Yes, this was a game that was made with the clear intention of being marketed to Star Wars fans and, aesthetically, it succeeds in that marvelously. But the problem is that it doesn't really feel like a Star Wars game as much as it does an RTS that happens to have the trappings of Star Wars draped over it. Not that that's a bad thing, of course, but more on that as we go on.
With the beginning of the game, if you were to start up a new game immediately, you have a choice of six civilizations all of which are visually different and have some various abilities and tech that are different but are otherwise pretty much the same and you can really discount any differences in appearance. Yes, I'm sure that someone will be all too happy to tell me in the comments that I'm hilariously wrong and that there are so many differences in the group based on their various starts that you won't care about because all you will care about is the attack.
Yes, I'm one of those people who plays an RTS and my strategy is defending my base until I build up an army that would make Hannibal giggle like a hyperactive schoolgirl and then roll over my opponents with raw power. And luckily for people like me, there is a mode for you! The standard game allows players to win by one of three methods: wipe out your enemy completely, gather all the holocrons (for those not Star Wars-saavy, essentially data storage devices that make you money) and put them in a Jedi/Sith Temple for a certain amount of "days", (really minutes as determined by the in-game clock) or get to Tech Level 4 and build a Monument which will guarantee your victory within a set amount of "days", but will also make you a target for every Tom, Dick, and Jane who is opposed to you.
And while I would be irritated that this is nothing more than just an RTS that just happens to also be a Star Wars game, there is actually some unique Star Wars content within. Namely, there are campaigns! One for almost every race (except the Naboo, because to Hell with them and their chrome ships). In fact, the Wookies have two, since their first one is a tutorial that will get the player through the basics of the game that is narrated by none other than Qui-Gon Jinn (sadly not voiced by Liam Neeson, who I can only assume had better things to do at the time).
The others follow various plotlines and have various narrators, some of who are not even involved in the plots of said campaigns. The problem, however, comes from the fact that the standard games do not really have the same Star Wars feel that the campaigns do. According to what I've been told (having never played it myself) this game is essentially an Age of Empires clone and I could definitely see how, seeing as there really isn't anything unique to it.
Most of the default game modes begin with each faction having a Command Center, three workers and a scout. Given a default amount of carbon, nova, food, and ore to build/feed their forces, they must go out and get more while defending themselves from other factions and eventually building up a civilization worthy of winning the game.
There are, of course, other approaches beyond simply mowing down the enemy. There's "Terminate the Commander" in which you achieve victory by...terminating the Commander. And, as I stated before, there are the holocron and Monument methods of victory, but you'll rarely - if ever - go for those as your method of choice. Again, unless you're just one of those crazy diehard strategy players who will pick this game up and play the hell out of it.
But if you're a Star Wars fan, you could honestly give this a miss. While it does have some nostalgia value for the original films and it is entertaining to play as the Galactic Empire and waste many, many tribes of Gungans with an army that dwarfs the one the size of Hoth, that's really all the enjoyment that you'll get out of it. The novelty of Star Wars wears off pretty quick when you realize that there's very, very little unique to be pulled from here.
But there's an expansion pack on the horizon and, well...I've got a bad feeling about this...
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is now available from Ensemble Studios and LucasArts.
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