Star Wars Battlefront is finally here, and we’re more than a little excited about the Limited Edition Star Wars Battlefront PlayStation 4 bundle that should be appearing on our shores any time now. To celebrate the impending arrival of reenacting the doomed defense of Hoth, we’ve put together a list of some of the best games to have come from the Star Wars franchise over the years.
Knights Of The Old Republic I & II
Actual Star Wars RPGs are extremely difficult to come by, and as far as we can remember Knights of the Old Republic was the first to successfully pull this off. A combination of exciting gameplay, captivating story, and memorable characters made this one of the best RPGs of its time.
It is one of the most influential Star Wars games in the now defunct Expanded Universe, and still manages to colour fans’ perception of the franchise. Many still fondly recall the comedic stylings of the homicidal assassin droid HK-47, while Kylo Ren’s mask from the upcoming Star Wars episode 7 bears a strong resemblance to Darth Revan.
On a side note, would it be too much to ask for HK-47 to appear in Star Wars Battlefront?
LEGO Star Wars
This isn’t exactly a single game, but rather the entire series of Lego Star Wars games. It seemed easier to just lump the whole lot together. These games are not going to win any prizes for writing or graphics, but they make up for what they lack by bringing a whole lot of Lego charm to the franchise.
If what you’re looking for are well written re-imaginings of the Star Wars movies where everything is made of plastic bricks then these are the games for you. The gameplay might be a little simplistic and geared towards a much younger audience, but that doesn’t detract from the fun of the running around as a Lego minifig version of Luke Skywalker.
It is also cheaper to play these games than go out and spend a metric tonne of money buying all those Lego Star Wars sets.
X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter
This game was made during the heyday of flight simulators. Remember those? While many popular games these days try to incorporate aircraft as part of the experience, the X-wing series made space flight the entire focus of the games.
X-wing vs Tie Fighter was the last of the series, where players focused solely on dog fights in space. They don’t make games like these anymore, although the latest incarnation of Star Wars Battlefront includes plenty of space combat to scratch that itch. At least we hope it does.
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Unlike previous incarnations of the Jedi Knight series, Jedi Academy replaces former Imperial pilot Kyle Katarn with Padawan Jaden Korr as the protagonist. It also skipped all the usual nonsense from other Jedi Knight games and allowed the player to use a Lightsaber from the very beginning.
The real fun happened to be the multiplayer option, which was more refined than previous entries. A wider range of Lightsaber styles (including dual wielding and double bladed lightsabers) and options turned multiplayer deathmatches into a melee of brightly coloured violence. It also thought players the value of the Dark Side of the Force.
Star Wars Battlefront
No, not the upcoming game from Electronic Arts. The original Star Wars Battlefront published in 2004 by the now defunct Lucas Arts. This was the first time that players were able to participate and recreate the some of the most iconic battles seen on the big screen.
Star Wars Battlefront’s sequel was also a critical success, but never really captured the same kind of magic that was being thrown into Hoth for the first time. Come to think of it, there really is no other battle that defines the Star Wars franchise like the failed defence of Echo Base did.
From what we’ve seen of the new version of Star Wars Battlefront, nothing has changed. The game has managed to recapture the sense of wonder of being in a Star Wars game; while simultaneously updating it for a new audience. With any luck, DICE will not listen to the whiners during the closed beta and keep the Hoth level completely unbalanced and favouring the Imperial Navy.
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The 2015 edition of Star Wars Battlefront has already improved on several aspects of the franchise. The addition of playable special characters like Han Solo, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Boba Fett changes the dynamics of the games. The PlayStation version even expands the number of players on a single map from 32 to 40 people. More importantly, it also has several maps that tie into the Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens movie due to debut in December. Needless to say, this is one game made for the fans.
Disclosure: This article was sponsored by Sony Computer Entertainment Singapore.
