Unlike the last game, Renegade Squadron allows you to play multiplayer over infrastructure as well as ad hoc. This goes a long, long way in extending the replay value. No longer will you have to hope to get a group of people with their own PSPs and copies of the game in one room to participate. In fact, the online mode supports more players (sixteen) than local play (only eight). Compare this to the mere four people that could play together at once in Battlefront II. Pretty nice improvement, eh?
Also improved are the controls, which benefit from being optimized specifically for a portable system, as opposed to a console game that was ported to a portable. Instead of the standard (and not terribly good) "PSP FPS-style" control scheme where the system's face buttons are used to look around, the aiming process has been made significantly easier thanks to the lock-on ability that is activated by holding down the right shoulder button. Now, the X button is used to fire your primary weapon and the Square button activates your secondary weapon. Some might be put off by the inability to freely look around, but after a match or two, we were just thankful to have a functioning control setup.
Likewise, the controls have been tweaked for space missions as well. Maneuvering a starfighter is just as easy as controlling a soldier. In fact, thanks to the new lock-on system, it's almost too easy. After locking on to an enemy ship, you can engage an auto pilot that steers you towards it. From there, you need only adjust your speed to keep up and fire away.
There are three main types of multiplayer matches: Conquest, Space Assault, and Capture the Flag (which has three variants of its own). The matches that are available to you at any given time are dependent on which maps you choose to fight on. Conquest is the mode that is closest to the single-player experience. Here, the goal is to fight off the enemy forces while seizing command of their command posts. Wipe out the other side or capture all of their posts, and your team wins. Space Assault is somewhat similar, except you're in space. Instead of capturing command posts, the goal is to destroy the critical systems on the enemy's capital ship. Sometimes, this will involve docking and exploring their ship on foot.
