The first Battlefront title to land on the PSP received mixed reviews but was still much loved by most Star Wars fans because it gave them the chance to carry around the entre struggle between the Empire and Rebellion in their pocket, instead of just a lightsaber. But many critics cited the limitations of the portable platform as the games primary weakness. The second PSP Battlefront adds somenew goodies, but unfortunatelydoes not seem appropriate for the PSP’s limited capabilities – nor does it seem appropriate for the PSP’s limited controls. Occasionally it does get unexpectedly tough, like when facing off against 2 vehicles in campaign or against better players in multiplayer mode. But, thanks largely to an auto-aiming system that works so well it’s almost cheating, it rarely rises above mediocre in difficulty or fun.

This far-too-forgiving aiming can turn the tide of 5 against 90 battles. I actually played it for a long time without ever using the aiming system, just so I could have a bit of a challenge. It sucks the fun out of the single player modes, especially the Galactic Conquest mode.

Galactic Conquest gets a nice expansion from the previous PSP Battlefront as there are now numerous upgrades that add vehicles like B-Wings and A-Wings to your space battles, or even add more power to your troops in ground battles. Unfortunately, these upgrades are moot, since you alone with 5 lives are enough to eliminate most threats, completely destroying any illusion of deep strategy. This could be great – LucasArts, please do more with it!

The Campaign mode is definitely fun for once. It runs its own story somewhat tied to the plot of the original movies, though it will be a tad obvious when developers just weren’t sure what to do with a level. Distract the Emperor by destroying his statuary? If you say so. It’s fun for the hour and a half it will last the player, but once again severely hurt by the absurdly powerful aiming.