Having conquered every gaming genre from role-playing epics to first-person shooters, it’s no surprise LucasArts has finally chosen real-time strategy as a home for its perennial space operas.Designed by Petroglyph — a team that grew from the ashes of Westwood Studios, the people who redefined armchair warfare with Command & Conquer — Empire At War fills in the gaps between Episodes III and IV, allowing players to fight on a range of planets in that galaxy far, far away.
The stripped-down action — ditching the tedious micro-management that blights many war games — makes Empire a joy to play, but it’s the chance to wage cerebral battles on land and in space simultaneously that makes this one of the most engaging Star Wars games around.