Star Wars: Empire at War

Yoda would still be shaking his little green head

Game Review by Craig Wilson | 17 Mar 2006
Star Wars games, lets face it, they've been about as consistent as George
Lucas' skills as a writer. For every moment of genius like 'Knights of the Old Republic', there's been a 'Galactic Battlegrounds'. Thus there were high hopes for 'Empire at War'; that it might have been able to turn the tide against the chronology of bad Star Wars strategy games. To an extent it succeeds, it looks stunning and the space battles are very engaging, as are the two short, yet enjoyable campaigns. Yet in terms of strategic depth it really doesn't deliver, there's no point in being able to target different areas on an enemy ship when you can blow them up in about fifteen seconds by shooting them anywhere. The ground battles also feel lukewarm and continue to show the genre's difficulty to get over the old 'Command and Conquer' system. Also, the lack of experience for troops in the campaign mode mean there's little reason to look after your troops. Sure it's all fun but it's just too generic in its execution. Overall, like Luke, the game tries, but in the end Yoda would still be shaking his little green head. [Craig Wilson]
Out now for PC
Petroglyph/Lucasarts. http://www.lucasarts.com/games/swempireatwar/ , fansite... http://www.empireatwar.net/