AceRimmer
12th Apr 06, 11:03 PM
Year of release: 2006
Development House: Petroglyph
Publisher: Lucasarts
Website: www.lucasarts.com/games/swempireatwar/
**************************************
Game score: 88 / 100
Graphics: 5 / 5
Sound: 5 / 5
Gameplay: 4 / 5
Concept: 5 / 5
Execution: 4 / 5
Controls: 4 / 5
Enjoyment: 5 / 5
Replay ability: 4 / 5
Difficulty: 4 / 5
Learning Curve: 3 / 5
Patch version: 1.03
Bugs: 1 / 5
Modability / Community support: 5 / 5
Review
There have been good Star Wars games and there have been bad Star Wars games. Too often with a fantasy/sci-fi franchise and universe, the failings are more often and vividly remembered than the successes. No more is this the case with Star Wars RTSs. Need I say more about that which is Force Commander, Rebellion and Galactic Battlegrounds? Happily I can say that this is not the case with the latest effort from Westwood offspring, Petroglyph.
There's not much to say about the story; the Clone Wars have just finished, most Jedi have bought the farm and the Empire has decided that to rule the galaxy would be cool. The Rebellion, of course, has other ideas.
How you achieve this (domination or freedom) is achieved by a huge Risk-style galactic map. You own some planets; you can build space stations and fleets in orbit, and ground defences and troops on the planet's surface. Naturally there are advantages to owning some planets than others, for example, some earn you more credits, others decrease build times of certain units and so on. You get more money after a set time inteval.
When you want to conquer a planet, you first have to conquer the space first with a fleet, then you can send your army to the surface to kick some serious Imperial or Rebel butt. While these land and space battles are going on, the galactic view freezes, so that other people aren't being nasty and conquering behind your back. However, all three parts are in real-time, meaning that sitting around waiting for something to happen is asking for trouble from the computer.
And YES, space is 2D, but that actually helps people into the game better, even if it's unrealistic. Naturally, there are hero units that can sway the tide of battle, such as Han and Chewie, Kyle Katarn, Colonel Veers (remember this is before episode V) and of course, Darth Vader.
Gameplaywise, EAW is solid. Each unit is effective against certain others although the main gripe with this, moreso on land than in space, is that some units are effective against others that you wouldn't think should be, and so the first couple of games I played, I ended up using the wrong units for the job, e.g. AT-ST aren't really that good against infantry, despite what the Return of the Jedi thinks. Likewise some of the ground units are boring e.g. the Rebel T2-B tanks, or just plain crap e.g. the TIE mauler.
Another gripe with gameplay is that it can be little slow at times. The computer often waits for ages before striking on the galactic map, meaning that often there were times that I would stalemate the computer when invading or defending (do lots of damage, but take lots too). The battles themselves can be slow, with the capital ships and large land units taking AGES to destroy. I like it when units don't die within 5 seconds of combat like some other RTSs, but surely it wouldn't take this long. Thankfully, you can ask that the computer to do the battle for you, which can mean that you lose a lot of ships/army, but win without doing the heavy-lifting. You can also use the Death Star to crush persistent Rebels if you play the Empire, which is great fun.
The A.I is quite smart, sending overwhelming forces when it invades and intelligently using abilities, surgical strikes and feints on the battlefield. Both the Rebel and Empire sides are well balanced, with the Empire able to crush the rebel scum in walking vehicles and stormtroopers, Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters, whereas the Rebels are more specialized and need a little more careful thought to use correctly.
Music and sound are of the usual Star Wars quality, with plenty of explosions, laser blasts, missile launches and the like, all backed up by music straight from the movies. Both fun and atmospheric to listen to.
Graphically, the game is good, but not cutting edge. The explosions look very cool (especially in space), with shockwaves, sparks and debris flying about, although I thought the explosions could be more spectacular in space (a la Homeworld 2 style). Land battles are all detailed well, although some units look a little bland. Weather effects look cool, especially the dust storms and hot ash rain.
So at the end of it, it's a Star Wars RTS. You may love it, but you certainly won't hate it. I found it to be hugely enjoyable, if slightly frustrating and boring at times.
:up:
Good stuff: Star Wars! Space battles are cool. Sound, music, graphics. Darth Vader (and other hero units). You get to shoot Ewoks on Endor. The Death Star.
Bad stuff: Some crap units. Sometimes slow and tedious. Slight learning curve. Unit effectiveness is not that logical.
Reviewer System Specs:
CPU: 2.8Ghz
RAM: 512mb
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600 XT at 1280x1024
Sound Card and Speakers: On-board (shock, horror!) 2:1 speakers
Development House: Petroglyph
Publisher: Lucasarts
Website: www.lucasarts.com/games/swempireatwar/
**************************************
Game score: 88 / 100
Graphics: 5 / 5
Sound: 5 / 5
Gameplay: 4 / 5
Concept: 5 / 5
Execution: 4 / 5
Controls: 4 / 5
Enjoyment: 5 / 5
Replay ability: 4 / 5
Difficulty: 4 / 5
Learning Curve: 3 / 5
Patch version: 1.03
Bugs: 1 / 5
Modability / Community support: 5 / 5
Review
There have been good Star Wars games and there have been bad Star Wars games. Too often with a fantasy/sci-fi franchise and universe, the failings are more often and vividly remembered than the successes. No more is this the case with Star Wars RTSs. Need I say more about that which is Force Commander, Rebellion and Galactic Battlegrounds? Happily I can say that this is not the case with the latest effort from Westwood offspring, Petroglyph.
There's not much to say about the story; the Clone Wars have just finished, most Jedi have bought the farm and the Empire has decided that to rule the galaxy would be cool. The Rebellion, of course, has other ideas.
How you achieve this (domination or freedom) is achieved by a huge Risk-style galactic map. You own some planets; you can build space stations and fleets in orbit, and ground defences and troops on the planet's surface. Naturally there are advantages to owning some planets than others, for example, some earn you more credits, others decrease build times of certain units and so on. You get more money after a set time inteval.
When you want to conquer a planet, you first have to conquer the space first with a fleet, then you can send your army to the surface to kick some serious Imperial or Rebel butt. While these land and space battles are going on, the galactic view freezes, so that other people aren't being nasty and conquering behind your back. However, all three parts are in real-time, meaning that sitting around waiting for something to happen is asking for trouble from the computer.
And YES, space is 2D, but that actually helps people into the game better, even if it's unrealistic. Naturally, there are hero units that can sway the tide of battle, such as Han and Chewie, Kyle Katarn, Colonel Veers (remember this is before episode V) and of course, Darth Vader.
Gameplaywise, EAW is solid. Each unit is effective against certain others although the main gripe with this, moreso on land than in space, is that some units are effective against others that you wouldn't think should be, and so the first couple of games I played, I ended up using the wrong units for the job, e.g. AT-ST aren't really that good against infantry, despite what the Return of the Jedi thinks. Likewise some of the ground units are boring e.g. the Rebel T2-B tanks, or just plain crap e.g. the TIE mauler.
Another gripe with gameplay is that it can be little slow at times. The computer often waits for ages before striking on the galactic map, meaning that often there were times that I would stalemate the computer when invading or defending (do lots of damage, but take lots too). The battles themselves can be slow, with the capital ships and large land units taking AGES to destroy. I like it when units don't die within 5 seconds of combat like some other RTSs, but surely it wouldn't take this long. Thankfully, you can ask that the computer to do the battle for you, which can mean that you lose a lot of ships/army, but win without doing the heavy-lifting. You can also use the Death Star to crush persistent Rebels if you play the Empire, which is great fun.
The A.I is quite smart, sending overwhelming forces when it invades and intelligently using abilities, surgical strikes and feints on the battlefield. Both the Rebel and Empire sides are well balanced, with the Empire able to crush the rebel scum in walking vehicles and stormtroopers, Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters, whereas the Rebels are more specialized and need a little more careful thought to use correctly.
Music and sound are of the usual Star Wars quality, with plenty of explosions, laser blasts, missile launches and the like, all backed up by music straight from the movies. Both fun and atmospheric to listen to.
Graphically, the game is good, but not cutting edge. The explosions look very cool (especially in space), with shockwaves, sparks and debris flying about, although I thought the explosions could be more spectacular in space (a la Homeworld 2 style). Land battles are all detailed well, although some units look a little bland. Weather effects look cool, especially the dust storms and hot ash rain.
So at the end of it, it's a Star Wars RTS. You may love it, but you certainly won't hate it. I found it to be hugely enjoyable, if slightly frustrating and boring at times.
:up:
Good stuff: Star Wars! Space battles are cool. Sound, music, graphics. Darth Vader (and other hero units). You get to shoot Ewoks on Endor. The Death Star.
Bad stuff: Some crap units. Sometimes slow and tedious. Slight learning curve. Unit effectiveness is not that logical.
Reviewer System Specs:
CPU: 2.8Ghz
RAM: 512mb
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9600 XT at 1280x1024
Sound Card and Speakers: On-board (shock, horror!) 2:1 speakers