empire at war: actual galactic conquest!

Real time strategy often conjures up thoughts of base building, resource gathering and general clickery around an arbitrary map while accelerating through a technology tree. The Total War series added a much needed dimension to the experience - a macro view that provided ample support to the ground battles that would ensue in a campaign. While Rise of Nations slanted towards resource-gathering on a larger scale as well with their "Conquer the World" mode, it didn't offer the grand strategy that future titles like Rome: Total War would so skillfully display. Little did I know that a Star Wars license would be next in line to offer something that could almost be considered innovation.

Waging a war on disparate fronts seemed like a lofty design decision for Empire at War- I didn't think it could be done. In a universe where we have been given six movies' worth of evidence that wars take place planetside as well as in the vastness of space, for once a game provides a battlefield that is similarly all-encompassing.

Star Wars: Empire at War presents a battle map at the beginning of the game consisting of planets. Above each planet are orbit "slots", where ships carrying troops or space cruisers can lie in wait before attacking the planet below. Trade routes and flight paths are easily navigated by using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Garrisons can be constructed on planets that have been assimilated into the Empire or liberated by the Rebellion. Smugglers can infiltrate enemy planets and siphon credits to your cause. And I haven't even talked about the actual fighting yet.

If the space around a planet is occupied, a battle for control of this area will take place once you've moved your fleet into position. The battles are kind of like Homeworld, but…they're missing something. They felt flat and almost as if it was simply a land map with no real point of reference to give the impression of space. The purity of space combat was gone, but in its place I was nevertheless immediately entranced by re-enactments of the battles I had seen so many times in the films. The visuals serve their purpose, and seeing TIE fighters and X-Wings darting around like insects next to the gargantuan capital gunships gives the proper sense of scale.

Ground battles aren't particularly ground-breaking; the conventions of standard RTS dominate the experience. Though your troops can take cover to improve defence as in Dawn of War, and the addition of reinforcement points on the map allow you to drop in troops at these locations as long as you have them in orbit around the planet. Then there are the bomber squadrons that can be used to eliminate enemy structures. But once again these must be already waiting to be launched. In games past, calling in an airstrike was simply a button click away - but Empire at War clearly requires the preparation for massive-scale assaults. It ties both battlefronts together.

There is always a place for skirmishes and tank rush battles - they are fun in their own right. But I see the approach of Empire at War as the future for strategy games that possess enough scale to warrant the use of meta-strategy, since it only makes sense in a setting where the battle for supremacy is so far-reaching. Indeed, Empire at War feels like a game of galactic proportions. While each field of battle is merely sufficient on its own, as a whole they provide the scope that was needed to truly convey the menacing Imperial assaults of the films, as well as the calculated tactical strikes of the Rebellion. I fully expect to be playing a game mode that offers the entire Galaxy for the taking, one planet at a time.

despite the metal and wires