Yes, yes, we’re fully aware exactly how powerful the PSP is proving to be. Faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and capable of effortlessly recreating almost identical experiences to that of a PS2, albeit in the palm of your hand – it really is quite an achievement. But we can’t help but admit that sometimes, having an almost identical game to take with you on the move isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, if only because playing it and spotting the flaws in it just makes you want to go back and play the ‘big’ version instead of the handheld one. A cunning ploy on the part of publishers wanting to sell twice as many games, perhaps, but one that doesn’t reflect well on the longevity of the PSP’s titles. Not that any of this means that the PSP version of Star Wars Battlefront II isn’t any good, you understand. It just means that in trying (and largely succeeding) to recreate the atmosphere of Battlefront on a smaller format – and having to make compromises along the way – Activision may have done itself an injustice. Certainly, the PSP version stands alone as an achievement, squeezing so much onto the format, but when we play it and pine for the PS2 game... well, it’s a bit self-defeating.

But we digress; an explanation is in order here, particularly if you’re new to Star Wars Battlefront. Covering all six of George Lucas’ movies, Battlefront II is as close to being a definitive Star Wars game as you’re ever likely to buy. As with the original Battlefront, the ability to live out your fantasies and actually ‘be’ a Stormtrooper is realised here, although there’s plenty of other choices (from CIS robots and Republic clone soldiers to the Rebels themselves) if white really isn’t your colour. The core gameplay also remains similar to the original game. Taking its cues from EA’s Battlefield series, the game sees players storm across each of the worlds capturing Command Posts until the opposition is wiped off the map. It’s simple but effective, especially in multiplayer mode where all hell really does break loose. As an added bonus for this sequel, the game now includes spacebased battles on top of the planetary combat where players can jump in whatever ship takes their fancy (X-Wings to TIE Fighters and everything between) and fly around blasting each other to pieces. Granted, these sections aren’t quite as solid as the main battles – they tend to involve being shot down before you even know what’s coming – but even so, it’s a nice way to break up the action.

As we said then, the PSP does an incredibly good job of bringing this action to the handheld stage; the visuals are detailed and the sound, booming and dramatic as it is, helps to create the impression that you really are inside the Star Wars universe. Like we also said though, there are compromises that render the game slightly less impressive than its bigger brother. The most problematic of these has to be the controls. Although three different control methods are offered – ranging from one that offers the most basic functions through to a complex mapping of every ability in the console version – only one of them renders the game anywhere near playable, with the analogue stick used for aiming and the face buttons allowing you to move around. The others, Advanced in particular, are too clumsy and inaccurate when it comes to winning battles, making their inclusion pretty much pointless… unless you like losing, of course.

Another big compromise comes with the inclusion of three ‘exclusive’ campaigns in an effort to make up for the loss of Rise Of The Empire mode (the big element that helps lift the console version from being a multiplayer-intensive experience). These would be fine if they were interesting or indepth, but, well, they’re not. Instead, each one sees you repeating a single task across five different stages, with the task varying according to the campaign chosen: Imperial Enforcer (kill everything), Rogue Assassin (kill key enemies – not hard when they come and find you 90 per cent of the time) or Rebel Raider (collect item from point A and carry it to point B) respectively. They’re really not much of a replacement, meaning you’ll most likely finish them once and never touch them again.

Thank goodness, then, that the presence of Galactic Conquest mode in all four of its forms – two for each era of the Star Wars universe – helps lift the game back up to the level it should be at (particularly as the multiplayer mode only allows a paltry four people to play at once). Stick with this mode, along with the odd bout of Instant Action, and you’ll find Battlefront II a joy, albeit a joy with slightly twitchy controls.