Hands on with Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron's new PSP mode
Going where no Star Wars game has ever gone before
We've already taken a good look at what Renegade Squadron holds in store with its story-driven campaign and multiplayer action, but the intriguing new Galactic Conquest option has been kept under wraps by LucasArts – until now. Playing through a near-finished build of the game, we explored this inventive addition to the Star Wars Battlefront franchise.
Galactic Conquest combines planetary-scale turn-based strategy and real-time battles into one mode. You take the side of either the Rebel Alliance (blue) or the Galactic Empire (red), endeavouring to control a 16-planet map.
Each faction takes turns moving on the galactic map and then entering battles on individual planets in real-time. Winning is as simple as capturing your opponent's capital planet, although getting to that point requires keen tactical moves and strength on the battlefield.
Gameplay occurs in turns organized into four separate stages. At the start of your turn is the treasury phase, which calculates credit income. Funds are awarded for the number of planets and sectors occupied – planets are grouped into four sectors comprised of three to five planets each, with a bonus awarded for occupying all of the bodies in a sector. Naturally, strategy comes into the picture by urging you to capture entire sectors to boost your credit income.
Once you've received credits for the turn, you move to the purchase phase which enables you to draft troops, buy technical upgrades, and unlock hero units. Bolstering your armies is done by selecting a planet and then buying the desired number of troops. There's a limit to how many forces can be stationed on each planet, although increasing this cap can be done by purchasing logistics technology.
Hitting the Square button during the purchase phase takes you to a tech menu with three tiers of technology and a row of four commanders. Technologies fall into three classes: logistics, infantry, and space. As previously mentioned, logistics increases the unit cap. Infantry tech, on the other hand, raises defence and opens up hero units for purchase. Lastly, space tech is important for aerial combat battles since it makes new vessels available for use.
Snatching up these technologies is crucial to winning. As such, you'll need to balance the credits spent on troop deployment and new tech.
Spending cash on commanders isn't a bad idea, either. Each faction has a slate of four heroes that randomly appear during battles and grant bonuses such as lower tech costs or added damage during combat. Not every commander is unlocked from the onset; instead, figures like Han Solo and Darth Vader become available later in the game.
After you're satisfied with your purchases or run out of funds, the turn transitions into the movement phase. In this stage, you're free to capture neutral planets or launch an attack on an enemy-occupied body. Only one move can be made, so being mindful of the strategic consequences of your action is critical. Neutral planets don't require combat, but should you aim for an occupied territory you'll need to either simulate a battle or hit the planet surface yourself.
Real-time battles involve the same core mechanics as the main game, so it's easy to jump right into the action. Capturing all of the control points on the map or eliminating every stationed enemy nets you a win, and what's great about commanding battles is that you're much more likely to win, even when faced with superior enemy numbers. These are the game's best moments – bearing down on a planet outnumbered two-to-one and still eking out a victory.
Exit from battle and you're immediately taken into reinforcement phase. Here, you're free to move troops from one of your planets to an adjacent territory to beef up defences. Finish that up and your turn is complete. The computer then simulates the opposing faction's turn and it's back to you. It's only a single-player affair, which is sad because we think it would make a great head-to-head multiplayer mode.
While intended to be complementary to the central campaign and much-anticipated online multiplayer, Galactic Conquest promises a great chunk of satisfying gameplay. The balance of strategy and action alone gives it a feel distinct from the rest of the game, which is welcome.
We're keen to assess it, along with the entirety of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron later this month, so click 'Track It!' to be alerted to our review.
