| Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer | Rebellion Developments |
| Publisher | LucasArts |
| Producer | James Smith |
| Designer | Mike Rosser |
| Programmer | Richard May |
| Artist | Daniel Meeuws |
| Writer | Gordon Rennie |
| Series | Star Wars: Battlefront |
| Platform | PlayStation Portable |
| Release |
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| Genre | Third-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron is athird-person shootervideo game based on theStar Wars franchise. It is the third entry in theStar Wars: Battlefront series and the first handheld exclusive. It was released on October 9, 2007, in North America and later in Australia and Europe, as aPlayStation Portable (PSP) exclusive.Renegade Squadron was one of the first games available in a bundle pack with the newly releasedPSP redesign.
The game's single-player campaign follows the eponymousRebel Alliance covert ops unit Renegade Squadron and depicts various battles throughout the Galactic Civil War from their perspective, starting with their formation byHan Solo prior to the Battle ofYavin, and ending with the Battle ofEndor, which marked the defeat ofGalactic Empire. The campaign is part of the now non-canonicalStar Wars Legends continuity. The game also features several types ofmultiplayer modes. In contrast with previous titles in the series that require characters to have a setclass, players inRenegade Squadron are able to build their character as they see fit.
Renegade Squadron received a mixed reaction from the video gaming community. The game was considered an improvement to its predecessor (the PSP version ofStar Wars: Battlefront II) and it was praised for its customization options and online play, but the single-player campaign was criticized for being brief and shallow. Opinions on the graphics were mixed, and the controls were generally described as inadequate.
The overall structure ofRenegade Squadron is similar to other games in theBattlefront series in that it is a war game played primarily from a third-person view.[1][2] Battles take place on the ground and in space and require the player to capture command posts, specific areas of territory represented by floating icons on the playing field and colored dots on the player'sheads-up display.[3] Each map has a set number of command posts, and it is beneficial for the player to occupy as many as possible (space battles use a modified command post system). Each side has a set number of reinforcement tickets at the beginning of the battle—any time a soldier dies, that team loses one ticket when that soldier respawns.[4] To win a match, a player must capture every command post or reduce their opponent's ticket count to zero.[5]
At the ending of each mission, every time the characterrespawns, and when at a command post, it is possible for the player to adjust their character's weapons, appearance, and other traits to their liking.[6] The player gets 100 credits to purchase weapons and equipment for their character.[7] In previous games in the series, players chose a character'sclass before battle from a list of pre-made options, such as pilot or other regular infantry units. Each class had a specific combination of weapons and equipment.[1][8] BeforeRenegade Squadron's release, LucasArts stated that the customization engine would allow millions of different character combinations.[9] Another new feature allows players to enter asteroid bases on some space maps.[10] In addition, players can earn medals by achieving set objectives, such as destroying a certain number of spaceships.[11]
There are three options for single play: the campaign, instant action, and galactic conquest. During the story campaign, the player takes control of Renegade Squadron, under the command of Col Serra and occasionally Han Solo. Serra describes the formation of the unit in the beginning cutscene of the campaign; the player then starts a series of missions with a range of different objectives, withvoiced cutscenes in a static,motion comic style between the missions to provide background information and move the story along.[12] The final mission features the Battle of Endor, where the objectives are similar to the corresponding footage inReturn of the Jedi.
With instant action, players are able to take part in battles againstcomputer-controlled opponents. There are four types of missions. Conquest is theBattlefront standard and pits two opposing forces against each other on a space or ground map, with the objective of controlling all of the command posts on the map, or defeating every member of the opposing force.[5] There are also three variants ofcapture the flag, including a new mode called Hero flag, whereby players are permitted to control famous Star Wars characters during standard flag battles by physically carrying their team's flag.[13] These heroes span theClone Wars andCivil War periods and includeAsajj Ventress,Jango Fett, andKit Fisto.[10]
A holdover from previousBattlefront games,[1][4] galactic conquest is played as a type of turn-basedboard game with segmented turns, similar toRisk.[14] The board is a simplified representation of theStar Wars galaxy, with four quadrants containing several planets each. The player and the AI opponent each start with several planets (including a headquarters planet which has more reinforcements), which generate revenue each turn in the form of galactic credits.[14] Credits are used to purchase reinforcements and hire special commanders, who are leaders likeAdmiral Ackbar andTarkin.[10] During each turn, a player is allowed to move reinforcements around their controlled planets and attack opponent-controlled planets.[15] Attacking a planet initiates either a ground or space battle, which can be fought manually or automatically. The player wins by conquering all of their opponent's planets.[11]
In addition to the single-player story missions,Renegade Squadron allows up to 16 players to compete via thePSP's infrastructure mode, which is aWi-Fi internet connection. It can also support eight-person matches with ad-hoc, which is a local connectivity option for players in close physical proximity.[9] The multiplayer game types are limited to conquest and capture the flag. AGameSpy network account is required to play using infrastructure, and offers players a rankings system so they can track their performance.[11]
Renegade Squadron takes place during the originalStar Wars film trilogy, mostly during and in-betweenThe Empire Strikes Back andReturn of the Jedi. Some time after the conclusion of theGalactic Civil War with the defeat of theGalactic Empire, theNew Jedi Order is formed byLuke Skywalker. The game begins with Tionne Solusar, the New Jedi Order's chief historian, researching the forces of theRebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. Tionne finds several vague references to a "Renegade Squadron" and its commander, Col Serra, who were apparently involved in covert ops missions during the war.[5] Tionne manages to contact Serra and he candidly relates the entire history of the unit.[15] The single-player campaign follows the major exploits of Renegade Squadron throughout the war, as told inflashbacks by Serra to Tionne.[15]
Renegade Squadron is formed shortly before theBattle of Yavin at the request ofHan Solo and General Jan Dodonna,[16] who are looking for experienced warriors who require no additional training.[13] Solo contacts one of his former smuggling associates, Col Serra, and asks him to help. Serra agrees to Solo's request and puts together a unit of mercenaries, bounty hunters, smugglers, and other fringe-types who will work behind-the-scenes to further the goals of the Alliance. All of the members of Renegade Squadron are wanted by the Empire and generally harbor an intense hatred for it, ensuring that they will remain loyal to the Alliance.
Under Serra's command, the unit is responsible for several operations undertaken for the Alliance throughout the war. The unit operates in secrecy and is able to work anonymously at several major incidents, including the Battles ofYavin,Hoth, andEndor.[17] The unit is made up of skilled pilots in addition to ground operatives, and, as such, is able to assist in missions both in space and planetside. The unit is considered elite by the Alliance,[18] and despite its anonymity, takes part in several high-profile battles against Imperials, including the bounty hunterIG-88 and theSith LordDarth Vader.[13] After theBattle of Endor, which marks the ultimate defeat of the Empire, the squadron is disbanded, its purpose fulfilled. Its surviving members disappear, many of them returning to their former criminal roots.[19]
"First off, we all know about the fact that the game is built from the ground up for the PSP. From this we crafted a twofold mission statement, or main goal for the project: 1) Deliver a fun, compelling game with all the features and highlights of a traditional Battlefront experience that the millions of fans out there have come to expect.
2) Consider the PSP audience that likes to play games on the go and sometimes for shorter periods of time compared to the consoles."
LucasArts announcedRenegade Squadron in May 2007. The announcement stated that the game would be the only originalBattlefront game of 2007, and it was to be developed by British-based independent game design companyRebellion Developments.[9] Despite having never worked on aStar Wars game, Rebellion had prior development experience with other PlayStation Portable titles, such as a port of thethird-person shooter gameGun.[20]
The game's developers made it clear that it was being designed specifically for the PSP.[21] LucasArts made this decision after Rebellion convinced them that the PSP's multiplayer capabilities were well-suited to anotherBattlefront game,[22] in addition to the strong sales ofBattlefront II on the PSP.[23] The game's lead designer, Mike Rosser, stated that the development team tried to retain some aspects ofBattlefront II, specifically its "fast and furious action".[20] Other elements borrowed fromBattlefront II included the controls—LucasArts solicited feedback from players of the previous game and subsequently decided to makeRenegade Squadron's controls more "arcadey" so players could learn them faster.[22] After screenshots of the game were released, several forum posts from fans complained about the game's visuals compared to its predecessor. In response, Rosser claimed thatRenegade Squadron "boasts a longer view distance, higher resolution textures and better lighting".[13]
The design team stated repeatedly that the focus ofRenegade Squadron was its customization system.[20][21] There were initially concerns in Rebellion that the feature would lead to unbalanced gameplay; lead programmer Richard May stated he was "worried it might lead to uber-classes and be a balancing nightmare, losing some of the trade-off structure that the old class system provided."[13] Prolific testing of the game eventually assured LucasArts that the system had been implemented appropriately.[22]
The game's setting was based primarily on the Clone Wars and Civil War eras ofStar Wars history.[20] Rebellion took inspiration for several missions from comments made in passing from theStar Wars films. Rosser stated in an interview, "For instance, a diversionary attack onSullust is mentioned during a conversation between Vader and the Emperor inReturn of the Jedi. InRenegade Squadron, you'll get to take part in that attack."[20] The planet of Boz Pity was similarly mentioned inStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith but wasn't portrayed in the movie, soRenegade Squadron's artists took the opportunity to create the planet based on ancientCambodian architecture likeAngkor Wat.[13] Concept art for the game was provided by Rebellion's comic artists, and the cutscenes were based on the company's comic properties like2000 AD.[10] While storyboarding the in-game cinematics, Rebellion assistant producer James Valls was careful to ensure thatRenegade Squadron was in accordance with establishedStar Wars canon.[24]
Renegade Squadron was featured at the LucasArts booth atComic-Con 2007 as part of the "25 Years of LucasArts Games" display, along with other upcoming games likeLego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures andThe Force Unleashed.[13] The game was released on October 9, 2007, in North America,[25] and on October 10 and 12 in Australia and Europe respectively. LucasArt's official launch event was at the Sony PlayStation Store in theMetreon shopping center inSan Francisco.Star Wars fans attended in costume, including the501st Squadron, a large Star Warscosplaying fanclub. Attendees were eligible to win several prizes. In addition, the first 200 customers to purchase Sony's new Star Wars PSP bundle were given a Han Solo-in-carbonite case for their PSP.[24] The bundle was announced in July 2007 as the second availablePSP-2000 bundle (afterDaxter) and titled the Star Wars Battlefront PSP Entertainment Pack.[26] Bundled PSPs were presented in a white case with a black silkscreen of Darth Vader on the battery cover, in addition to the copy ofRenegade Squadron.[26]
LucasArts and Rebellion have discusseddownloadable content forRenegade Squadron, but were not strongly invested in exploring the prospect during the game's development.[13] LucasArts has also stated that issues with Sony have hindered its implementation.[23] Rebellion has considered the possibility of a comic book or novel based on Renegade Squadron.[20]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 72%[27] |
| Metacritic | 73/100[28] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | C+[29] |
| Eurogamer | 6 of 10[30] |
| GameSpot | 8 of 10[5] |
| GameTrailers | 8.2 of 10[31] |
| GameZone | 8 of 10[16] |
| IGN | 7.9 of 10[12] |
Critical reception of the game was mixed, and as of March 2009 it holds a score of 73/100 on media aggregator siteMetacritic, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[28] Reviewers praised the game's customization options and multiplayer, and it was accepted as marginally superior toBattlefront II on PSP,[14][32] though one reviewer stated "it's not a true sequel."[15] The game won the Reader's PSP Game of the Month Award from IGN for October 2007, with one fan stating that the game was more "Star Wars-like" than its predecessor.[33] It was the second best-selling PSP game in the US the week of its release and was still among the list ofGameFly's most-rented PSP games in December 2007.[34][35] It continued to be a top seller in the US and UK several months after its release.[36][37][38][39][40] The game was later re-released as aGreatest Hits title,[41] indicating that it had sold at least 250,000 copies.[42]
Comments aboutRenegade Squadron's controls were mostly negative, and they were typically described as clumsy or sluggish.[17][31]GameZone referred to the space dogfights as "unplayable" andEurogamer called the lock-on feature "a waste of time".[16][30] One reviewer complained about the PSP's lack of a second analog nub.[43] Despite the criticism, a few reviewers were more favorable towards the controls, withGameSpot noting that they were an improvement overBattlefront II.[5]
Reviewers were polarized on the game's graphics. The cutscenes during the single-player campaign were accepted positively,[5][12][31] but reception of the in-game visuals was less glowing.GamePro stated that the "character and vehicle models look great",[7] but the visuals were also described as "blah" and "substandard".[12][18]GameDaily said "the graphics look good but there's a lack of polish."[44]
Though the single-player campaign was criticized for being short,[12][45]Renegade Squadron's multiplayer was widely praised.[7][31]GameSpot noted that the game included an infrastructure mode, a feature whichBattlefront II did not have,[5] andGameZone commented that the game ran smoothly in multiplayer even when handling the maximum number of players.[16]GameSpy described the multiplayer as "fantastic",[45] andGamesRadar said that it promised hours of satisfaction.[43] Many reviewers said that the multiplayer was the most important part of the game,[18][31] with some of the less positive reviews advising players to play the game primarily for the multiplayer experience.[15][32][46]
Tionne: And Renegade Squadron was disbanded after that? /Col Serra: We disbanded ourselves, faded back into the shadows again.
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