CTIA 2005 Star Wars Battlefront Hands-On

SAN FRANCISCO--Battlefront is a game of Wack-a-Mole, set in the Star Wars universe, as shown through the first-person visor-view of its successful console predecessor. You play as a Rebel soldier or an Imperial stormtrooper and attempt to turn the tide of war in several locales across multiple planets. Leaderboards play a central role in the game. Each area will be dominated by the Rebellion or the Empire, and it's up to you to change the outcome of battle.

Although you're indirectly fighting against other players, you never encounter them in battle. Instead, you're pitted against three waves of members of the opposing faction. You have only to cycle through them with the lateral directional keys and shoot at them with the OK key. Fast-twitch reflexes are paramount to your success.

By successfully completing a mission, you'll increase your faction's score for that planet and sector. Some of the planets available are Endor, Kashyyyk and Tatooine, and each features about six areas. A conscientious player would seek out the areas most thoroughly dominated by the opposition and attempt to remedy the situation through swift and decisive action.

In addition to your standard blaster, you wield two or three plasma grenades. These clear the screen of enemies, and so they should be used sparingly, as they're really useful when you're in a bind. Throwing a grenade triggers a slow explosion animation. When the smoke clears, all those jerks shooting at you will have vaporized.

Battlefront isn't much more than a Wack-a-Mole game, but its robust online leaderboard system adds new, addictive qualities to its familiar gameplay. Battlefront will launch exclusively on Cingular on November 1.