That's not a moon
It's never easy to write about Star Wars games. You just don't know what to expect. In that effect i find many similarities to Star Trek series. Although the movies and TV-shows of both franchises are globally known and revered, game developers tend to screw up any attempt to translate those worlds in to games. There have been dozens of failed Star Wars games, and only a handful of good ones. Well, i got my hands on Star Wars: Empire at War and i held my fingers crossed all the way. Game is a massive turn-based strategy with 3d battle system, much like Total War series (Shogun, Medieval, Rome). Strategic map is nicely done, representing most of the planets known to fans, and some others, not so familiar (to me at least). Playable factions are Galactic Empire (Bad guys) and the Republic (Good guys with lousy ships). After you select your faction, you're given a planet, or several of them and some starting resources. After that it is up to you to wipe out other guys from existence. It is a standard process: gather resources, build planet upgrades, gather more resources, build ships, etc. When your ships actually engage the enemy you're transported to a 3d space battlefield, where you can exchange laser fire and watch as your ships destroy the enemy. Everything is rendered beautifully, ships look just like they do in the movies, and everything is followed up by first class sound effects. When you get the hang of space battle, you will eventually end up in a ground one. Seizing control of enemy planets requires you to defeat their ground forces first. Once again, you will play this out on a separate battlefield, with all the buildings and units the planet has (if they have a factory or a shield generator, it will be shown). Decent game that could be much better in some tactical aspects, but if you're a Star Wars fan you will love it.
