Lucas News Network

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is the next iteration of the series once again for handhelds, following the success of Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. It will be released for Sony PSP and Nintendo DS and have all the features you would expect from a Battlefront game: multiplayer battles, taking control of soldier-type units, and both land and space battles. I was able to play this game at E3 this year, and other publications have written their thoughts of the game since then.

The main new feature of the PSP version of the game is the ability to have seamless transitions from land to space battles. You can start as a trooper on the ground, hop in an X-Wing, and fly into space, all without any load screens. This is something that is new for the series and that even the console versions did not feature.

Like Kotaku were shown at their recent preview of the game, we were able to fire the Ion cannon from the Hoth base into space. After taking out enemy shields from the ground, you’re able to fly into space and board the enemy ships. And again this is without any loading screens. Quite impressive for the PSP, the game definitely takes advantage of the system’s hardware.

For me, flying around in the X-wing took some getting used to. I am not used to playing games on the PSP, so using the thumbstick to control my flight was different. Overall the games’ controls were solid though, both in the air and on the ground.

The DS version was much different than the PSP iteration. The two games follow the same storyline, but with different gameplay mechanics. In the DS version, you play a Clone Trooper from a top-down view. Much more simplified than the PSP version, but still impressive for the DS and fun. You had multiple weapon classes to choose from as well as the ability to throw grenades. We were also able to play a level on a speeder bike, so the game is not completely on foot. The graphics were again impressive for a DS version and overall it looked solid.

Both versions of the game offer their own multiplayer modes, with the PSP’s obviously being more capable. Elite Squadron on the PSP can handle 16-player battles while the DS version offers 4 player skirmishes.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is being developed by Rebellion on the PSP and n-Space on the DS and will be hitting shelves as well as PSP download this fall.