s LucasArts will never let us forget, the first Battlefront sold more than any other Star Wars game in history. And I’m sure it didn’t have anything to do with the release of the original Star Wars Trilogy on the very same day. Now that the Episode III DVD is hitting stores on November 1, Battlefront returns as well to feed on the Star Wars frenzy. With the inclusion of Jedi characters, more planets, and intense space battles, this battle is looking to pull in even more followers of the force.

Locations pretty much range from all of the best planets and cities from both trilogies. Hang with Jabba the Hut at his crib, but watch out for his trap door. You can actually fall in and get eaten by the Rancor. Raid the smooth, white, and Apple-designed halls of Tantive IV, the rebel ship from the beginning of Episode IV. Take out Jawas and Sand People on the dusty streets of Tatooine. Sludge through the swaps of Degobah. Try to stay warm on the ice planet of Hoth. But also watch out for all-new Episode III locations like the lava planet of Mustafar, the fauna filled planet of Felucia, and an official rendering of Kashyyyk (the last Battlefront didn’t have Episode III to base it off of). Basically, if there’s a place you want to fight on from the Star Wars universe, it’s here.

Hey, I lost a potato. Anybody seen it?

But what would a Star Wars game be without space battles? In Battlefront II you’ll actually start out in a space hangar and pick from a variety of X-wings, bombers, Tie Fighters – you name it. Then you can actually pilot these ships into space battles against other ships and battle cruisers. Flyboys will enjoy blowing up command bridges, gun turrets, and communication towers. And traditional ground combat fiends have the ability to fly into enemy ship’s docking bays, hop out, and start blowing up shield generators and power supplies. The two available character classes reflect the player’s gameplay preference as marines are better equipped to do battle outside of ships while pilots have the ability to regenerate ship health. The space battles really add some variety and strategy to multiplayer by letting some players guard your interiors, others participate in the dogfights, and then another group can go after enemy interior damage. Flight controls are decent enough, but I was hoping for the ease and efficiency of the GameCube Rouge Squadron games. If only the two series could join up and use the Rogue engine for flying and the Battlefront engine for on-foot sections.

Probably the best addition in Battlefront II is the new hero system. If your side scores a certain amount of points or one of the other level-specific conditions, a kick ass hero character will immediately become playable. Each board and faction has its own specific hero to activate. For example, on the Death Star stage rebels will be able to enlist the help of Luke Skywalker while the Imperials can utilize the Emperor. The long list of heroes includes such standouts as Han Solo, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Chewbacca, Mace Windu, and General Grievous. I seriously don’t think there’ll be a single character that gamers will complain about being excluded. Jedi can chuck their sabers, force push and pull, and jump like crazy, while Sith bend the dark side of the force to their will with force choke and lightening.

The main single player campaign, titled Rise of the Empire, begins between Episodes II and III, and then touches on the classic trilogy. The actor who plays Jango Fett/Every clone trooper narrates cutscenes and dishes out objective instructions. Between the spot-on voices or soundalikes, trademark weapon noises, and a full array of Star Wars musical themes from the entire series, your ears will thank you for such an auditory treat.

This is for decapitating my dad!

You’ll essentially start out commanding clone troopers with many of the various Jedi knights against the droid army. Then you’ll transition to storm troopers with Vader, Sidious, and Boba Fett at the command. Swap between the standard engineers, riflemen, snipers, rocket launchers, and jet pack fighters. After your side earns enough points you can use higher ranking officers who can equip various special weapons like chain guns and sound beam blasters. Earn medals during matches to upgrade available weapons and health. For the Regulator medal, get 8 kills with the standard shotgun. If you earn four of these medals in a match your shotgun will be upgraded to a super-powered version. This system is available for all of the core weapons and can really give you the advantage if you earn it. If you accrue enough of these medals throughout your campaign you can move up the ranks from Private all the way to General. The higher your rank the more soldiers will be under your direct command.

The other major single player gameplay option is Galactic Conquest mode. Here you’ll decide whether you want to fight in the clone wars era or the empiric times and battle from planet to planet until you conquer the entire galaxy. Through victories you’ll earn credits to spend on additional troops, character classes, and other bonuses.

In our testing we weren’t able to actually play against the final full-on total amount of possible humans in multiplayer, but the thought of 24 PS2, 32 Xbox, or 64 PC gamers facing off in a galaxy far, far away just gets us excited. Battle options have thankfully branched out to include two capture the flag modes, and hunt and assault modes. In hunt you’ll try your best to actively kill off the indigenous species on whatever planet you land on. This works out great if you have a particular beef with Ewoks, Jawas, and especially Gungans. They should really just call this mode “genocide,” but I suppose LucasArts is trying to avoid any political correctness entanglements. Assault is all about earning points from kills or destruction, pretty simple.

Overall, Star Wars Battlefront II takes everything people loved about the first game and pumps it up a notch. So when you’re heading to the local electronics store to pick up a copy of Episode III, grab a copy if you’re a huge Star Wars nerd or love a good multiplayer shooter. After all, if you’re not sure, just try out the Xbox demo included on the Episode III bonus disc.