14 DAY TRIAL // 
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...” Sounds familiar? It should, because for more than 30 ears the Star Wars phenomenon has been spreading around the world, creating a huge community of fans keen on bringing to life the fictional characters from the trilogies. The innovative costumes and the carefully designed plot have manged to produce more than four billion dollars over the last three decades, only in the movie industry alone.
Aside from the motion pictures, the Star Wars games collection has been developed and introduced to the average person in the hope of both clarifying some of the aspects of the movie and giving everyone the chance to fight for the empire or the rebels. Over the years, as the gaming industry began to grow, the Star Wars universe was explored through strategy games, role-playing scenarios and even the occasional first-person shooter. Jedis, death troopers, Siths, rebels and even the clone army, I'm sure that, at one point, you got to play a game in which you were one of these characters. As you can see, there aren't many things that have remained uncovered when it comes to exploring the Star Wars story.
Still, what differs from one game to another are the missions and whether you play the title on a console, PC or PSP. Each of them adds to the action a unique controller experience that can be more exciting than the game itself at times. This being said, Star Wars Battlefront for the PlayStation Portable is truly a dynamic game, mostly because of the control layout on the PSP and the fact that you get to play as a soldier clone for the Republic (X2, by your name).
The Plot The game starts with a third-person narration of the events that lead to your existence as a clone and at the same time your individuality. You start off with training missions as a regular trooper, later proving yourself to be of great use for the Republic because of your extraordinary ability to fight and command the clones in your squad. As you progress through the game, the action will intensify and you will often find yourself thrown into the battlefield without having a clue about how you got there. Nevertheless, your objectives are as clear as can be for a soldier and all that’s left is to follow them to the letter.
You will even be given the mission to take on some Jedi warriors that will prove to be a bit challenging, even to a trooper with your abilities. Each of your brothers will follow you into battle, whether you fight on the ground or in space ships, the Republic's orders must be carried out and you are the only one that can do it swiftly and accurately.
X2 gets conflicted at one point throughout the game when he has been commanded to execute Oder 66. This involves hunting down and destroying all the Jedi that opposed the Empire and enforcing the Empire's strategic positions through force and violence. X1, your elder brother, has no problem following these orders and, as it soon becomes clear, you will find yourselves on opposite sides of the war, you with the Jedi and your brother with the Republic.
The Gameplay
As expected for a PSP, you don't really have the freedom to move and look around everywhere you want to. For instance, you don't stand a chance of shooting a drone unless you use the target locking system, which is the right button by default. Without it, you are practically a sitting duck and you might as well be a blind guy with a machine gun, because you will probably inflict the same damage. Still, it's not to be considered a complete downside, mostly because you can cycle through targets and get an instant fix on them easily. What's left from there is to keep firing until they go down or your weapon overheats.
Difficult at first, but very useful if learned properly, is the ability to control and maneuver spaceships in orbital close-combat situations. Forget about using the mouse to pitch up and down, on the PSP the joystick is your friend and you have to be careful how you treat it. It takes a while to get used to pitching up and down because the controls are inverted by default and, if you want to go up, you have to push the joystick up and vice versa. Regularly, these controls are the other way around and, even for a clone as skilled as myself, this proved to be a true test of my flying skills.
Another thing that you should remember is that, during ground operations, you shouldn't get too close to the fighter droids. If you do, they'll just run around frantically and try to get behind you making it a lot harder for you to target them and then cycle to the next enemy. If you get surrounded, don't waste any bullets on them and jut hit them with your weapon, this will cause just as much damage and it also makes that battle more dynamic.
What I found interesting was that you could use various predefined equipment modes, as in heavy assault, soldier and sniper that come in more than handy at times. As your first encounter master Windu, you have to repair a laser turret and take out a blockade. The only way to do it was to equip myself with a sniper gear and use a repair tool. Each of these configurations has its strengths and weaknesses and I personally enjoyed the soldier mode mostly because it was perfect for carrying out an assault into enemy territory.
Another pleasant surprise was that you could use a wide range of vehicles and weapons for gaining a strategic advantage on the battlefield. My personal favorite was the AT-ST Walker, perfect for inflicting damage and fairly easy to maneuver compared with flying vehicles. Also, X2 has the ability to use the targeting systems of any spaceship, so, once you've boarded one of them, make your way to the command center and you will be in for a treat. There's noting more manly that using a gigantic laser weapon and targeting ground units from space.
To my disappointment, I came across a game bug. While on a routine mission, I had to disengage the droids that were attacking my troops from a command center. Sounds simple, but, as I entered the room and disabled them, a cut scene was triggered and a new mission objective revealed, taking out a Jedi. Unfortunately for me, I failed the first time and, when I returned to the last checkpoint, I couldn't leave the command room because all the doors slammed down and there was no way of getting them back up again, so that I could reach the Jedi. Sad to say, I had to restart the entire mission, as frustrated as I was.
Multiplayer
What would a Star Wars game be like without multiplayer? The answer is “boring,” but, thankfully, Elite Squadron is anything but that. The multilayer option is great for online play and you can even use it for training, because the AI takes over any available slot, so you don't have to worry about teams being unbalanced.Aside from capturing the flag modes, there's a new Conquest mode that I think everyone will find quite interesting. You first have to choose a side between the two factions and then fight each other for the domination of a control point. Be warned that, although it sounds fairly easy, when dealing with live opponents, this is just like an actual Star Wars battle scene. Blaster weapons firing in every direction, grenade detonations in close proximity, the occasional Jedi that mocks you with his lightsaber and even heavy assault weapons that can really make your life hazardous.
After you're finished with single-player missions, common sense dictates you should try your skills against others of your PSP comrades. I dare use the word “skills” because that's what it takes to win in multiplayer mode. You can't just go rogue and storm in on your opponent providing cover fire for your team mates, the targeting system doesn't allow that. What's left for you to do is sit quietly behind a rock or obstacle, acquire a target and then strafe left and right and try to take him out first. As you can see, patience, good, old-fashion strategy and a lot of training are key to a swift victory.
In all fairness
Although I had a lot of fun playing the new Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron onto a PSP, there are a few downsides to the game. Aside from hit or miss targeting system, the soundtrack is a bit simple and, if you play long enough, it will really begin to bug you that you always hear the same things in every mission. No matter the droid, weapon used or mission, the only thing that changes is the scenery and objective.
It would have been great if you had been rewarded with some new skills or weapons after each completed mission, or if you had had to reach a certain score in order to unlock new items and vehicles. Instead, you are bound to play the same mission over and over again with no personal motivation. After you complete the single-player campaign, there's nothing left to do but play in multiplayer mode.
Also, when controlling a Jedi or Sith, there is only so little that you can do. You don't have any special moves or combos with the light saber, making the dual wielding and the staff practically the same weapon. These two fighting styles are different and they should have been treated different.
On an overall basis, for a PSP game, Elite Squadron will surely offer a fair amount of gameplay hours with diverse combat scenarios and objectives that will keep you busy for a while. Still, after you've completed all the missions, there's nothing to go back to and that gives it a serious disadvantage when it comes to lasting appeal.
All that I can certainly say is that the game is fun to play and everyone, regardless of their age, will have a great time being X2. The multiplayer option will always keep you engaged and experiencing the full front of a war with real opponents is always a great challenge. The best way to go about this is to try the game for yourself and experience what it feels like to be the toughest clone in Star Wars.
