Land Battles
Once the space zone has been cleared you can move forward with an invasion of a planet itself and take part in intense land battles. The land battles however are some what of a let down when compare to space battles. There are a population caps for for both defenders and attackers, with defenders being limited to ten units and attackers limited by the number of reinforcement points controlled. At the beginning of the battle, the attacker controls just one reinforcement point and is able to call in additional troops from an orbiting fleet as long as room on the planet is available.
This style makes for very challenging land battles and points out the importance of having a well balanced army waiting to counter any type of enemy units. Empire at War follows the familiar rock paper scissor game play, where units may be weak against one enemy unit but strong against another. It won't help to have dozens of Infantry soldiers waiting in orbit when the planet is well defeneded by tanks or AT-AT walkers.
Land battles may also include indigenous forces, these forces will either battle for or against you depending on which side you take. They include units such as the Ewoks on Endor, Wookiees on Kashyyyk and Humans on many other planets.
Overall, land battles don't have the excitement or intensity that is found in the space battles and the population cap almost makes the game play feel too limiting. The reinforcement pads have to be manned by an infantry units in order to maintain control, this seems to only further limits the number of units available. With that said the battles many times seem to swing to the attackers advantage.
Defenders can purchase unit upgrades that offer advantages in battle but neither side has the ability to create new units during combat. There are often times attackers can send one or two units to scout an area, send in bombers(if available) and then deploy his remaining forces to take control of an area without much of a challange from the defenders.
Heroes & Special Units
In addition to the standard units, Star Wars Empire at War also includes special units, structures and heroes. Special structures can be used by either side and are found in tactical space or land battles. They usually bestow some sort of bonus on the side which finds or controls them. Some of these include Laser Defense Satellites, Mining Facilities which increases credit produciton, and Cantinas where Smugglers and Mercenaries can be found.
Special units include units such as smugglers and bounty hunters. Smugglers are used to steal credits away from a planet, while bounty hunters track down and neutralize heroes and their special abilities. Research is also done through special units and buildings. In order for the Rebel Alliance to build new unit types they must use one of their special R2-D2/C-3PO unit to steal technology from an Empire controlled planet. The Empire on the other hand must build research facalities in order to develop new technology.
Hero units play a very important and powerful role in Star Wars Empire at War. Each increase in technology level will attract new heroes to your fleets and armies. These hero units offer your armies unique upgrades and bonuses when used in battle. For example, Commander Ackbar of the Rebel Alliance adds the enormous Home One flagship to your fleet and gives fire power bonuses to other ships, while Darth Vader has deadly force powers that are very effictive in land battles.
One more special note on units is that the Empire faction does have the opportunity to create the Death Star unit. This ultimate weapon can completely destroy a planet.
Graphics
The graphics and audio for Star Wars Empire at War are excellent, all units are very detailed and nicely animated. Battles can be viewed with the typical 3D top down view or in a cinematic camera view. The top down view offers you the most control over the battles and gives you the ability to zoom in/out to see the full detail of the units and animation. The cinematic camera view allows you to sit back and enjoy a fully 3D movie experience of your battles. The audio experience from Empire at War is also top notch, with movie quality sounds, voice overs and a terrific musical score.
Bottom Line
Star Wars Empire at War is a solid game from top to bottom. The limitations in land battles and empire building are outweighed by the overall game play and look. The game looks and sounds great. The detailed and wide variety of units and environments give the game some great depth, while the game play and interface provides a dynamic and unique experience each time it's played. The numerous game modes make the game that much more appealing and playable many times over. Strategy and Star Wars fans alike can rejoice, a strategy game worthy of the Star Wars universe has finally arrived.
