Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

"Very good game that's worth a try, or at least a look at this review."

''Star Wars: Galatic Battlegrounds is simply Age of Empires 2 except in a Star Wars setting.''

I have a problem with this quote. You see it's quite assumtive. It assume's you've played AOE2. It assume's your not looking for something much different. It also assume's that it's the EXACT same.

Well then perhaps you can take a deep sigh of relief that somebody will stand up and say ''No I would not like to eat a peanut butter sandwich, I prefere my cookies and milk.''

Star Wars:GB is a very well put together game that combines a lot of elements(though hardly the EXACT) from Age of Empires 2 which was a great game by Ensemble studio's.

Basically, you can control either the Wookies,Rebels,Royal Naboo, Galactic empire or Gungans.

STORY-

Obviously the game has a story..in reality it has 7. I count 7 since even the traning scenerio is pretty neat. Obviously if your the type of person that loves the movies, you will understand the story better than somebody who just picked the game up. It does rely heavily on the movies. However, no worries if you not a fan of the movies, their is an option to read quick ''snip lits'' of the story of which the game borrows from the movies.

GAMEPLAY AND REPLAY VALUE

It is a Real Time Strategy so their will be a lot of ''planning'' and thinking forward. Though it should be pointed out simply the massive amounts of units avaliable to the player. Their are 4 ''levels'' of the game, basically you can advance technology level's ''named Tech levels''. As stated before their are 4 levels to advance.. all of which are very impressive to play though. Though this also brings up replayability.. how many times can you play as the same units before getting bored? Honestly, this is a problem ALL RTS games face.. unforantly if you play ANY game long enough it becomes boring. Though It should be pointed out again, with that very thought in mind..GB has many units to choose from..and each faction has different types of troops that feel different.

Another thing to point out is the massive amount of projectile weapons GB incorperate's. Everybody from wookies to Rebels have laser guns..obviously many people will dissmiss this as annoying BEFORE they play the game, this is not true. It actually has a reverse effect, the guns help the game prove it's not ''AOE2''.

Their is also a ''scenario editor'' a very powerful one as well. As well as a pretty neat Campiagn editor, while the latter won't win any award's, it's nice to have. Because, if you ARE a star wars fan at heart, you can create your own story!

Yes, for you star wars buff's, almost everybody is playable, from Princess Leia to Darth Maul. Every wanted to see those two duke it out? Now you can;-) Han Solo, Chewbacca, Jar Jar Binks.(HEHE) ''Me sa gonna die?'' ''HAHA Yes sa yous gonna die Jar Jar Binks! hahaha.'' ''Oh no!''
Their are also quite a few other characters thrown in the mix, including the Viceroy from ''Star Wars 1'' and Darth Vader, Honestly I don't recall seeing the Emporer or Java the Hutt in the game(though I doubt that's a big loss.) Great star wars setting.

SOUND

VERY WELL DONE! The backround music is a continuous Star Wars theme. From the ''Darth Vader Empire song'' to the sad song that plays at the end of 'Return of the Jedi''..very powerful and very moving. Of coarse the best sounds a video game can prouduce may not mean anything unless you have good speakers. I recommend playing games with a PC with NO LESS than 4 speakers and a subwoofer. If you do have decent speakers(more than 10 watts a speaker) then your going to enjoy some of the finest sound FX any game as to offer, this is obviously a Lucas Arts trademark to simply have 'great sound'..If your wondering what speakers I have..so you can compare yours to mine..look below I 'list my specs..feel free to compare as you see fit.

The voiceovers are VERY well done, crystal clear audio. Explosions sound very good, and the ''light saber'' sounds (laser swords) are very movie like.

GRAPHICS

The knock may be ''dated'' and I agree. They most certinaly could be a lot better. Though they are a far cry from ''bad''. If you've played AOE2, they are a step better than those grapichs..what does a ''step better'' mean? Better scaling. Their are actually VERY tall walking mechs. If you've never played AOE2, then don't worry..chances are your going to find them more than suitable. The explosions to it's credit are absoultly amazing! Most certinaly something to check out. What else is their? Well nothing really, the graphics AREN'T bad. Simply don't expect pure 3d cutting edge and you'll be okay.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS..OR WHAT IS GOOD FOR THIS GAME?

For your info..this is what I run on currently..

900mhz AMD Duron
512mb Micron SDRAM(pc-133)
Ati Radeon 64mb DDR VIVO(this or the 32 DDR VE seem to be great cars for 3D gaming in general)
Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+ (though any Sound Blaster will run the game great!)
Klipsch Promedia 4.1 (I know they are high end speakers, but the sound is just as good on the Pulse 4.1's)

That's basically the important things.. I recommend at least a 433 mhz Intel Pentium or Celeron with AT LEAST 128MB ram. You'll get good smooth gameplay with little hiccups. Video card wise..the manual says 2 or 4meg video cards..but if you want to see the 'cut scene's' enjoyably you'll need at least a 16 meg card(voodoo 2 at the very least)

Chances are if your looking at buying this game, you've also though of buying Empire Earth or Stronghold. Both of those games are VERY well put togetheras well, and it could be tough to decide. I don't want to show biased..so I' simply going to say if your a star Wars fan..your going to love this game.. I mean that. If you don't like Star Wars, then it would be unrealistic to expect you to take commande of the Galatic empire and romp though the universe with AT AT'S..

I'm not going to tell you if you should buy this game or not, because if I did.. I'd be showing bias. And this is an un-bias review. But, for those of you who do buy or bough the game, it's most certinaly well worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/01, Updated 12/01/01