A classic Star Wars shooter with a story campaign
STAR WARS™ Battlefront II (Classic, 2005) is a first-person and third-person action game from Pandemic Studios. The single-player campaign follows the rise of Darth Vader's elite 501st Legion of Stormtroopers through a story-based saga where your actions affect the battlefront and the fate of the galaxy. You fight across more than 16 battlefronts, including classic trilogy locations like the corridors of the second Death Star, the swamps of Dagobah, and the Tantive IV, as well as Episode III environments such as Utapau, Mustafar, and the space battle above Coruscant. Six distinct soldier classes are available, along with bonus hero characters for each of the four factions: Rebels, Imperials, CIS, and the Republic.
Playing together with friends
The Steam version supports online PvP, so your group can join massive multiplayer battles with up to 64 players. Five online game modes are on offer: Conquest, Assault, one-flag Capture the Flag, two-flag Capture the Flag, and Hunt. Co-op play is also supported, letting you team up against the AI. Ground and space combat mix together: you can dogfight in X-wings, TIE fighters, Jedi starfighters, and other starcraft, then land on a star destroyer and continue the fight on foot aboard enemy ships. More than 30 ground and space vehicles are available, including the clone BARC speeder, AT-RT, Jedi Starfighter, and ARC 170.
What to know before starting
This is a 2005 release, so expect older graphics and design compared to modern shooters. The game offers both first-person and third-person perspectives, and you can switch between them. Jedi characters like Yoda and Darth Vader can be unlocked during play, granting a lightsaber and Force powers. The game is tagged as moddable, so community modifications may be available if your group wants to change things up.