CONTINUE? Y/N
latest news
News:Lucky number 5
News:Enough with the guitar games!
News:Yellow, Emerald, Crystal now Platinum
Podcast:Yahtzee joins to talk GH4, SSBB, and out of control kids
News:GTAIV to give aussies an R rating?
News:Hookers, Halo and Fraud - The life and times of Ralph in Texas
News:Super Smash Brothers Brawl - Finally
News:Lego Indy Demo
News:Too Human Coming Soon - Finally
News:A guide to importing Rock Band
News:Blue Dingos rendition of Finish the Fight
10 Questions:10 Game Industry Questions - Rob Davis
News:He Was A Fattish But Active Man, Of Paralyzing Stupidity
News:IGN turning into RALPH?
News:If Nintendo had made Halo 3
News:Enough with the guitar games!
News:Yellow, Emerald, Crystal now Platinum
Podcast:Yahtzee joins to talk GH4, SSBB, and out of control kids
News:GTAIV to give aussies an R rating?
News:Hookers, Halo and Fraud - The life and times of Ralph in Texas
News:Super Smash Brothers Brawl - Finally
News:Lego Indy Demo
News:Too Human Coming Soon - Finally
News:A guide to importing Rock Band
News:Blue Dingos rendition of Finish the Fight
10 Questions:10 Game Industry Questions - Rob Davis
News:He Was A Fattish But Active Man, Of Paralyzing Stupidity
News:IGN turning into RALPH?
News:If Nintendo had made Halo 3
latest podcast
random quote
“This is supposed to be a review of Enemy Territory:Quake Wars but instead I’m sure you’d rather read a story about a walrus and some penguins.”
'Enemy Territory: Quake Wars' Reviewby Brett
most recent on forum
Your ways of chatting? by Lord Halo Nerd at 1:07pm
Your latest purchase by Jay at 12:55pm
My little Pon....oh wait... Condemned 2:bloodshot by Ixnay at 12:52pm
want by Ixnay at 12:49pm
Happy Birthday part 2 by netjunkie at 12:46pm
Air Hockey table potentially available. by Ixnay at 12:43pm
The Phantom Comic by Lord Halo Nerd at 12:29pm
Banjo Kazooie 3 Gameplay Video by itsapanda at 12:24pm
Happy Birfday by Lord Halo Nerd at 12:23pm
FS: WoW Burning Crusade CE - Never Opened by itsapanda at 12:20pm
How do you visual minorites? by Ixnay at 12:20pm
Podcasts by itsapanda at 12:16pm
What makes a good game? by Ixnay at 12:09pm
English Literacy in Aus by Ixnay at 12:07pm
I hate myself. by netjunkie at 11:44am
Your latest purchase by Jay at 12:55pm
My little Pon....oh wait... Condemned 2:bloodshot by Ixnay at 12:52pm
want by Ixnay at 12:49pm
Happy Birthday part 2 by netjunkie at 12:46pm
Air Hockey table potentially available. by Ixnay at 12:43pm
The Phantom Comic by Lord Halo Nerd at 12:29pm
Banjo Kazooie 3 Gameplay Video by itsapanda at 12:24pm
Happy Birfday by Lord Halo Nerd at 12:23pm
FS: WoW Burning Crusade CE - Never Opened by itsapanda at 12:20pm
How do you visual minorites? by Ixnay at 12:20pm
Podcasts by itsapanda at 12:16pm
What makes a good game? by Ixnay at 12:09pm
English Literacy in Aus by Ixnay at 12:07pm
I hate myself. by netjunkie at 11:44am
upcoming releases
NDS
22 May
Apollo Justice Ace AttorneyPS3
22 May
BUZZ Quiz TVWII
22 May
Dream Pinball 3DNDS
22 May
Dream Pinball 3DPC
22 May
Dream Pinball 3DPS2
23 May
Silent Hill OriginsX360
23 May
Top Spin 3PS3
23 May
Top Spin 3WII
23 May
Top Spin 3NDS
23 May
Top Spin 3PC
23 May
Top Trumps: Dr WhoPS2
23 May
Top Trumps: Dr Whorss feeds
Australian Gamer Content - All
Australian Gamer Podcasts - All
Australian Gamer Updates, Reviews, Previews, Features
what's new
review :: star wars battlefront: renegade squadron
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Reviewed on: Playstation PortableAvailable on: Playstation Portable
A surprisingly not bad PSP game. And by not bad it becomes one of only a few decent shooters on the platform.
Players: 1 - 16 Players
Genre:
Release: 2007-10-10
Genre:
Release: 2007-10-10
Developer: Rebellion
Distributor: Lucas Arts
Distributor: Lucas Arts
Whoa. Another Star Wars game? It's unusual these days to see different games for the same universe come out so close together. Normally you have a few months as a window, especially with Lucas Arts but I guess Renegade Squadron is in a league of it's own in this one.
It's a bit of an add-on to Battlefront so if you had fun with that, this one shouldn�t be too different. The heavy voice over, the flat, uninspiring plotline. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate its efforts in trying to appease me with one, but frankly, if you're going to do a storyline, please do it well. Otherwise it makes the game just that bit harder to play.
As long as we get to shoot Ewoks, it's all good.
And what is with this notion that girls didn't fight in renegade squadron? There must have been at least one! When you design your character you can change your uniform colours but not your gender. I say someone got their priorities mixed up. Being stuck in an orange jumpsuit, I can deal with. Being stuck with a male avatar, it is guaranteed to piss me off; especially if it's not part of a character based game. You get called Col Serra ... some one eyed general dude, but the avatar in the game isn't one-eyed. You don't get called Col when you get orders, the only reference I have to being this character is when I die. I can deal with being stuck as Indiana or Guybrush or Max Payne. I have no problem if the entire game is about them, but when I'm supposed to have a customisable character?
I really need to find something else to harp on about. I'm starting to sound repetitive. Commander Col isn't too bad a character to play, but really, the amount of "It was tough but we were tough too" type monologues get tiring after a while. Especially when it comes from someone who sounds like they woke up confused and mixed up the rice bubbles with gravel from the garden path.
In terms of customisation that they did have, I liked the system they'd employed of 100 credits, which let you mix and match your weapons and power-ups to that value. Mid-battle, if you found yourself near a convenient spawn point, you could switch as much as you wanted, depending on your needs. Many a time I found myself running for a spawn point, armed with only a blaster rifle and a few grenades, an AT-ST bearing down on me, and then I'd turn around with a rocket launcher. Hehe.
So what ever happened to the other vehicle letters? I want to fly the Z-Wing.
This game took me a while to get used to, I'm not big on shooters so the revelation that you could auto-lock onto targets was a big help for me. You get to run through ground battles as well as space battles (the latter I found much more fun and a good break from the ground battles every now and then). Ground battles are pretty run of the mill, kill the baddies, follow orders as you get them from Han, keep an eye on spawn points; you know the drill. Space battles let you take control of TIE-Fighters, X-Wings and LAAFs. Unfortunately, it looks like the Empire and the Rebel Alliance had been employing kamikaze pilots. Often I'd be quite happily pursuing my target when I'd be rammed by a suicidal pilot or two. Yes. Two.
Between these two, while space battles were more fun and engaging, they were pretty easy, and if you discount the ramming episodes, you died a lot less than on the ground. Ground battles often had at least one enemy spawn point which you couldn't capture and had an inexhaustible supply of minions to throw your way. Tis annoying.
I found the control scheme a little off, you need a second analogue stick to be able to play properly, the camera swings around and switching between the locked view and a free camera gets confusing in the heat of battle. You'll beat one foe only to have another spawn directly behind you yet you're stuck locked onto another guy further away. The process of unlocking your target, swinging around and getting a better lock onto your enemy is clunky, wasting time and HP.
Respawning is nice, the entire level doesn't actually reset ... the battle continues and it's as if you've arrived midway. You have a map before you enter showing ally and enemy movements so you know what and who's where. Very useful. Usually, the battle will pick up from whatever last order you've completed, leaving out completely useless backtracking. Unless you get to a really important point, near the end of the battle, say, 200m from the final goal. And you get rammed. Yeah, I had to start that level all over again.
In this game, Han definitely shot first.
Graphics here are a bit of a letdown. Since the PSP has come out, graphics have been getting better; or at least they should be getting better with each year. Unfortunately, these graphics are a bit like the first games that came out on the system ... not much improvement on those at all. Though the load times are a comfortable length and barely noticeable.
As far as Star Wars games go, this isn't bad. As far as shooters go, it isn't bad either. It's a rather middling effort but for the PSP, it gets extra brownie points. The PSP isn't the greatest system for shooters, though Renegade Squadron manages to cope alright. The only thing letting it down is the lackluster storyline, really. Can't blame it for the control system as it does the best it can with what it's got.
It's a bit of an add-on to Battlefront so if you had fun with that, this one shouldn�t be too different. The heavy voice over, the flat, uninspiring plotline. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate its efforts in trying to appease me with one, but frankly, if you're going to do a storyline, please do it well. Otherwise it makes the game just that bit harder to play.
As long as we get to shoot Ewoks, it's all good.
And what is with this notion that girls didn't fight in renegade squadron? There must have been at least one! When you design your character you can change your uniform colours but not your gender. I say someone got their priorities mixed up. Being stuck in an orange jumpsuit, I can deal with. Being stuck with a male avatar, it is guaranteed to piss me off; especially if it's not part of a character based game. You get called Col Serra ... some one eyed general dude, but the avatar in the game isn't one-eyed. You don't get called Col when you get orders, the only reference I have to being this character is when I die. I can deal with being stuck as Indiana or Guybrush or Max Payne. I have no problem if the entire game is about them, but when I'm supposed to have a customisable character?
I really need to find something else to harp on about. I'm starting to sound repetitive. Commander Col isn't too bad a character to play, but really, the amount of "It was tough but we were tough too" type monologues get tiring after a while. Especially when it comes from someone who sounds like they woke up confused and mixed up the rice bubbles with gravel from the garden path.
In terms of customisation that they did have, I liked the system they'd employed of 100 credits, which let you mix and match your weapons and power-ups to that value. Mid-battle, if you found yourself near a convenient spawn point, you could switch as much as you wanted, depending on your needs. Many a time I found myself running for a spawn point, armed with only a blaster rifle and a few grenades, an AT-ST bearing down on me, and then I'd turn around with a rocket launcher. Hehe.
So what ever happened to the other vehicle letters? I want to fly the Z-Wing.
This game took me a while to get used to, I'm not big on shooters so the revelation that you could auto-lock onto targets was a big help for me. You get to run through ground battles as well as space battles (the latter I found much more fun and a good break from the ground battles every now and then). Ground battles are pretty run of the mill, kill the baddies, follow orders as you get them from Han, keep an eye on spawn points; you know the drill. Space battles let you take control of TIE-Fighters, X-Wings and LAAFs. Unfortunately, it looks like the Empire and the Rebel Alliance had been employing kamikaze pilots. Often I'd be quite happily pursuing my target when I'd be rammed by a suicidal pilot or two. Yes. Two.
Between these two, while space battles were more fun and engaging, they were pretty easy, and if you discount the ramming episodes, you died a lot less than on the ground. Ground battles often had at least one enemy spawn point which you couldn't capture and had an inexhaustible supply of minions to throw your way. Tis annoying.
I found the control scheme a little off, you need a second analogue stick to be able to play properly, the camera swings around and switching between the locked view and a free camera gets confusing in the heat of battle. You'll beat one foe only to have another spawn directly behind you yet you're stuck locked onto another guy further away. The process of unlocking your target, swinging around and getting a better lock onto your enemy is clunky, wasting time and HP.
Respawning is nice, the entire level doesn't actually reset ... the battle continues and it's as if you've arrived midway. You have a map before you enter showing ally and enemy movements so you know what and who's where. Very useful. Usually, the battle will pick up from whatever last order you've completed, leaving out completely useless backtracking. Unless you get to a really important point, near the end of the battle, say, 200m from the final goal. And you get rammed. Yeah, I had to start that level all over again.
In this game, Han definitely shot first.
Graphics here are a bit of a letdown. Since the PSP has come out, graphics have been getting better; or at least they should be getting better with each year. Unfortunately, these graphics are a bit like the first games that came out on the system ... not much improvement on those at all. Though the load times are a comfortable length and barely noticeable.
As far as Star Wars games go, this isn't bad. As far as shooters go, it isn't bad either. It's a rather middling effort but for the PSP, it gets extra brownie points. The PSP isn't the greatest system for shooters, though Renegade Squadron manages to cope alright. The only thing letting it down is the lackluster storyline, really. Can't blame it for the control system as it does the best it can with what it's got.
Final Verdict
If you're looking for something to supplement your Battlefront cravings, Renegade Squadron will keep you going for a bit as you run through the Campaign and Conquest modes. It's not great but for a PSP shooter, it does the job well.Pros
Pretty cutscenes! Well managed game for the PSP, spawn point arsenals.
Cons
Annoying controls, silly camera, gravel voice used again for cutscenes.