Game: "Star Wars: Battlefront II"

Console: PlayStation 2; also out for Xbox, PSP and PC

Developer/publisher: Pandemic Studios/LucasArts

Genre: Shooter

Number of players: One to two; 32 online

ESRB: Teen

Premise: Guide an army of troopers through battles from the "Star Wars" series and some battles created exclusively for this game.

Game play: Following up on the commercial success of the original, "Battlefront II" continues the game play that feels like gunslinging chess from a piece's point of view.

As you play, you are introduced to and supplied with several types of troops, each with their own abilities, attributes and weapons — and you will need to switch among them to complete certain tasks. For example, destroying big machines efficiently requires using a rocket launcher, something a Heavy Trooper is armed with. Jet Troopers are useful when you need to reach objects in high places, because they are equipped with jetpacks.

Of course, this is a "Star Wars" game, so your favorite characters are here for you, including Mace Windu and Yoda. There are numerous battlefield maps from every installment, too, including "Revenge of the Sith."

A big addition to the sequel is outer-space flight and missions fought in space, some of which require you to land in water. While it's by no means the predominant feature of the game, space battles were sorely missing from the original "Battlefront."

The good/bad: The action is so fast-paced and chaotic, objectives can be easily forgotten at times — not a good thing in a mission-based game. Also, indicators on screen are very small — making it difficult to find out how close you are to completing a task or how much life you have left. This, too, takes your focus away from the action.

My take: The "Star Wars" franchise has consistently produced fun, high-quality games such as "Starfighter" and some flat-out stinkers such as "Lego Star Wars." "Battlefront II" doesn't fall into either category. It's not going to win Game of the Year, but is a good enough shooter with addictive game play. Renting before buying is the best thing to do.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College and editor of the college's newspaper, Ka 'Ohana.