Let’s not beat around the Sarlac pit here. I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I own my very own Storm Trooper suit which I paid a king’s ransom for. I’ve camped in line to see the films and was even first in line, thank you very much, with some 2,000 people behind me at the showing of Episode I. So, you might say my opinion is a little biased. Just a tad, I’d say. Now that we’ve cleared that up, I’ll qualify my bias by saying that if anything ever comes out that isn’t up to what I believe are high standards of game design, I will quickly give it the tongue lashing it deserves regardless of what franchise it is associated with.

Empire at War is yet another real time strategy title (YARTS?), and certainly not the first Star Wars RTS at that. However, Empire at War is the game that the last Star Wars themed RTS, Galactic Battlegrounds, should have been but wasn’t. This game has so much more to offer by way of not only land battles but space battles as well. The graphics are top notch. The interface, while a bit overwhelming at first, isn’t too hard to master. The preview comes with several tutorials which I recommend playing to bring you up to speed in all the minutiae of the game.

Many RTSs of late have taken the route of avoiding the micromanagement of mining for resources, keeping your citizens happy, etc. Empire at War follows this strategy. For those of us who like micromanagement, you may find this game wanting. That doesn’t stop Empire at War from promising the fun, though. You’ll be able to hire smugglers, if you’re on the side of the Rebellion, to steal funds away from enemy planets. Espionage missions will allow you to steal technology from the Empire using droids. You can build fleets and load them with troops to head from planet to planet, fighting in space and on the planet’s surface. You can order troops to retreat if you see an enemy fleet on the way that you know will wipe your base out if you prefer to save the men for another conflict. The Rebels can train raiding troops who can bust through enemy blockades. To say that there’s a lot to be done would be an understatement.

You can build certain structures on planets to help defend them and raise the capital they produce. Money management is simple from what I saw. The focus of this game is on the combat and space combat is especially cool. I loved being able to drag a box around a fleet of star destroyers which had little TIE Fighters swirling around them and telling them to attack a space station. You’ll even be able to build structures such as the infamous giant hurt ball known to Star Wars fans as the Death Star. Space combat is more involved just point and click, however. You can order your ships to attack “hard points” on other ships and stations such as shield generators, turbo laser banks, or engines. And, of course, being a strategy title, certain ships are better suited to certain tasks.

If you’re a fan of the Star Wars universe or an RTS lover, pick this up when it comes out. Well worth the greenbacks (or whatever the color your money is where you are). I still have the preview installed on my machine at home and am salivating in anticipation of the full release. If you haven’t already, don’t take my word for it - download the demo and give it a shot.