This
is going to hurt so much, so I might just as well throw it out: LucasArt’s “Empire at Wars” rots. I got the game a couple of months ago and was too embarrassed to mention it earlier. Don’t buy this game. Buy something else, Civ 4 or even, a boardgame like ‘Trivial Pursuit’.
Empire at War promises a mix of ‘Spaceward Ho’ (remember that game, kids?), ‘Battle Ships’, ‘Command & Conquer’ style action, naturally all in a Star Wars-like flavour. While this initially looks promising, during my first games (all wins!) I found out that the space and planet-surface battles (the C&C-like gameplay) were actually too repetitive for my taste. The good thing is that you can ignore these battles and let the computer decide who eventually won them. Which leaves you with a ‘Spaceward Ho’-style game with only one AI enemy (either the Rebels or the Empire, right?). The only way to win the game is to build a gigantic fleet and go at it. Meh. Yawn. Boring.
There’s one amazing element to the game: Computer moves happen in real-time. If you’ve played ‘turn-based’ 4X games, you know how annoying it can be to wait for your turn just when you’re ready to strike the decisive blow to the computer. In ‘Empire at War’, some of the computer’s moves may come as a surprise if you don’t follow or monitor battles closely. If only Civilization 4…
To summarize: if you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan, this game is probably better than a slice of bread cut by a light saber. If not, you may want to ignore this game. If not for the silly gameplay then for the Wing Commander 1-like cut-scenes. I mean, this is 2006, no?