Star Wars: Force Commander

The Good
Battles between classic Star Wars ground forces in full 3D is a great hook for a game. Bringing the camera to ground level and staging your own Hoth assault is a blast.

The Bad
The game turns out to be stunningly non-fun. The thrill of sending 3D AT-ATs to destroy all who would oppose you only lasts so long. As a fun diversion for a few hours, Force Commander is fine, but as a gripping RTS, it fails. Both the Empire and the Rebellion have fundamentally the same types of units and structures, with little making one side different from the other. The path-finding is easily confounded, and large groups of units need to be guided through narrow passes or around oddly shaped mountains, making large scale attacks a nightmare of constant clicking. The Command Point system is indeed somewhat innovative, but all it really accomplishes is making it easier for the guy who throws the first punch to keep on winning, while the underdog stays firmly in second place for the entire skirmish. Mining resources may be old for the genre, but it works.

The Bottom Line
Watch someone else play for a while, then watch Empire Strikes Back, then play Star Craft. You'll be glad you did.