Star Wars Empire at War

It's safe to say that this game is going to score big with Star Wars fans and strategy game enthusiasts.

For those of you who like Star Wars and great RTS games your wildest dreams may come true when the upcoming Star Wars: Empire At War game is released in February 2006. The combination has been attempted before in previous LucasArts games like Star War Galactic Battlegrounds and Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns, which were met with rather mediocre success.

So having learned the hard way LucasArts has recognized that if you want an RTS done right sign on with the experts. They have teamed up with the new development company Petroglyph Entertainment formed by the most elite of the old Westwood Studios crew responsible for a little franchise called the Command & Conquer series. Together these two companies not only have the potential to create a great Star Wars game but conceivably set a new industry standard for many future RTS titles.

In the game you will be given a choice to either play as the Empire or the Rebel Alliance with the goal to either stomp out or overthrow the other side. All the troops and ships from the classic Star Wars movies plus a few seen in Episode III will be at your disposal. You will also have special hero units based on Obi-Wan and Vader.

The best part is besides the traditional ground based warfare you will have the capability to battle in space (that�s right - space battles, who'd a thunk it). There will be over eighty planetary systems to wage war on and above. So don't expect one battle to decide the outcome of the war. There will also be a multiplayer mode but Petroglyph and L.A. are keeping a tight lid on that information. What is known is there will be a skirmish mode for up to eight players.

One of the aspects of Empire At War that is being handled very well is the graphics, which you get a general idea of from viewing the screenshots and viewing the game trailers. The scale and proportion of objects within the game is rather sound considering how tricky it is to balance the appearance of a massive Star Destroyer and a small X-wing. Multiple viewing angles also help with that. Thirdly the appearance and illusion of 3-D in the space environment is completely believable.

Fans of the strategy genre should expect a few new twists that will be thrown at them in Empire At War. First off the resource gathering will not be handled on the battlefield itself, so there will be no need to build mining units, which will allow you to focus on the battle instead of your expenses. Your resource base will depend upon the wealth and number of star systems you control.

Unlike previous games the troops you use in one engagement won't just go away after one battle. They'll stick around and can be sent to other engagement zones or act as uncommitted reinforcements and rearguard units. In battles, after winning a victory in space you won't just be handed control of the planet. You will more than likely have to stomp out any ground forces that remain before the planet truly belongs to you.

This game is definitely on my to-buy list for February 2006 game releases. I think it's safe to say that this game is going to score big with Star Wars fans and strategy game enthusiasts as well as catch the eye of the general gaming community. Although the movies are all gone the force has not abandoned us. For there is "a new hope" (Get it? A new hope; Oh I crack myself up.) after all in Star Wars: Empire At War. May the force be with you.