Star Wars Empire at War Preview

The six-part film story is done and fans of the Star Wars universe have been treated to the rise of the Imperials under the evil Emperor as well as his downfall.

But LucasArts is far from done with the amazing, vibrant universe and the tales waiting to be told – although Star Wars: Empire at War is a bit of a sidetrack and does not so much advance the tales of the universe as much as allow players the opportunity to jump in and alter the course of the worlds.

LucasArts and Petroglyph are the driving forces behind Empire at War, a PC real-time strategy game that tends to shy away from micro-managing to some degree and rather focus on epic battles that define the Star Wars universe.

There are several modes of play – beginning with the seven-part tutorial and moving into single player and multiplayer. In single player, players can embark on a new campaign, move into the galactic conquests that pit the Rebellion against the Empire in space and land battles or hop into the Skirmish Battles for some quick action. Multiplayer, when available, will allow players to hook up via LAN or the Internet.

Of course, what would a Star Wars game be without the grand John Williams theme. As for the voice acting, some are decidedly the voices of the actors who gave life to the characters – like Anthony Daniels for C-3PO, while Dark Vader has a voice actor that is close to but not James Earl Jones. That aside, though, the game itself is rich in sound, and it more than adequately carries the mood and circumstances of the graphics. 

As for the latter, these are not the best seen in a Star Wars title, but they are serviceable. You can manipulate the camera from side to side, and most of the animation is fairly standard for massive RTS titles. The space segments look a little like three-dimensional craft against two-dimensional backdrops, though light textures do try to emulate that three-dimensional feel. Gaseous clouds are overlaid with crosses to detail where they are (this apparent with an Nvidia GeForce 6800 card), but one can avoid most of the effects of space anomalies by using the mini map in the left hand corner to navigate. It may look like you are going to plow into asteroids, but if you use the mini map and right click on destination, you avoid them.

Zooming in and out provides nice detail on the battles, and if the outcome seems to be in the bag, you can switch to a cinematic viewpoint, wherein the scene plays out, switching cameras, close up and in grand style.

The game’s single player campaign (from the Rebel perspective) begins with a progressive campaign to steal plans for a new fighter. Playing as the Rebels, lead by Capt. Raymus Antilles in the Sundered Heart, you get to command a “ragtag” group of rebel ships to attack Imperial forces above Kuat. On the flipside, as Empire forces, you are tasked with beginning by using Darth Vader to track down and destroy an Imperial traitor who threatens to upset plans to build the Death Star.

The overview of the game is rather a simple one and as Empire at War focuses mostly on the combat, this is an easy concept to understand. Capture a planet to receive credits. The number of planets you control the more credits you will receive at the end of a galactic day. But that is not the only way to get credits. Any planet that has a cantina can allow you to hire a smuggler. You can then send a smuggler to another planet to siphon credits from that planet. You can steal technology by deploying droids to a planet.

Credits are what allow you to build more forces or to reinforce planetary defenses with structures. Each planet can only sustain a certain number of buildings, so choosing which to build does involve a bit of strategy.

Tactics are tantamount for this game. You conquer planets, build up forces and move on to the next confrontation or world. Combat is generally concentrated on taking out orbiting forces and then ground invasion. Units can be individually controlled or grouped and given common targets. A big ship will have various attack points, and you can concentrate fire on its weapons. There are two status bars in space fights – the blue shield status and green hull status. The shield will regenerate over time, but once the hull is gone, the ship will explode. On the ground you can build generators that replenish the health of nearby units.  

In many ways, the space battles are of the rock-paper-scissors variety. This ship can take out those, but falls prey to these. On the ground, you can expect aid from the locals at times – depending on which force you command.

The game’s controls are pretty much what one sees from the typical RTS, albeit with Star Wars variants. Left click to select units, and then right click to move them or send them in to attack. The bottom tray includes build options, commands, grouping options and the like.

Empire at War, releasing Feb. 16, has some of the elements that will be familiar to RTS fans but put in a setting that is at once familiar and entertaining. This is a title that should appeal to Star Wars fans in general, and those that enjoy the genre will find the game mechanics solid and challenging.