Starwars: Empire at War

[Silver14]

My Empire at War pre-order has shipped.

The demo seemed to be good, hopefully the game will too. At the very least it will get me away from Civ4 for awhile.

[snoopy369]

Wow, putting that < a/ > instead of < /a > caused an interesting text effect in FF 1.5 ... mouseover underline in dark blue.

[Silver14]

Strage that < a/ > worked. It was a typo in the code. I type fast and didn't see it, its corrected to < /a > now.

[DrSpike]

Let us know.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Saw it a best buy today. The collector's edition came in a cool holographic box for only $10 more.

[DrSpike]

Collector's editions are invariably rip-offs. I never even see the box after it's open.

[Silver14]

Haven’t had a chance to play much, but they have been quick to update. There was an update available yesterday to 1.1 and yet another one available today to 1.2.

[vee4473]

when you get a chance to play a bit, i'd like to know if you think the game has too much going on at once.

Meaning, with all those planets to keep an eye on in a real time environment (it is real time if i recall correctly), it would seem like a brain boggle...

[Cyclotron]

@ vee's sig

(sorry to intrude)

[vee4473]

no intrusion...I love that comment

[Grumbold]

The online reviews seem positive. I may be lured into purchasing this, I haven't been tempted by a RTS for a while.

[DrSpike]

What the MP like?

[The diplomat]

I am playing the demo and it seems like a really fun game. I really like the combination of strategic playing with both tactical land and space combat. Certainly, the land and space combat are really fun. This is a game that would fit perfectly in the Star Trek universe.

I might just buy this game.

[Silver14]

I am enjoying the full game. I haven’t felt comfortable to fully comment on it until now, but for me it was worth the purchase.

I haven’t tried MP yet. The skirmish mode is enjoyable and seem balanced. The AI isn't too bad either. I'm a bit of a wuss and started out on easy. I can take the comp at medium on land maps and hard on space maps now though.

I beat the game as the Empire in the campaign mode, but on easy. It held me through too the end and I didn't find the real time on the galaxy map to be annoying. The hyperspace routes only allow travel from nearby systems so you can fortify planets on the front lines without having to spaz out trying to intercept everything.

In the campaign mode all units are built on the galactic map, in the space/land battles you don't produce any new units although any buildings that make units will churn some out. You mainly rely on what you brought with you and can bring in 'reinforcements' from the pool of units local to the system. The campaign mode reminds me a bit of the campaign mode in Rise of Nations without the tedium of hour long battles for one scrap of land.

In skirmish mode you can select space or land of various planets like Endor, Hoth, Naboo and so forth. Stomping on Ewoks and Gungen with AT-AT walkers - fun stuff. I've found the Empire to be easier then the Rebels but I'm getting better as them.

The campaign galactic map mode reminds me a bit of Star Wars Rebellion only it is not as complex or boring or aggravating. I kind of think of this game as a cross between Rebellion and the first SW RTS that came out a few years ago only this one doesn't suck.

If you are a moderate SW fan you'll probably like this game. If you're unsure I suggest you try the demo.

As the Empire in campaign mode you do eventually get the Death Star. You can move it on the galactic map but not in the battles. You get the 'Death Star will be in range in X seconds' messages like in A New Hope then get to blow the planet to bits. I let the Rebels keep Naboo just so I could blow it up.

Space combat is nice. It reminds me of the X-Wing and Tie Fighter games only from a command perspective. The capital ships and star bases have hard points - shield generators, lasers, missile launchers, engines - that can be targeted and destroyed. Thats what reminds me of those games. I think I may even fire up X-Wing Alliance as I still have that disk. This game has got me missing the old SW flight sims.