The game is split up into two segments: vehicles and third-person Jedi fighting. The single-player campaign is played from the perspective of jedi Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Mace Windu, who pilot vehicles and ride animal mounts. The vehicle segments involve most vehicles from the Star Wars universe: STAPs, tanks, AATs, AT-XTs, and Republic gunships. The controls used involve primary and secondary fire, acceleration and a special ability that changes from vehicle to vehicle. The Jedi segments use basic lightsaber slashing and two force powers, which rely on a force power bar, lightsaber throw and force push. In all instances it is played from a third-person perspective.[2]
Multiplayer can be played for up to four players via splitscreen. Multiple game modes and levels are included. Duel allows two to four players to compete in free-for-all combat. Conquest is a team-based mode where players must capture and defend the most zones to win, which would be used in Pandemic Studios' later Star Wars: Battlefront titles. Control zone is a King of the hill-type mode where a single zone must be held for the longest amount of time to win. The game also featured a survival mode known as Academy. A vehicle-based version is played on the planet Thule, while an on-foot version is played in Geonosis' Petranaki Arena from Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Here up to four players control their choice of jedi or blaster-carrying characters and defend against waves of enemies. After the completion of a set of three rounds, players duel against each other. The final player standing receives bonus points, all players are respawned, and then gameplay resumes for another three rounds. Xbox Live online play was also available for the Xbox console, and featured additional levels.[3]