Star Wars: Battlefronts is the best selling Star Wars licensed game of all time for a good reason. Battlefronts took out the stilted George Lucas dialog and simply gave fans the ability to play those massive battles in a myriad of ways. Battlefronts II will soon be upon us, and it looks to do nothing more than keep that gameplay intact, tweak it to perfection, and then let it loose upon all the Star Wars fans so they can get addicted to it once again. Trust me, I know. I have a Battlefronts addiction already.

The game plays almost exactly like the original, and that is a good thing. You still pick one of two opposing sides, determine what type of character you want to be (ranging from blaster rifle wielders to those lone snipers who stay away from the battle and zoom in close), and then you head off trying to capture as many enemy markers as you can as you attempt to take out any enemy soldiers standing in your way. Besides that key fact, almost everything else is changed if only slightly.

The graphics were one of the first key differences that I noticed. They still have that Battlefronts look, but they are slightly darker and a bit grittier. The first game's graphics made everything seem slightly more cartoonish and less serious than giant, epic battles should have been, but this time around it looks as if these battles really look like the massive undertakings as they appeared to be in the Star Wars movies. The darker tone of the game makes it a little harder to spot a gray droid against a black background, but there are ways to get around this problem - namely the auto lock feature, but more on that later.

There was also a new class of characters called the Clone Commanders that could throw out supplies and had a giant chaingun that could lay waste to enemies in a heartbeat. As special rewards, you are also awarded the opportunity to play as some key characters in the Star Wars universe. I got to play as Obi-Wan for example; nothing beats slicing and dicing with Obi. You earn the right to play as Obi-Wan by completing objectives. You see, this time around the single player missions are handled more like someone actually giving you commands to follow instead of everyone running about trying to get whatever done they want to get done. You will hear your superior officer say, "That would make a fine outpost," and so it is your job to capture it for your side. After I completed three such objectives, I was then given the chance to play as Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan can force jump, fights with his lightsaber, and he can even force push enemies. You get to play as Obi-Wan until your health bar runs out.

You aren't the only one who gets to play as known Star Wars characters, as even the enemy will get a bonus character to help them out in a pinch. If you take four bases, for example, you'll find General Grievous heading your way. General Grievous will certainly strike fear in you when all you have is a sniper rifle between you and him.

The controls handle exactly the same except for a few changes. Right trigger shoots weapon, left throws grenades or whatever else you have, A-button will make you jump, etc. The three biggest changes are: 1) Pushing the A-button while running to the side will no longer make you evasive roll, but rather that is accomplished with the B-Button, 2) Clicking in on the left thumbstick in a direction will cause your character to run, and 3) Hitting the X-button will make your character focus on an enemy and help you follow them around easier. The last two additions are welcome, but I preferred doing dodges with the A-button as in the first game. Also, no longer can you dodge all you want, because each dodge you do or each moment you spend running will deplete a stamina gauge. If that stamina drops to zero, you will be doing neither of those two moves until it goes back up again.

The lock on button also made the game a tad too easy. It made sniping extremely easy (simply pushing the button would turn your guy to nearest target), but that was the problem