Star Wars: Battlefront II dated

That galaxy far, far, away is starting to get a lot closer. LucasArts today announced that the third-person shooter Star Wars: Battlefront II is now scheduled for a November 1 release. And in a marketing move that may make some Star Wars fans' heads explode, the date coincides with the release of Fox Home Entertainment's Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith on DVD.

The game is in development with Pandemic Studios, the team that also produced Mercenaries and Full Spectrum Warrior. Battlefront II will be raging on the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and the PSP, the first time the series has landed on a handheld.

Battlefront II is the sequel to 2004's Star Wars: Battlefront, which let large-scale battles take place in the Star Wars universe with gameplay reminiscent of another battle-heavy franchise, Digital Illusions' Battlefield series. Battlefront II continues the sci-fi shooting of its predecessor, featuring a host of new locales, controllable vehicles, and popular characters from the storied films.

Jedi costume at the dry cleaners? No problem for aspiring members of the Rebellion. Battlefront II features playable Jedi (or Empire heroes) for the first time in the series, complete with Obi-Wan's lightsaber or Darth Vader's "Force choke."

Also new to the game is space combat. Players can jump into a TIE fighter and fly from one ship to another (friendly or otherwise), hop out, and continue the fight on foot with blaster in hand.

The popular multiplayer mode returns, with 32-player support for the Xbox, 24-player support for the PS2, and 64-player support for the PC. An all-new objective-based single-player campaign focuses on one of Darth Vader's elite stormtrooper squads.

The Revenge of the Sith DVD will also include a playable demo of Battlefront II for the Xbox.

The PC, Xbox, and PS2 versions will retail for $49.99. The PSP version has not yet been priced. To see the game in action or to dig up some more information, check out GameSpot's recent Planet Spotlight feature.