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Empire at War Review
Before I start, I would just like to recommend you read the Empire at War Demo Review. Here you will get a good first impressions look at the game and will strongly represent how you'll most probably feel about your first experience, even if you've played the demo first or not. The overall score of the demo review is also taken into consideration in the final score of this review, since it covers everything not mentioned here. The review will take place in two main sections for Single player and Multiplayer modes. Each mode will receive a separate score and after that a Total score which covers the game as a whole.
 Single Player Campaign and Galactic Conquest
Everything you can come to expect in a game can be dashed within the time it takes to complete your first mission. Or, all expectations can be confirmed and excelled upon. Star Wars: Empire At War falls somewhere in between the two extremes. While it gives you more of what you want from what you may have played in the demo. A lot of it falls by the wayside and a couple of hours in you feel like something big is missing. Why? Well lets just say, Empire at war isn't just one game, it's many. You have the campaign, you have Galactic Conquest, and you have the now traditional Skirmish modes. All these seem to centre as one game, and to a certain degree they do, but everything in this game feels so fragmented and unfinished that you still end up wanting more.
Firstly lets focus on where the whole thing breaks down into seemingly one big mess. The Land and Space modes. While at first they appear to be a seamless masterpiece that works well at all levels. They really feel like two separate games that are in two completely separate leagues. On the positive side the space battles are a great element. Plenty of action, a strong sense of being in the thick of things and a great soundtrack to boot. But then, especially after a while... they drag into monotony. You warp in, clean up and watch the fight take place. The only real tactical element in this mode is the use of attacking hardpoints, which speed up the rate of which you destroy the opposing forces. The strategy required is actually higher when you don't know which ships to use. But once you've fought many space battles, you know what mix to take in to mop up quickly and without much hassle. From there the fun factor is destroyed, and your left feeling like you need something more to make things interesting.
Land battles are limited. Ergo, feeling the same as the space battles, but no where as exciting. The action comes in small bursts, and when they come, they are quick, and dull to play. The game play here centres around the old style RTS, where units will exchange weapons fire until someone comes out on top. In fact 1995's Command and Conquer has stronger battles, since you could throw a few grenadiers or flame throwers into the mix of soldiers to shake things up a bit... Not here. Unless you have a Lightsaber wielding hero at your disposal, a whole platoon of infantry are not going to drop for a good 40-60 seconds. The whole experience turns into a move forward, wait a while to kill the enemy... then move on. In summary here they are just long, drawn out affairs that become a chore.
When it comes to acquiring build pads, the Land computer will tell you "We have acquired a build pad" and if you chose not to use it and therefore bypass it you'll hear: "We have lost a build pad".. This is fine, but if you have to pass the thing numerous times, like you do in the 2nd Rebel mission, you end up wishing you could rip your PC speakers out of the sockets and throw them at a wall, because you end up annoyed at been told too many times about the status of the build pads. The frustration is only amplified when your immediately realise it's something you cannot turn off! In fact all the notification voices in this game become as repetitive as the game you're playing, and add nothing to something which is already proving to be flawed.
Whether you're in single player campaign or the galactic conquest, both feel the same. The only difference is a very loose story in the campaign which keeps them both separate. The Galactic mode is a very welcome addition to the game, but if there is one major thing missing, is a fully fledged Galactic Conquest Skirmish mode within this area of the game. Because once you have completed all of the official maps, that area of the game becomes redundant. Even though you may have random events, there is not enough of them to keep you on your toes. The end result is that the game turns into a cat and mouse affair where you're chasing around the same forces over and over again.
The AI is also very much flawed, and despite what we've been told about there being no scripting. In the campaign mode the AI feels like it is full of scripts and not much else. The game does get hard in areas, but there is a good reason for that, and it's not the AI. Usually when attacking planets, you'll be forced to go on a predetermined path. All will usually be simple until you reach choke points in the map. At these choke points are usually numerous enemy forces and probably some sort of guard tower (or two) waiting for you. It is at this point where you are likely to take quite a few casualties. This makes the campaign challenging, but usually more frustrating because there is no other way to go than straight into these so-called "ambushes". Yet another thing that ruins the fun.
In Galactic conquest, the AI attacks seldomly, and when it does, there's usually no explanation to how on earth it got to the planet they're attacking, especially when you have all planets your planets covered on land and in space.. This even happens when you're the Rebel Alliance. All I can say there is, go figure!!?? The problems don't end there, as mentioned above with the land battles, the AI just seems to chuck a small force at you, bit by bit at a time. These are always easily countered, and always will prove less of a challenge than coming up against the guard towers dotted around a map.
Single player Scores: (Out Of 10)
- Presentation - 5.8: Although the camera is improved the single player's storyline seems distant from the game you are trying to play. Thus, you can never really connect with the campaigns on any level.
- Graphics - 9.1: Land tactical isn't as high poly, since there is more detail. Space looks excellent and adds alot of atmosphere within the tactical space battles. Overall though the game looks excellent!
- Sound - 9.3: This score stays. Klepacki has excelled himself in all departments with both the sound and music scores. There is no doubt that without the sound, this just isn't Star Wars!
- Game play - 6.8: It'll remain fun until you figure out which ships work best and from there is just a case of running down everything it your path, all that seems required is click, sit and watch. Although it was fine 6-10 years ago, it's way outdated to today's RTS standards.
- Lasting appeal - 6.1: Once the campaigns and the Galactic Conquest is all done, there really isn't much reason to go back. The only hope is that Petroglyph and the fan community can create enough conquest maps to at least make things a little fresher. That is if, you can cope with the lacklustre AI.
- Overall Score - 6.9 (not an average): If you've played the demo before the full game, then you really won't find much here than what you've already seen. The game grows tiresome after such a short while and you just wish that something exciting will happen, but it doesn't. The whole experience just feels unfinished, unpolished and has very little to desire.
Skirmish Play & Multiplayer
Despite the Single player flaws, there is redemption for Empire at War in the form of the Skirmish mode. While there are certainly some of the issues that surround the other two modes, they are not as evident here. Although structures are already mostly predetermined, Land battles still resemble a classic RTS game. Whether you choose to play a quicker game by having structures pre built (With the exception of build pads), or a longer game by building them up yourself. You are guaranteed to be fighting over areas of territory to survive. Offline in a 1 vs 1, the AI shows little in the way of offensive capabilities, and shows signs of it's single player counterpart, and battles can suffer the same fate, but there is a solution. Jack the difficulty up to hard and perhaps add an extra AI or two to increase the challenge. It is then, the game here proves to be in an element of it's own, and you find yourself having to manage your money and protect your territories with the odds stacked against you. And the best thing is while your population capacity remains the same, they'll have twice or more times more unit capacity than you have. Without a doubt, this is where the fun lies.
Multiplayer in this mode builds on this element, and proves to be even more exciting against real opposition. The battles here are without a doubt, fun and frenzied. With no tank rush tactics an option, the game is a pure slugfest on the ground and has the ability to go on for quite some time. Tactical plans and strong strategy are certainly key, one mistake or incorrect decision can see dire consequences in a 1 vs 1 game. While team play, which will certainly be a clan favourite, could certainly rage on for hours if the teams are evenly matched. It is clear that this mode of play is what will keep Empire at War on the PCs of many a gamer for a long while.
If land skirmishes had the potential for some serious fun, then the space skirmishes are something that will be the godsend to the Hardcore RTS online gamer. Take the fast and frenzied pace of land skirmish game play and amplify. Most space maps centre on a space station either side of the map, with asteroids to be mined either side of the station, and guns for protection. Most maps are rather open, but do contain the odd asteroid field and nebula to keep them interesting. The key here is to ultimately hold the asteroids. If you lose just one, and do not gain it back in a swift counter-attack, the tide of battle will easily turn and all will be lost. So it is fundamentally key to centre on grabbing and sustaining these asteroids from the word go. This is before even attempting to destroy the opponent's space station. The next key is finding the balance between upgrading your station, and building up your forces. This can become quite easy to do, but can take a while to master.
Space battles when two forces collide are without a doubt spectacular in their own right. Knowing you have a huge fleet is certainly epic. But upon seeing your opponent, realising you've been hog-tied, certainly can get the adrenaline pumping. You feel the urge to destroy them in their own back yard, but only a strong strategy will allow you to prevail. The same applies if you're the guy facing the foray.
It is very clear that Petroglyph have put a lot of play test time into this area of the game, as the balance is nothing short of perfect. No matter which side you're on, your tactics and strategy are at the utmost importance to ensuring you can come through on top. It has been a very long time since I have had the pleasure of playing an RTS game online that feels like Empire at War does. I originally lost faith in playing RTS games online because of numerous mass rushing and mass super weapon overloads. Now I can safely say that my faith is restored, and this is something that goes very highly in my book.
But.... Big problem!
One word. GameSpy! The devil incarnate plagues the multiplayer portion in this game. On average you're likely to connect to a host in about 1 in 20 attempts. Which is quite terrible. So you'll find yourself spending just as much time in the lobby as you would in game. It's frustrating. Especially since this is ultimately the best part of the game. When you do finally connect to your peers and are in game, all seems to run smoothly. There are occasional lag issues, but these aren't really anything to write home about. Let's just hope that one day, Petroglyph eventually get the funds to host their own "Petroglyph Online" servers like the late Westwood studios once did.
Multiplayer Scores: (Out Of 10)
- Presentation - 8.8: Although the modes feel restricted by not being able to build custom bases and a tight pop cap, it doesn't matter. There is plenty to be done here and it is all laid out nicely.
- Graphics - 9.1: Same as Singleplayer. There is very little graphical loss in muliplayer, which is the standard of the games of today.
- Sound - 9.5: To add to the great score you get in single player, the music will change to great sounding war music when battles take place. This element creates a lot more atmosphere and you feel a lot more immersed in the Star Wars universe because of it.
- Gameplay - 9.3: Highly addictive and worth the buying price alone. Muliplayer makes up for it's singleplayer counterpart, and then gives you more. It feels polished, it feels balanced, and the high octane battles and strategy keeps everything very fun to play.
- Lasting appeal - 8.9: With the high addiction factor and fast fueled gameplay at offer here, you'll always keep coming back for more. That is, if you can cope with GameSpy being uncooperative most of the time.
- Overall Score - 9.2 (not an average): Multiplayer is truely excellent. Although it would be good to change the placement of the structures to add a little more strategy, it is not something that proves annoying. Otherwise there really isn't much more that could be improved. Other than not using GameSpy for internet games.
Game Summary
Empire at War is an unusual mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. But if you are prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt you will see that there is an enjoyable game within. Single player missions do prove repetitive, but if you can look past that and the poor AI, then there is some fun to be found here. Multiplayer however is in a league of it's own. The AI feels and plays alot better, especially when teaming up against you, and the online portion is just superb. GameSpy can be frustrating most of the time, but if you have the time and the patience to get into a game, then you'll be in for a real treat. Basically, this game is much more multiplayer orientated, and it shows.
Overall Score for entire game - 80%
Review written by: C&C King
DATE: 20 February 2006
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in any of the articles published on Petro-Gamers.com are that of the author, and do not reflect the official view of Petro-Gamers.com, unless otherwise stated.
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