the extra features, as well as the extra maps, make it sufficiently different to warrant buying and playing it.

As already hinted at, Battlefront II looks great, with well crafted characters and maps. With sound to match, BFII is an absorbing experience that draws you right into the battlefield, with music and sounds lifted directly from the films and, of course, the classic John Williams score. The abilities of the Xbox are really shown off with its rendering of the locations such as Hoth, home to the snowy Echo Base of the Rebels, Kashyyyk home of the Wookies, the volcanic Mustafar, the Jedi temple on Coruscant, the Death Star and the trap-door and monster infested Jabba's Palace, to name but a few. They are all created with exceptional success and, when combined with the look, feel and sound of the battles, serve not only to draw you into the game, but into the Star Wars galaxy itself.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is a first-class game and its shortcomings do not detract too much from the overall quality of the game. Fans of Star Wars will greatly appreciate the ability to explore the many worlds, stories, races, characters, vehicles, heroes and villains in a way never before delivered in either film or game. It is a must have game for Star Wars fans, as well as the best LucasArts game ever made. For those less of a fan of the LucasArts franchise, it's still a good team-based shooter with solid and enduring offline modes, plus as good an online mode as can be found on Xbox, and it's most definitely a worthy addition to any games collection.

Reviewed by Jason Collins for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).