Star Wars: Rebellion

The Good
It's a galactic game of conquest in the Star Wars universe, including all the famous ships, characters, and ground vehicles from the movies and the most popular books. What more can one ask for in a concept? Any game that allows one to assemble a fleet of Star Destroyers to scour the galaxy looking for rebels automatically scores points.

The concept of being able to capture planets through diplomacy and the use of espionage to weaken your opponent's forces is a welcome way of thinking in a universe full of 'brute force' games. The game's two sides lend themselves to two different styles of play. The Imperial forces can assemble a huge military force and just sweep through the galaxy, while the Rebel forces need to initially play a diplomatic game, with guerilla attacks to help them win battles.

The use of characters is also interesting, as characters are sometimes more important than a fleet or planet under one's control. The more powerful characters are trump cards of sort. While one would like to use them for everything, one is also afraid to lose them on an inconsequential mission. The Force-sensitive characters can detect such in other characters and train them, increasing their abilities. Who (aside from Vader, Palpatine, and Luke) are Force-sensitive is random each time, so sometimes this concept plays a major factor. For example, once I had Luke discover that nearly half the rebel characters were Force sensitive and had him train them all. What resulted was a true 'Return of the Jedi' as this band of Jedi dominated the rest of the game, nearly to the point where military conflict was no longer necessary.

The Bad
The interface is quite dreadful. One often needs to go through a number of screens to do the most simple of tasks. Planet reports open up in static, half screen windows and opening two of these will prohibit further such openings until the previous ones are closed. Nothing can be done simply and this is unfortunate, as it is the first major stumbling block in this game being a classic.

The AI is as pitiful as the interface. The computer doesn't play a smart game and often seems just to be roaming around the galaxy randomly, hoping to hurt you wherever it can, despite the side it plays. While initially it will cause a player grief because its haphazard approach causes planet losses in secure territories, once a player knows what he/she needs to do to compensate, victory is usually ensured.

The tactical space combat, while one of the things many looked forward to, actually disappoints. Another poor interface causes the battles to be annoying and confusing and one will often resort to just letting the computer figure out the results. While the idea of watching a fleet of Star Destroyers engage a rag-tag fleet of rebel cruisers with TIE and rebel fighters swarming around should be fun, the way the ships maneuver and place themselves make the battle seem stagnant and boring.

The real time pacing of the strategic portion of the game causes an odd pace, as one will often speed up time to wait for the next major event and find oneself pausing the game to deal with issues. This constant change in pace makes the game feel like a round of stop and go traffic rather than an enjoyable game.

The Bottom Line
An attempt to bring what many people wanted, a galaxy-wide strategy game set in the Star Wars universe, that falls short of being a classic because of bad design decisions. What should have been a fun conflict between an evil Empire and a small band of nobles turns into a fight between the user and the interface.

There are a few Star Wars fans that can overlook many of the games problems. If you haven't tried this yet, then chances are you're not one of those people.

The Good
Great interface wonderfull design. I loved the complexity and the options. I still play it all the time.

The Bad
Character Intel is very weak. When you send a person out to do spying it always more trouble than it is worth. At the begining the Empire starts out with almost no starships!! How is that possible.

The Bottom Line
I have seen so many bad reievews of this game and I still can not understand why. This is a Hall Of Fame game. Just give it a chance and you will see.

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.