Game Review: Star Wars: Empire at War
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that this is a safe and fun game for
teens and possibly even mature tweens. There are plenty of
explosions and frequent battle scenes, but players will not
encounter any blood or gore. The game is
online
enabled, and while the online portion doesn't contain any
different content, there isn't any control over the language or
actions of other players. Common Sense does not recommend
online play for anyone under 12.
Families who do purchase this game may want to discuss how this game fits in with the movies, books, and other games about Star Wars. Do you like how the game allows you to, in essence, change the storyline of the fourth movie, or do you feel it makes it less appealing? Does playing out the action in a game give you more freedom to imagine your own stories? How?
Common Sense Media Review
With every major Star Wars vehicle, spaceship, and character
represented and a unique approach to real-time-strategy (RTS)
gameplay, STAR WARS: EMPIRE AT WAR is almost a classic.
In the game, players take command of either the galactic Empire or rebel forces and attempt to gain control of the entire galaxy. Set roughly around the time of Star Wars IV , the rebellion is just starting to form and is looking for a way to steal the plans of a rumored super-weapon (the Death Star). Meanwhile, the Empire hopes to continue to expand its grip on the galaxy.
Since the space and land battles are handled separately, players need to build both space and ground forces, including a wide variety of Star Wars vehicles and spaceships. It can get complicated managing the vast array of forces at hand; however, to make things simpler, players don't need to be concerned with the gathering of resources, which is a major break from most real-time strategy games.
Unfortunately, the battle sequences themselves are fairly linear. Players may be frustrated by the land maps, which typically only have a few approaches to enemy forces, and offer limited areas to bring in reinforcements. In the campaign mode, this often leads to a situation in which the side that starts with the biggest army tends to win, reducing the strategic options during the actual battle.
The battles in space tend to be more satisfying, replicating the laser-fire, explosions, and excitement of the movies. It's pretty rewarding to see an Empire star destroyer break into pieces and explode in a shower of metal and light.
Clear differences exist between the Empire and the rebellion, with the Empire being markedly more sinister. For example, during the tutorial, one character of the Empire remarks that "We will bomb the rebels, and when they come out with their hands up, we will bomb them again." Whereas the Empire is able to take over any planet it desires, the rebellion is limited to freeing planets that are under Empire or space pirate control. To make up for that limitation, the rebellion is able to steal weapon designs from the Empire by using spies.
Players looking for a dedicated RTS-style of game might wish to try more strategic games, like Empire Earth 2 , but, all in all, fans of the movies will undoubtedly find Empire at War a fun and fairly challenging game.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
