The latest Homing Beacon has arrived, and today we get to talk about Star Wars Battlefront. The endless storm pelts your armor as you scramble up a rain-slicked ramp. A report from headquarters rings in your helmet -- the Confederacy is in danger of taking the Kamino cloning center! If they control this vital command post, it may choke the flow of your reinforcements. A team of droidekas and super battle droids blocks your path, but two platforms away, you see your salvation. An unmanned Jedi starfighter sits unguarded. If you can get to it, it may just tip the balance...

Welcome to Star Wars Battlefront, an action-packed open-ended multiplayer action game that spans the entire Star Wars saga. The game isn't due out until September, but this past Tuesday, June 22, select members of the electronic gaming press were given a taste of the action to come.

The setting: the woods. Not painstakingly detailed and amazingly rendered foliage, but actual woods in the Presidio in San Francisco. LucasArts transformed one patch of Endor-like forest into a unique gaming event. Stormtroopers and Rebel commandos from local 501st fan detachments were there in full armor and gear, flanking the paths to camo-netted tents that served as gaming stations.

The game supports up to 32 combatants on a battlefield, so to fully experience the potential of Star Wars Battlefront, LucasArts set up a number of LANs and unleashed the press into the firefight. Players could choose from Xbox, PlayStation2 and PC tents, and their stations were each assigned a character name so they could keep track of just who-fragged-who.

Battlefront does away with an overriding story or puzzles for players to solve - it's raw combat and battlefield adrenaline. Though it can be played as a chaotic free-for-fall, there are definite benefits to teamwork and strategy. Throughout each environment, there are key "command posts" to control, which ultimately determine the number of spawning areas in which new combatants appear. If a warring side -- be it Imperial or Rebel, Confederacy or Republic -- completely conquers all the command posts on a map, they emerge victorious.

The martial refrains of the Imperial March, the din of blaster fire and roar of explosions filled the chilly San Francisco air as locales such as Rhen Var, Endor, Yavin 4, Hoth and Kamino were opened up for eager combatants to sample. The absolute freedom for soldiers to explore anywhere, and jump into and out of turret emplacements and vehicles was a big hit. These fully textured and detailed vehicles are not just cover or scenery - they are workable battlefield assets, fully controllable armor and air support experienced from a first person perspective.

These vehicles uniquely expand the game experience -- they're not just powered up soldiers. For example, the flight capabilities of the droid and Jedi starfighters on Kamino allow for players to fly below the city surface levels, and enter into combat in the girders beneath.

"If you've seen a vehicle in a Star Wars movie, odds are it's in the game," says Executive Producer Greg Burrod of Pandemic Studios. There are over 30 different vehicles that appear in Battlefront, one of which specifically underscores how teamwork can make a tactical difference.

"If I jump into a snowspeeder, I'm going to want to take out AT-ATs," explains Burrod. "Well, from the movies, the best way to do that is to use a tow cable. So, I'm going to need a gunner. Another player will need to jump in, and over my headset, we'll need to coordinate that attack," he describes.

Keep checking starwars.com, and especially LucasArts.com for more detailed Star Wars Battlefront coverage and war stories. The game is scheduled for release on September 21 for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC. For those wanting a sample, the DVD release of the Star Wars Trilogy will feature an Xbox playable demo of the game.

Posted: by Jedi Power

Posted: by Jedi Power

Posted: by themostpowerfuljediever