Lets get this out of the way first. This game is smokin’ folks.  Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds delivers a fast paced action packed Empire stomping, Wookie howling, Rebel Alliance whooping, Jedi slashing, Sith Lord choking good time.  Remember it’s all in the Star Wars universe, and it’s all good.  So on to the descriptions of gaming goodness.

Galactic Battlegrounds uses the Age of Empires AOK engine.  They’ve added oodles of goodies to make the ultimate real-time strategy experience even better.  Fans of the genre can dive right in here, and begin demolishing computer opponents.  For those gamers who shy away from the genre, but eat, live and sleep with the force than this is a good time to give real time strategy a try.

There are several civilizations to choose from.  The evil Empire, the Rebel Alliance, Wookies, Gungan, and of course the Trade Federation are all available.  Each race has their own campaign to battle through with a storyline relevant to the Star Wars universe whether it’s from a movie or within the expanded world of books.

The amount of units in this game is absolutely wonderful, and at times overwhelming.  There are powerful unique units available exclusively to each race.  For instance the Empire has the mighty Dark trooper at its disposal.  Each unit and building is upgradeable.  So why not build a legion of Stormtroopers.  Then build up your two legged scout walkers.  How about some Tie Fighters baby?  That’s right it’s all here.  Rejoice because this one delivers what Force Commander promised.  Sure Battlegrounds is basically AOE with a Star Wars facelift, but the bottom line is an easy one.  This is a great game that is fun to play.  Not to mention Star Wars is the coolest movie ever.  Episode one being the exception, but there is always hope.  Episode 2 Attack of the Clones is just months away with a chance to redeem the phantom’s menace.

Besides the campaign missions, there is also customizable, and random map games.  Multiplay is in here so you can battle against that trekker punk, or find an ally in a fellow bounty hunter somewhere out there over the net.  A map editor also allows you to create the bad assed Star Wars maps you’ve always dreamt about.  So let us talk now of sound quality.  The force is strong with this one.  Everyone knows John Williams is the best at what he does.  Star Wars theme music from all four films is prominently played throughout.  The battle noises are lifted straight from the screen.  If you can, I encourage you to crank it baby.  Especially if you have a nice sub-woofer system.  The explosions will really pull you into the action.  If you don’t have that dream sound system hooked up to your pc yet, Christmas is just around the corner.

The opening movie will knock you on your ass!  High resolution gives maximum enjoyment from a good graphic engine.  Each race has a unique design and quality, which allows you to tell everyone apart with ease.  In fact there are so many units, and buildings to choose from a beginner to the genre may be intimidated.  Never fear because the interface is very intuitive.  Just scroll over the icon, and you will see a detailed summary of what the item is, and what it is used for.  In the case of military units it will provide excellent advice as to what enemy unit it is most effective against.

My only gripe is with the pictures on the many icons themselves.  In the heat of battle it is hard to distinguish between them because the building buttons all look similar.  After battling away for several hours this just isn’t an issue anymore.  The menu screens look good, and are designed very well.  There is even a section that provides background information for the different civilizations, and many planets for those of you who are not familiar with the Star Wars universe.  That’s right what is there now, two of you?

Yes friends it gets even better.  Galactic Battlegrounds includes our beloved hero’s.  Chewbacca and Han and all the rest are units that the player can actually control.  Ground battle is a blast, but the addition of air combat is fascinating.  So send those Tie Bombers to destroy the shield generator.  Like any real RTS you must gather material to build your massive armies.  In this case it’s carbon, nova, ore and food that you must obtain.  These are just cooler versions of wood, stone, gold, and food.  Once you obtain enough you can research technology, and climb up the tech tree.  That way you can build the mother of all battle vehicles.  That’s right the coolest mobile attack unit in the known universe.  The four legged AT-AT walker.  Enough said.  Go buy it.  You won’t be disappointed.

Install: Easy
Slide show included.  I love it when developers make the install process more interesting.  Somehow it shows pride in a job well done.

Gameplay: 9.5
All the fun from the AOE series only this time it’s Star Wars.  So it’s better.  The large amount of diverse units available is almost overwhelming.  Intuitive interface with useful advice and information.  Did I mention the lightning fast load times?

Graphics: 8.5
The art of each race is well done and each unit is unique.  Menu screens are crisp, and easy to understand.  High resolution looks good, and the engine is solid.  Perhaps some would say the engine is a tad dated.

Sound: 9
Straight from the screen to your pc.  No one can touch John Williams’ Score.  No one.

Difficulty: 8
The Campaign missions grow more challenging as you progress.  Three levels of difficulty can be chosen before, and during a game.  Of course you could always use those cheat codes…er the force.

Concept: 9.5
Combining Age of Empires with the Star Wars license during the holiday season is a no brainer.  Force Commander was a nightmare; Galactic Battlegrounds is a dream come true.

Multiplayer: 9
Same as AOE.  Team up, or fight amongst yourselves.

Overall: 9
Galactic Battlegrounds is AOE with the coolest facelift this side of Mos Eisley.  Don’t complain about game clones.  Quit your yapping and go buy this one.  You know you want too.