Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

The Good
I'm a fan of Star Wars (I'm sure you are all aware of that now) and I'm also a fan of Age of Empires. So I was expecting big things from this after it was announced a while back.

I'm glad to say, that after a few weeks of playing, it's a very clean package, with everything a Star Wars fan could want. A chance to lead the Rebellion and the Imperial march. Recreations of the movies most important scenes (like the battle of hoth) thanks to the multiplayer options. And, what I believe is the most important of all: An easy way to kill Jar Jar over, and over, and over, and over ......

Where was I. Oh yes. GB is fun for all the above reasons. The single player campaign's are actually very well put together. Similar to AoE they go by the timeline. So the you will start with the battle for Naboo and work your way through to the Battle of Endor.

And since its AoE all over again, controlling each unit and maintaining each area of the game is very easy indeed. It helps greatly if you have played AoE before. Even then, newcomers will find things simple to accomplish at first, then gradually increase in difficulty.

The Bad
Although its an easy game to get into, and there is plenty to do, its still AoE. And the fact that the graphics and gameplay are basically the same won't help the cause for those looking for something new. I did enjoy playing as each race in the galaxy that I love, but I found it wasn't a real challenge thanks to my many days with AoE.

The thing that hurt the most was the graphics. AoE was never a marvel to look at. Simple, yes, but nothing compared to say Battle Realms. Here's the killer though. Ensemble studios are working on Age of Mythology (i.e. AoE3), and so far the screenshots look very good indeed. The question is, why wasn't the same graphical engine used for this. Surely some of the new techniques in the engine could have been tweaked in.

The only other problem I found came from the AI. At times some troops will find themselves stuck at bad times during a fight, meaning I had to spend hard earned money to replace someone I shouldn't have had to replace.

The Bottom Line
As a whole. Galactic Battlegrounds is a solid title that is hard not to like. But there is nothing here that will make it a huge title for everyone to sit up and look at, since AoM, Empire Earth and Battle Realms has this covered.

Still, it's always good to log on and relive some of the best moments of the movies with pals. And a laugh is always had with Jar Jar (not of the movie kind!)