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Star Wars: Battlefront (series)
Encyclopedia
The Star Wars: Battlefront series is a series of first-person
/third-person shooter
video games based on the Star Wars
films by George Lucas
. The game-play is very similar to Digital Illusion's/EA's Battlefield series. The series has installments available on the PC
, Macintosh
, Xbox
, PlayStation 2
, PlayStation Portable
, and mobile phones. Pandemic Studios
developed the first two installments, while Renegade Squadron and the PSP version of Elite Squadron were developed by Rebellion Developments
. LucasArts
was behind the entire series’ publishing.
The objective of most matches is either to eliminate all of the opponents' reinforcement tickets or to capture all of the command points. Reinforcement tickets are used whenever a unit is killed, or when one faction controls a majority of the command posts on the map (usually when the losing faction only has 2-3). Only one objective needs to be completed. When all command posts are captured, the team with no command posts has twenty seconds to recapture or neutralize an enemy command post. If the team cannot take over a post in this time, the match is over. Certain campaign levels and multiplayer have requirements that differ from the general game play, however the general structure remains the same.
, PlayStation 2
, Xbox
, Macintosh, and mobile phone
s. Jedi are not playable in this game without the help of modified files unsupported by LucasArts
. Other NPCs made playable by similar files include, but are not limited to, Tusken Raiders in the Dune Sea of Tatooine
, Ewok
s of Endor and Gungans on the Naboo
plains.
-related content. The release date of Battlefront II coincided with the release of Revenge of the Sith on DVD. The game is now an Xbox Platinum Hits
game, a Sony Greatest Hits game in North America, and an Xbox Classics and PlayStation Platinum game in Europe.
Battlefront II expands upon the original game's single-player experience with mission-based objectives drawn from all six Star Wars films. It is a story-based campaign which revolves around the 501st Legion (AKA "Vader's Fist") as the unit evolves from the Republic clone trooper
s to Imperial stormtrooper
s. Many maps from Star Wars Battlefront make a second appearance, and the game adds new locales such as Coruscant
and Utapau. Also there are more game styles in this game like Conquest, Hunt (fight as natives to planets against other natives or certain troopers in an army such as Wampas vs. Rebels on Hoth or Tusken Raiders vs. Jawas on Tatooine to earn 50 points first), Capture the flag (both 1 and 2 flag), Assault (Tatooine only, battle Heroes vs Villains in a race to rack up points) and space battles.
. Renegade Squadron is also available in a bundle pack with the new white PSP redesign featuring Darth Vader
on the back.
Aside from new heroes and vehicles, such as the Millennium Falcon
, a notable new feature is the ability to create a character, allowing the player to adjust the character’s weapon, appearance, and speed, amongst other things, to their liking. However, the character will be vulnerable due to the lacking of certain aspects that will be replaced by others. For example, your character may be fast but weak or have good weapons but no stamina and speed. The discarded idea to allow players to increase the points to make their characters better caused frustration on many players. Before the game’s release, LucasArts had stated that over one million different customizable options would be present. Another new feature allows players to enter asteroid bases on some space maps.
Commander Col Serra describes the forming of Renegade Squadron in the beginning cutscene of campaign. Then the player starts a series of missions ranging in objectives while including cut scenes between each mission. The final mission includes the Battle of Endor, in which the objectives are similar to the footage of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
.
. It was released on April 2, 2009. The game features a persistent online community, and has three classes which the player starts as. The gameplay is a first person perspective shooter that can use the touch features of a phone, although the player has no control over movement.
. This marks the third Battlefront game on the PlayStation Portable and the first on a Nintendo
console. The game was originally discovered through its ESRB rating on the official ESRB website which has since been taken down. It follows in the veins of its predecessors with space, land and new air battles. Players usually play in a third person perspective, but in the PSP version, they can also switch to a strategy based mode where they may build troops and upgrade armies.
would be developing the game, after announcing that they were working on a "Secret LucasArts Project" on August 23, 2006.; however, on December 18, 2008, Free Radical Design announced that their company had gone into administration, and that the project had been handed down to Rebellion Developments
, the developers behind Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
.
On June 7, 2008, an alleged ex-LucasArts employee came forward to Kotaku
and unofficially announced several games in development, including Star Wars: Battlefront III. On October 2, 2008, the OFLC listed Star Wars: Battlefront 3 for the Nintendo DS
with a T rating, filed by Activision Blizzard
. On December 28, 2008, renditions of Star Wars characters surfaced from a laid-off employee of Free Radical, bearing the Star Wars Battlefront III watermark
. On January 15, 2009, footage of Star Wars: Battlefront III was leaked. In addition to updated graphics, changes from the first two installments of the series appear to include the ability to fly from ground to space and board orbiting space craft with no loading screens. The following day, more information was leaked regarding the title's departure from Free Radical—and, with it, the loss of the "complete freedom" that the video showed (October 2008). Information came to light regarding a possible story line which involved a "Dark Obi-Wan Kenobi
". It is unknown if this storyline or the "complete freedom" style of play will continue with the title to its new developer (said to be Rebellion Studios), or even if the title is still in production. An employee of the intended new developer, Rebellion Studios, said that the game was passed to them, but then got passed to Pandemic Studios. However, a post made by an administrator on the official Pandemic forums
denied that the company was making the game.
The administrator, who was also a company spokesperson, said:
"As of right now, I can say Battlefront III is not currently at Pandemic. While I know the title seems to be up in the air from all the buzz around the web... LucasArts will be the only one knowing where the title is at right now." LucasArts has made no official announcement regarding the current status of Star Wars: Battlefront III.
reported that SOCOM developer Slant Six Games
was working with LucasArts to develop an online-only Battlefront title due in 2011. The game was said to be released for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
. It was also stated that this game may have been the source of the Star Wars: Battlefront IV concept art renders. However, it has been revealed that the game has been cancelled after the studio was unable to meet its 2010 release deadline.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
/third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
video games based on the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
films by George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. The game-play is very similar to Digital Illusion's/EA's Battlefield series. The series has installments available on the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, and mobile phones. Pandemic Studios
Pandemic Studios
Pandemic Studios was founded as an independent developer in 1998, it became an Electronic Arts-owned developer from 2007 to 2009, when it was officially closed. It was an Australian and American video game developer with offices in Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles, California...
developed the first two installments, while Renegade Squadron and the PSP version of Elite Squadron were developed by Rebellion Developments
Rebellion Developments
Rebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
. LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
was behind the entire series’ publishing.
Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to that found in the Battlefield series and related series. Games normally revolve around two teams (Republic vs CIS or Galactic Empire vs Rebel Alliance) fighting each other on a battlefield. Maps take place in the Star Wars universe, with arenas varying in theme and size. Across the battlefield are multiple "command posts" that act as spawn points for units and vehicles. A command post can be captured by having a unit stand next to it with no hostile units in the immediate vicinity for a short duration. Some vehicles act as mobile command posts, and must be destroyed as they can not be captured. On some maps (such as Hoth or Endor), certain structures also act as command posts that can not be captured. Command post capturing works differently on certain campaign missions as well.The objective of most matches is either to eliminate all of the opponents' reinforcement tickets or to capture all of the command points. Reinforcement tickets are used whenever a unit is killed, or when one faction controls a majority of the command posts on the map (usually when the losing faction only has 2-3). Only one objective needs to be completed. When all command posts are captured, the team with no command posts has twenty seconds to recapture or neutralize an enemy command post. If the team cannot take over a post in this time, the match is over. Certain campaign levels and multiplayer have requirements that differ from the general game play, however the general structure remains the same.
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront is the first installment in the Battlefront series. It was released on September 21, 2004, with a Mac port by Aspyr released in July 2005. The game is available on WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, Macintosh, and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s. Jedi are not playable in this game without the help of modified files unsupported by LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
. Other NPCs made playable by similar files include, but are not limited to, Tusken Raiders in the Dune Sea of Tatooine
Tatooine
Tatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...
, Ewok
Ewok
Ewoks originate from the Star Wars films. In the series, they are a species of teddy-bear-like hunter-gatherers that inhabit the forest moon of Endor. The Ewoks live in various tree-huts and primitive dwellings. They first appeared in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
s of Endor and Gungans on the Naboo
Naboo
Naboo is a fictitious planet in the fictional Star Wars universe with a mostly green terrain and which is the homeworld of two societies: the Gungans who dwell in underwater cities and the humans who live in colonies on the surface...
plains.
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Star Wars: Battlefront II is the second installment in the Battlefront series, released in Europe on October 31, 2005 – for the PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox, and Windows – and in North America one day later. There are some significant differences between Battlefront and Battlefront II: Battlefront II includes playable Jedi characters, space battles, and story campaigns, as well as Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
-related content. The release date of Battlefront II coincided with the release of Revenge of the Sith on DVD. The game is now an Xbox Platinum Hits
Platinum Hits
Platinum Hits is a term used to refer to a line of select Xbox games that were considered by Microsoft to have sold considerable units on the platform in the nine months after release, and have dropped in price from their original MSRP to a newer, lower price, generally that of US$19.99, although...
game, a Sony Greatest Hits game in North America, and an Xbox Classics and PlayStation Platinum game in Europe.
Battlefront II expands upon the original game's single-player experience with mission-based objectives drawn from all six Star Wars films. It is a story-based campaign which revolves around the 501st Legion (AKA "Vader's Fist") as the unit evolves from the Republic clone trooper
Clone trooper
The clone troopers of the Army of the Republic are soldiers in the fictional Star Wars universe, cloned from Jango Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter. They first appeared in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and returned in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith where they were played...
s to Imperial stormtrooper
Imperial stormtrooper
The Imperial Stormtroopers are fictional soldiers from George Lucas' Star Wars universe. Stormtroopers are the soldiers of the imperial army under the leadership of the evil Sith Lord and Emperor Palpatine and his commanders, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin.They are shown in...
s. Many maps from Star Wars Battlefront make a second appearance, and the game adds new locales such as Coruscant
Coruscant
Coruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...
and Utapau. Also there are more game styles in this game like Conquest, Hunt (fight as natives to planets against other natives or certain troopers in an army such as Wampas vs. Rebels on Hoth or Tusken Raiders vs. Jawas on Tatooine to earn 50 points first), Capture the flag (both 1 and 2 flag), Assault (Tatooine only, battle Heroes vs Villains in a race to rack up points) and space battles.
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron is the third installment of Star Wars Battlefront, released in North America on October 9, 2007 and in Europe three days later. The game was released only for the PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. Renegade Squadron is also available in a bundle pack with the new white PSP redesign featuring Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
on the back.
Aside from new heroes and vehicles, such as the Millennium Falcon
Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon is a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe commanded by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca...
, a notable new feature is the ability to create a character, allowing the player to adjust the character’s weapon, appearance, and speed, amongst other things, to their liking. However, the character will be vulnerable due to the lacking of certain aspects that will be replaced by others. For example, your character may be fast but weak or have good weapons but no stamina and speed. The discarded idea to allow players to increase the points to make their characters better caused frustration on many players. Before the game’s release, LucasArts had stated that over one million different customizable options would be present. Another new feature allows players to enter asteroid bases on some space maps.
Commander Col Serra describes the forming of Renegade Squadron in the beginning cutscene of campaign. Then the player starts a series of missions ranging in objectives while including cut scenes between each mission. The final mission includes the Battle of Endor, in which the objectives are similar to the footage of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
.
Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons
Star Wars Battlefront: Mobile Squadrons was announced on January 8, 2009 by THQ Wireless exclusively for the mobile phonesMobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
. It was released on April 2, 2009. The game features a persistent online community, and has three classes which the player starts as. The gameplay is a first person perspective shooter that can use the touch features of a phone, although the player has no control over movement.
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is the newest entry in the Battlefront Series, it was released on November 3, 2009 for the PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo DSNintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. This marks the third Battlefront game on the PlayStation Portable and the first on a Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
console. The game was originally discovered through its ESRB rating on the official ESRB website which has since been taken down. It follows in the veins of its predecessors with space, land and new air battles. Players usually play in a third person perspective, but in the PSP version, they can also switch to a strategy based mode where they may build troops and upgrade armies.
Star Wars: Battlefront III
Star Wars: Battlefront III is the sixth installment in the Star Wars: Battlefront series (third excluding handheld-exclusive editions listed above). It was originally speculated that Free Radical DesignFree Radical Design
Crytek UK, formerly known as Free Radical Design, is a video game developer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, probably best known for Second Sight and the TimeSplitters series. After going into financial administration, it was announced on February 4 2009 that the studio had been acquired by...
would be developing the game, after announcing that they were working on a "Secret LucasArts Project" on August 23, 2006.; however, on December 18, 2008, Free Radical Design announced that their company had gone into administration, and that the project had been handed down to Rebellion Developments
Rebellion Developments
Rebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
, the developers behind Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron is the third entry in the Star Wars Battlefront series of video games, first released on October 9, 2007 in North America and later in Australia and Europe. The game was designed as a PlayStation Portable exclusive and features the eponymous Rebel Alliance...
.
On June 7, 2008, an alleged ex-LucasArts employee came forward to Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
and unofficially announced several games in development, including Star Wars: Battlefront III. On October 2, 2008, the OFLC listed Star Wars: Battlefront 3 for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
with a T rating, filed by Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
. On December 28, 2008, renditions of Star Wars characters surfaced from a laid-off employee of Free Radical, bearing the Star Wars Battlefront III watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
. On January 15, 2009, footage of Star Wars: Battlefront III was leaked. In addition to updated graphics, changes from the first two installments of the series appear to include the ability to fly from ground to space and board orbiting space craft with no loading screens. The following day, more information was leaked regarding the title's departure from Free Radical—and, with it, the loss of the "complete freedom" that the video showed (October 2008). Information came to light regarding a possible story line which involved a "Dark Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
". It is unknown if this storyline or the "complete freedom" style of play will continue with the title to its new developer (said to be Rebellion Studios), or even if the title is still in production. An employee of the intended new developer, Rebellion Studios, said that the game was passed to them, but then got passed to Pandemic Studios. However, a post made by an administrator on the official Pandemic forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
denied that the company was making the game.
The administrator, who was also a company spokesperson, said:
"As of right now, I can say Battlefront III is not currently at Pandemic. While I know the title seems to be up in the air from all the buzz around the web... LucasArts will be the only one knowing where the title is at right now." LucasArts has made no official announcement regarding the current status of Star Wars: Battlefront III.
Star Wars: Battlefront Online
Star Wars: Battlefront Online was rumored to be the next installment in the series. On January 28, 2010, KotakuKotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
reported that SOCOM developer Slant Six Games
Slant Six Games
Slant Six Games is a Canadian video game developer founded in 2005. The company's name is derived from the 1959 Plymouth engine of the same name. Slant Six Games' studio is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and is the developer to take over for Zipper Interactive in the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs franchise...
was working with LucasArts to develop an online-only Battlefront title due in 2011. The game was said to be released for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It was also stated that this game may have been the source of the Star Wars: Battlefront IV concept art renders. However, it has been revealed that the game has been cancelled after the studio was unable to meet its 2010 release deadline.