An Empire at War

I swore off Star Wars games when, after the release of Rogue Squadron in 1998, Lucasarts announced that they were shifting focus away from the original trilogy era. I had to renege that vow when Knights of the Old Republic released in 2003. It definitely wasn't set during the original trilogy timeline -- it was in fact, set even long before the new trilogy -- but that game was about as perfect as a Star Wars game could be without hitting any of the familiar touchstones that I hold so dear. It proved that a good game could still be made outside of the Star Wars canon while remaining within the same persistent universe, effectively changing my mind.

Now here's where it gets good: Lucasarts has announced the development of Star Wars: Empire at War. Technically, it's not set during the timespan of Episodes IV-VI; it's set in between the forthcoming Episode III and Episode IV. But that obviously means that we'll be able to see many of the things so embraced by fans of the old movies (as opposed to the multitude of rejected contributions from the new trilogy). In fact, Lucasarts is really taking advantage of this position and will endeavor to show us the humble beginnings of the Rebel Alliance in the face of the Old Republic's deterioration and the Galactic Empire's oppressive government. For example, the game will have you undertake a mission in which you must seize a prototype aircraft, which then becomes the basis for that backbone of the Rebellion's air force, the X-Wing.

Empire at War is a real-time strategy game, which isn't a genre that has captured me wholeheartedly the way that free-roaming adventure has. The truth is I've never played much Command & Conquer nor Warcraft. But the game's developer, Petroglyph, has a pedigree that even I can recognize. With a staff consisting almost entirely of former Westwood Studio members, Petroglyph is led by people who are practically responsible for creating the RTS genre itself. With that in mind, I think that I can get very used to this style of gameplay when coupled with the Star Wars license, which actually seems like a natural partnership when you give it some thought.

Knights of the Old Republic was so much fun partly because it caught me by surprise when I had lowered my expectations for any game under the Star Wars banner. Empire at War will have no such luck. I'm expecting a fun and thrilling game of epic magnitude with an attractive and interesting presentation that recaptures the sense of wonder I had in Star Wars (did you get all that down?), and I expect that Petroglyph has the ability to deliver what I want.