Star Wars: Rebellion

The Good
This is a truly immersive and addictive game. To actually play as the Empire or the Rebellion and try to take over the galaxy with or without force is a dream many Star Wars fans have had. To build multiple Death Stars and blow up planets at will is a first in the line of Star Wars games. As an avid fan of TIE Fighter I felt a strong desire to correct the mistakes of the Empire and bring true peace and order to the galaxy. I tried playing as the Rebels but hearing that fake Leia or Luke voice made it so annoying to play as the Rebels. The Empire was much more fun as their characters were more civilized and proper. The Imperial Star Destroyer is a great capital ship and with the Lancer Frigate and Carrack Light Cruiser can easily take on Rebel fleets fairly early in the game. The Super Star Destroyer along with a fleet of the smaller Star Destroyers with fighters and support craft make the game very engrossing.

The game diverges from so many other RTS and turn-based strategy games in that it requires the player to effectively manage political, social as well as economical and military events in the game. The lower your expenditures in the war against the Rebels the more popular you can be. Gaining support for your cause is crucial to success in this game as you only have limited resources and a big galaxy to conquer.

The Bad
It takes a very long time to build ships and send fleets to fight the enemy. The Rebels start off with a huge disadvantage as they have NO LARGE CAPITAL SHIPS. The Empire can rely on the fact that it will start the game with at least one Star Destroyer, either a smaller Victory Star Destoyer or the superior Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Very wise planning is needed in this game to achieve success as the enemy is not as dumb as they look.

The infamous interface which has so often killed the game in the reviewers' minds is not hard to learn. It is better than the interface in newer games like Star Trek Armada. Unfortunately it is terribly inefficient and can even lead to mistakes such as retiring officers prematurely or scrapping necessary ships (I've never made these mistakes in the game but came close).

The sound options are terrible as it is impossible to mute those annoying C-3PO sounds and other robot noises.

The Bottom Line
Only a four on five as it lacks proper sound and interface controls. I still recommend it to all hardcore Star Wars fans as you do get to conquer the galaxy either with an iron fist or a soft hand.

Do you have what it takes to command a galaxy?

The Good
Most games are about excitement. I play games like Medal of Honor for the thrill of victory. Starcraft is fast-paced strategy excitement. Titan Quest offers fun abilities, while Mass Effect and other RPG games offer a compelling plot.

Rebellion offers almost no plot. Rebellion is not fast-paced. And while a well-placed headshot may give me a smug feeling of superiority or a thrill of quick victory over an opponent, Rebellion offers no similar quick endorphins. Instead, Rebellion gives you an open format and lets you decide.

We all know the Star Wars universe well. If all you know is the original trilogy, or even the first of those movies, you know enough to understand the back history of this game. If you have read the novels, played the games, and love every aspect of Star Wars, you will get even more out of this game.

Rebellion is set up for long-term strategical satisfaction. It actually takes time to build a kilometer-long starship. There are no super-units; balance is important. Research doesn't always work. In short, Rebellion is a mix of sci fi, video game, and reality.

Characters are recruited, then sent on missions. Intelligence is gathered slowly, and is not always reliable- sure, Darth Vader may have been on Corellia when Han Solo scouted the planet, but by the time Wedge Antilles arrives with a battle squadron, Vader has left.

Resources are gathered via mines and refineries. Maintenance of equipment is important- just because you can build it doesn't mean you can keep it running. This is the idea behind Rebellion: more realism.

This game provides players with the ability to do what they want. Make the Star Wars plot change, build a real fleet with the Rebel Alliance or use the Empire's starfighters to destroy the rebels. Train new Jedi, or new Sith. Assassinate enemy operatives. Bombard worlds into oblivion, or blow them away entirely with your own Death Star.

With great power comes great complexity. Most bad reviews are because of the time required to learn this game. If you don't mind actually thinking about your video games, you may ignore most of the bad reviews.

The Bad
There is a learning curve. Once you have played the game for a bit, you'll find the AI is pathetically inadequate. Fleet battles are difficult to manage beyond the basic. Parts of the game are hardcoded and cannot be upgraded.

The Bottom Line
Rundown: Graphics: Certainly not fantastic, but are acceptable except for fleet battles. Music: Standard Star Wars. Neither spectacular nor bad. Interface: Poor, but manageable. Flexibility: Superb. Few games offer this level of options.

Final thoughts: a great game for thinkers. There is still a thriving community for this game: http://www.swrebellion.com/

The above website also offers tools like RebEd, which allows customization of units, build times, etc. Highly recommended, especially if you like the extended universe.

The Good

I have to admit, when a friend of mine and I first discovered this game, we stayed up literally ALL night long some nights building Star Destroyers and Death Stars. That part of the game is pretty cool. You are finally able to build up a huge fleet to roam the galaxy blowing up planets and terrorizing the rebels. Or if you play as the rebels, you can have fun stickin' it to the man. Ok, you won't have 'fun', exactly, but you'll be doing something more fun than undergoing extensive dental surgery.

The Bad

After all the hours I invested playing this game, I feel that I am fully qualified to say that it is one of the absolute worst games ever produced. This is such an obvious attempt to get Star Wars fans to buy a game based on that golden license. Sadly, like so many other Star Wars games, the developers obviously knew it was going to sell regardless of the end result, so no real effort was put forth to make it an enjoyable experience.

'But you stayed up hours playing it! How can you say it isn't fun?' you say? Well, I am a classic example of the kind of sucker who buys this game. I am a die-hard Star Wars fanatic, and anytime I can get involved with Stormtroopers and AT-ATs I will do so. Unfortunately, after the initial 'cool factor' wore off, it became more and more apparent what an awful product this 'game' is.

It's been mentioned before, but I feel it's important to point it out again. This game, at its heart, has almost nothing to do with Star Wars. The Empire and Rebellion begin in almost identical situations militarily and diplomatic. This game begins just after the Battle of Yavin that ends the first Star Wars movie. Hmmm... do you remember the Empire and Rebellion being military equals at the outset of The Empire Strikes Back, because I don't.

Both sides have the same basic types of ships, ground units, buildings, etc., except with different pictures to represent them. There is almost no significant strategic difference in playing the Empire as opposed to playing the Rebellion. Your advisor robot (who is useless) is different, as is the look of the interface, but that is about it.

Oh, and about that 'interface'... It seems that Lucas Arts has gone to great lengths to make certain that players must open as many menus as possible to access the most basic information. There are no pages where important statistics are laid out for you all at once. No quick and easy system for finding out what planets are building what, or what troops are where. Can't remember who is building your Death Star? Have fun searching each shipyard for it. It is quite honestly the worst user interface I have ever encountered in any game for any system, ever.

The so-called 'characters' in the game are perhaps the most ridiculous attempt at adding Star Wars flavor to this generic strategy stew. Darth Vader will spend the entire game conducting diplomacy to peacefully win over planets. Just like the movies! Princess Leia and Mon Mothma do an awful lot of recruiting of new characters, as does the Emperor. Again, just like the movies!

Missions that can be performed by the various characters are also a joke. It seems that a dice roll is all that determines success or failure, and I could never discover what factors under my control might help produce a positive outcome. And why does it take SOOOOOO long to do anything? I realize the galaxy is a big place, but aren't all these Star Wars types of ships supposed to be REALLY fast? Most of the game is spent waiting for so-and-so Rebel character to get to such-and-such a planet to capture so-and-so Imperial character, only to find out that the target character isn't there anymore. Then you get to wait for the character you sent to go ALLLLLLLL the way back to where they came from. What fun! At least in the meantime I can access countless cumbersome menus to keep me occupied.

The game touts its '3D space combat' like it's the best thing since sliced bread. Well, it's about as interesting as slicing breade, andabout as visually compelling. The movement 'orders' you issue to your ships seem to be taken largely as suggestions. You never really get the sense that you are an admiral in charge of a fleet of starships. Instead you feel like a guy sitting at a PC trying in vain to make ugly 3D blocks move around andshoot ugly weapons effects at other ugly 3D blocks. Strangely, this turns out to be precisely what you are doing.

**The Bottom Line**

I could blather on for days about all the games other faults, but they are too numerous to mention, and I grow weary of being so negative. 'Star Wars: Rebellion' is by all accounts a random poor quality sci-fi real time strategy game, with a thin coat of Star Wars paint slapped on it. Only a huge Star Wars fanatic like myself could ever have any fun with this game, and even then the novelty will wear off very quickly. Perhaps if you have never played a computer game before you should play this. Every game you play after that will seem like a masterpiece! The bottom line is this: without the Star Wars license this game would be regarded as a totally useless space based strategy game. With the Star Wars license, it can now be added to the growing list of sub-par Star Wars games shoveled onto the market. Lucas Arts should honestly be ashamed. Avoid this nightmare at all costs.