Getting inside the Force

Whatever you want to do, as whoever you want to be within the Episode III Revenge of the Sith environment - that’s the goal of Star Wars Battlefront II.

Compared to the version of the game coming out for PlayStation2, Xbox and PC, the PSP game will be focused on much quicker mini campaigns. Examples include being a smuggler for the Rebellion, working as a mercenary for hire or becoming an Imperial trooper to overthrow the Jawas, Ewoks and Gungans.

There will be 12 locations for the action, including volcanic Mustafar, the space battle above Coruscant, within the interior of the Death Star as well as Princess Leia's blockade runner, the Tantive IV, as seen at the beginning of Episode IV A New Hope.

Lucasarts also claims the gameplay freedom means players will be able to do things such as starting on foot inside a capital ship, taking a spacecraft and dogfighting with the enemy, before going on to dock with an enemy ship and heading inside to take over the command post and destroy it from the inside. Alternatively, you could just choose to stay inside your own capital ship, defend it from attacks and take out the enemy from range.

Other key features in the game will include the option to play as a Force-wielding Jedi, including lightsaber combat, as well as the ability to partake in space combat using X-wings, TIE fighters, Jedi starfighters and several other starcraft.

Another PSP-specific feature is the four multiplayer wi-fi option where you can either play co-operatively or competitively with friends, fighting through the instant action mode that lets you set up your character - choosing the different types of troopers and Star Wars battle scenarios. These include five classes and one additional bonus and specialized hero characters for each of the four factions: Rebels, Imperials, CIS and Clone Troopers.

Star Wars Battlefront II will be released on 1 November simultaneously with the DVD of Episode III Revenge of the Sith (at least in the US!).