the force is strong in battlefront the warm reception that has greeted star wars: battlefront is a reflection not of any ingenious innovation in its gameplay  but of its back-to-basics approach and immense nostalgia quotient.  geared towards online gamers  it is based around little more than a series of all-out gunfights  set in an array of locations all featured in  or hinted at during  the two blockbusting film trilogies. previous star wars titles like the acclaimed knights of the old republic and jedi knight have regularly impressed with their imaginative forays into the far corners of the franchise s extensive universe  and their use of weird and wonderful new characters. battlefront on the other hand wholeheartedly revisits the most recognisable elements of the hit movies themselves.  the sights  sounds and protagonists on show here will all be instantly familiar to fans  who may well feel that the opportunity to relive star wars  most memorable screen skirmishes makes this the game they have always waited for. the mayhem can be viewed from either a third or first-person perspective  and you can either fight for the forces of freedom or join darth vader on the dark side  depending on the episode and type of campaign as well as the player s personal propensity for good or evil.  there is ample chance to be a wookie  shoot ewoks and rush into battle alongside a fired-up luke skywalker. in each section  the task is simply to wipe out enemy troops  seize strategic waypoints and move on to the next planet. it really is no more complicated than that. locations include the frozen wastes of hoth  the ice planet from the empire strikes back  complete with massive mechanical at-ats on the march. there are also the dusty  sinister deserts of tatooine and geonosis  as well as the forest moon of endor  where return of the jedi s much-maligned ewoks lived. the feel of those places is well and truly captured  with both backdrops and characters looking good and very authentic. it is worth noting though that on the playstation 2  the game s graphics are a curiously long way behind those of the xbox version. the pivotal element behind battlefront s success is that it successfully gives you the feel of being of being plunged into the midst of large-scale war. the number of combatants  noise and abundance of laser fire see to that  and the sense of chaos really comes over.  speaking of noise  battlefront is a real testament to the strength of the star wars galaxy s audio motifs.  the multitude of distinctive weapon and vehicle noises are immensely familiar  as are the stirring john williams symphonies that never let up. there is also a particularly snazzy remix of one of his themes in the menu section. it has to be said if the game did not have the boon of being star wars  it would not stand up for long. the gameplay is reliable  bog-standard stuff  short on originality. there are also odd annoyances  like the game s insistence on re-spawning you miles away from the action  an irritating price to pay for not getting blown up the second you appear. and some of the weapons and vehicles are not as responsive and fluid to operate as they might be. that said  it is still great fun to pilot a scout walker or speeder bike  however non user-friendly they prove. whilst it is firmly designed with multiplayer action in mind  battlefront is actually perfectly good fun as an offline game. the above-average ai of the enemy sees to that  although given the frenetic environments they operate in  their strategic behaviour does not need to be all that sophisticated. battlefront s novelty value will doubtless wear off relatively fast  leaving behind a slightly empty one-trick-pony of a game. but for a while  it is an absolute blast  and one of the most immediately satisfying video game offerings yet from george lucas  stable.