Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

"A Dream Come True For Star Wars Gaming Fans"

Well it appears that Lucasarts has finally done it right with their strategy games this time around. So onto the review....

GAMEPLAY
Those who have played Age Of Empires 2 will find this game very familiar, both in gameplay and graphics. The basic mission is to collect resources to build an army to defeat your enemy. The game does good in this area. If changes the resources slightly but makes them seem reasonable,like wood is replaced by carbon,rock replaced by ore, and so on. Plus the fact that it adds familiar units like Imperial AT-AT's, Rebel X-Wings,and Naboo Fighters makes it so much more fun to play.
STORY
The story is very simple. It is split into 6 different stories. The first one teaches you how to play the game, for both Age Of Empires players and people new to real-time strategy games. It's very informative and teaches you all about it very quickly and has a decent story for it too. The following 2 campaigns follow the Trade Federation and their invasion of Naboo in Episode 1,and then the Gungan campaign which starts with a Gungan Leader uniting all the Gungan tribes around 2000 years before Episode 1 and then zooms ahead to Episode 1 where the Gungan participate in the liberation of their planet. Then the Rebels and Empire tell their little stories that take place beyond the movies around Darth Vader and Princess Leia. Then the final Wookie campaigns takes place around Han Solo & Chewbacca and the liberation of Chewbacca's homeworld,Kashyyk,from the Empire. The stories are very fun to play and to learn about things that were never mentioned in the books,like Kashyyk's liberation.
VIDEO/AUDIO
The graphics are pretty good. They're 2-D like AOE2,but they're very nice looking 2D units and terrain and buildings. You will probably be too busy noticing the intense combat situation to really notice if any units have any bad graphics,which they mostly don't. The sound is very nice as well, and it manages to stay within the confines of the Star Wars universe. Like a Rebel trooper says ''For Alderaan!'',making reference to the planet blown up in Star Wars. The sound is to be approved of. All the units sound right,from the battle droids to the wookies, it all sounds right. Then there's the soundtrack. Since John Williams' Star Wars tracks are in it from all the movies, you'll wanna play sometimes just to hear the music. When 'Duel of the Fates' plays in the middle of a battle, you'll see how good it is. All the tracks fit for it and it just seems nearly perfect just for that.
REPLAYABILITY
Well considering the type of game it is and the many races, no battle will ever play out the same. You'll play it at least 20 times just to see how the different races look together when fighting. And when all 6 races fight in one big battle, the colors and wide variety of units in the battles will make you glad you got a game like this. Then there's the wide variety of units, including the newly added starfighters and air transports and shields. These alone add a whole new dimension to the game. No longer will walls be sufficient to hold back an invading army. You'll have to build anti-air units or suffer the consequences, because aside from the Fortress, no unit can hit both land and air. Then of course there's still the boats, which will do for island maps as well. Over all,you'll be playing for weeks,even months, and still find something new. Very much replayable, just like the original AOE2.
SHOULD I BUY IT?
In 1 one word that can be answered:YES. The game is very worth it. Do yourself and the Star Wars geek within you a favor and BUY THIS GAME. You'll be very proud of yourself afterwards. Plus all your friends will be green with envy as well when they see you playing it.
OVERALL
Get it right now. Go buy it. The graphics are pretty good,the sounds are great, the music just the BEST, and gameplay AWESOME. I give everything in the game an 8 out of 10. This game has had a million good reviews and maybe 1 bad review. I'd suggest you satisfy your inner child and PLAY IT. Get the demo first if you're doubtful. After you've played the awesome demo(with multiplayer!),then I assure you,you will not be able to stop yourself from getting it. So overall this game is one of the best out there and don't just take my word for it. Try it yourself!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/02, Updated 03/05/02