Star Wars: Empire At War

About

"Star Wars: Empire at War" is a real-time strategy game that allows players to command either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire in the midst of the galactic civil war. With control over troops, starships, and even the Death Star, players must execute campaigns across ground, space, and the galaxy, while making decisions that impact the outcome of battles and the fate of the Star Wars universe. The game features over 80 ground and space locations from the Star Wars universe.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 26,655 reviews

gameplay396 positive mentions

stability98 negative mentions

gameplay
1,075 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
58%
5%
The gameplay of "Star Wars: Empire at War" is widely praised for its engaging real-time strategy mechanics, combining both space and ground battles that allow for diverse tactical approaches. While the base game shows its age with dated graphics and some clunky mechanics, the vibrant modding community significantly enhances the experience, introducing new units, factions, and gameplay mechanics that keep the game fresh and replayable. Overall, players find the gameplay to be enjoyable and immersive, especially when utilizing popular mods like "Thrawn's Revenge" and "Awakening of the Rebellion."
- “Despite being an old game, the excellent gameplay and active modding community keep this game fresh and fun.”
- “The controls and mechanics are simple, the space and ground combat are fun, and the mods add lots of extra content.”
- “With its immersive campaigns, intense space battles, and robust modding community, 'Empire at War - Gold Pack' offers endless hours of strategic gameplay and epic Star Wars action, making it a must-play for fans of the franchise and strategy gaming alike.”
- “The gameplay ends up being a waiting sim to get credits to build anything and at some point enter a defense loop where you're waiting to get credits to make more units, then when you finally make them and are ready to send them the enemies sent units to fight leading you to lose units and thus have to wait again to make more.”
- “The gameplay is dated, clunky and nothing spectacular.”
- “While the graphics aren't amazing and certain gameplay aspects could have better execution, there is nothing about this game that would prevent me from playing it several times over.”
graphics
1,057 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
56%
13%
The graphics of "Star Wars: Empire at War" are generally considered dated, reflecting its 2006 release, with many players noting that they show their age in both land and space battles. However, the game's visuals are often described as acceptable for their time, and the extensive modding community has significantly enhanced the graphics, making them more appealing and modern. While some players express a desire for a remaster to improve the base graphics, the gameplay remains engaging enough to overshadow the visual limitations for many fans.
- “It is a timeless classic that perseveres in entertaining and captivating players with its breathtaking visuals, epic battles of unprecedented scale, and profound strategic gameplay that will challenge even the most seasoned tacticians.”
- “The graphics are old, but the gameplay is incredible - particularly the space combat (I've looked, but never yet found anything that surpasses it).”
- “The graphics are old though, can't do much about that unfortunately.”
- “The game itself has graphics fitting of 2006, showing its age in some of the blocky textures and effects.”
- “The graphics might not be cutting-edge by today's standards, but they sure do justice to the Star Wars universe.”
story
724 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
65%
2%
The story in "Star Wars: Empire at War" is generally well-received, with players appreciating its connection to the broader Star Wars universe, particularly the events surrounding the Galactic Civil War. The game features distinct campaigns for the Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, and the Zann Consortium, each offering unique missions and narratives that enhance the gameplay experience. While some players note that the story can feel simplistic or repetitive, especially in the base game, the expansion "Forces of Corruption" is praised for its engaging plot and additional gameplay mechanics, making it a favorite among fans of the franchise.
- “The storyline is engaging and beautifully crafted, filled with twists and turns that kept me eagerly awaiting what would happen next.”
- “The game's campaign is great, with missions that make you feel like you are a part of the Star Wars universe, commanding a variety of ground and space battles.”
- “As a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise, I was thrilled to be able to experience the story of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance from a different perspective, as the leader of a criminal organization known as the Zann Consortium.”
- “The story and scenarios are stupid and pointless.. the units are far too weak.”
- “The base game is incredibly light on story, and the campaigns for both sides are usually just little missions between your conquering of enemy planets.”
- “The campaign is boring to me and the missions difficult, but for weird reasons like not being able to protect important troops because they will run in front of other troops and die.”
replayability
251 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
47%
1%
The game boasts exceptional replayability, primarily due to its vibrant modding community that continually introduces new content and gameplay mechanics, significantly enhancing the experience beyond the base game. Players can enjoy a variety of modes, including galactic conquest and skirmishes, which offer diverse strategies and scenarios, ensuring that no two playthroughs are the same. Even after many years since its release, the combination of the original gameplay and extensive mods makes it a timeless choice for strategy enthusiasts.
- “Furthermore, should the vast and engrossing content of the base game prove insufficient to satiate your insatiable appetite for galactic conquest, Empire at War possesses a vibrant and remarkably dedicated modding community that has engendered a plethora of novel content, expanding the game's scope and replayability far beyond its original boundaries.”
- “The modding community has made this game infinitely replayable, allowing any era of play.”
- “With so many good mods, replayability is never an issue.”
- “The base game is decent enough but it shines much brighter with the Forces of Corruption expansion. The expansion brings with it an exceptional modding community that will give you what feels like endless hours of replayability.”
- “While the base game is okay, the modding community gives this game endless replayability (my favorite mod being Awakening of the Rebellion).”
- “It's a pretty solid game on its own but has some gameplay problems and low replay value. However, all that goes away if you play with mods; this game has one of the best and most diverse modding communities out there.”
stability
115 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
2%
85%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with many users reporting various bugs, glitches, and crashes, particularly when using mods or playing multiplayer. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these issues, others note that the frequent instability can significantly detract from the experience, especially for those on modern systems. Overall, while the game runs well on older hardware and has a dedicated modding community, players should be prepared for a somewhat buggy experience.
- “I just think it's a really neat game still in 2023. It's enjoyable and fun to play; I have a pretty bad PC, yet this game runs great even with really big workshop mods.”
- “The game has aged quite significantly, although the core gameplay mechanics still hold up well today and is virtually bug free.”
- “Personally, I have rarely seen such a well put together, bug-free game with amazingly designed graphics that can still hold relevance today. The developers put the time and effort into going over every single inch of this game, making sure that pretty much everything is polished and finished.”
- “The game is somewhat buggy, and the auto-save feature has been disabled on the Steam version, at least for Windows 11.”
- “I play for maybe 10-15 minutes before the entire game freezes and it takes a full system restart to fix it.”
- “I can't recommend this game; I did in the past before the 'devs' came back and broke the game. It is unstable and has many glitches, and it's even more unstable when running on a powerful computer.”
music
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
63%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its authenticity and nostalgic connection to the Star Wars franchise, featuring iconic tracks by John Williams alongside original compositions that complement the gameplay. Players appreciate the immersive experience created by the soundtrack and sound effects, which enhance the emotional impact of key moments and the overall atmosphere of the game. While some find the music occasionally repetitive, the general consensus is that it effectively captures the essence of Star Wars, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “From the moment you fire up the game and that legendary Star Wars theme music starts blaring, you know you're in for something special.”
- “The iconic music, voiceovers, and sound effects transport players into the heart of the action, enhancing the overall sense of immersion.”
- “The soundtrack and sound effects were simply exquisite, perfectly complementing the game's atmosphere and enhancing the emotional impact of key moments.”
- “Nothing mind-blowing here, even a little repetitive, but maybe because we all know the iconic music this franchise is known for.”
- “The music is kind of repetitive and may make you want to mute it after a while.”
- “All the music I have heard in this game is recycled from the official movie's soundtracks.”
optimization
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
59%
15%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on older hardware and has received updates to improve performance, it struggles with modern multi-core CPUs and can experience lag, especially with larger mods. Players appreciate the ongoing support and modding potential, but many report persistent performance issues, particularly during intense gameplay or when using extensive modifications. Despite its age, the game remains enjoyable, though better optimization for contemporary systems is desired.
- “This game still gets bug fixes and performance updates after 17 years.”
- “New (Nov 2023) update fixed a lot of performance issues and brought the game back to playable status for me!”
- “Recent updates to the game made it more compatible for mods and optimized performance.”
- “I dislike that performance can actually be worse on new gaming PCs - CPU/IGPU & GPU can suffer due to the game being developed for 32-bit systems.”
- “Bad optimization for newer hardware such as a 3060, granted the game is from 2006, although it does end up leading into unstable FPS along with sometimes crashing when alt-tabbing and other cases.”
- “Is really not optimized for larger mods, and this way causes massive lag spikes or even crashing of the game; the vanilla game is working well, even with larger resolutions.”
grinding
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
34%
61%
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious, particularly in land battles, which many players find slow and repetitive. While some enjoy the strategic elements and the fun of space combat, the overall consensus is that the game requires significant time investment, often feeling like a grind, especially for those aiming for 100% completion. However, the option to auto-resolve battles and the enjoyment of mods can alleviate some of the tedium.
- “Still an absolute banger, the AI can be competent and the game is not tedious.”
- “Grinding isn't necessary to progress.”
- “Grinding is only for leaderboards or ranks.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The land battles are so slow and tedious, yet they are a significant enough portion of the game that skipping them renders it redundant.”
- “Galactic conquest mode is cool in theory but is very grindy in my opinion and has way too many long meaningless land battles.”
humor
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
5%
The humor in this game is widely praised, with players enjoying its comedic elements, particularly through various mods that enhance the experience. Many reviews highlight the absurdity of gameplay scenarios, such as making iconic characters engage in humorous interactions and witnessing chaotic battles. Overall, the game is described as a fun and entertaining experience, especially for Star Wars fans, with a community that contributes to its comedic charm.
- “Very funny subjugator.”
- “Funny game where you make Darth Vader kiss Boba Fett (I think you can make spaceships fight too, I don't know).”
- “The hours I've spent playing with friends and laughing my butt off was phenomenal!”
- “The humor in this game feels insignificant and often relies on glitches that aren't funny.”
- “I found the jokes to be flat and lacking any real wit, making the humor fall completely flat.”
- “The attempts at humor are so forced that they detract from the overall experience.”
atmosphere
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive qualities, enhanced by exceptional sound design and a nostalgic soundtrack that captures the essence of the Star Wars universe. Players appreciate the detailed environments and the engaging scale of battles, which evoke a sense of epic conflict reminiscent of the original trilogy. Despite some gameplay flaws, the overall atmosphere remains a standout feature, making it a compelling experience for fans of the franchise.
- “The sound design deserves special mention, as it perfectly complements the visuals to create an authentic Star Wars atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack and sound effects were simply exquisite, perfectly complementing the game's atmosphere and enhancing the emotional impact of key moments.”
- “Phenomenal attention to detail (lore, design, atmosphere, characters) enhances the experience.”
- “The atmosphere of the ground and space battles is very convincingly taking you straight into the fight and it's all about your tactical knowledge.”
- “Sound effects like the hum of blasters, the roar of TIE fighters, and the booming of Star Destroyers in space are spot-on and contribute heavily to the game’s Star Wars atmosphere.”
- “Alliance also has an annoying change to the way the camera works in space that ruins the top-down atmosphere.”
emotional
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the emotional depth of the game, noting its ability to evoke a range of feelings from thrill and excitement to discomfort and heartbreak. The soundtrack significantly enhances these emotional moments, making players feel immersed in their roles as commanders in epic space battles. Overall, the game is praised for its emotional engagement, particularly when enhanced by various mods that deepen the experience.
- “The soundtrack and sound effects were simply exquisite, perfectly complementing the game's atmosphere and enhancing the emotional impact of key moments.”
- “This is the most heartbreaking aspect of this game.”
- “The last one really made me feel like I was commanding the forces in the movie.”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
11%
56%
The monetization aspect of older Star Wars games is generally viewed positively, as they are free from modern predatory practices like microtransactions and excessive DLC. Players appreciate the nostalgic value and the complete experience offered without additional costs, contrasting sharply with newer titles that often rely on live-service models and in-game purchases. Many recommend purchasing these classic games during sales for the best value.
- “At a time when newer Star Wars games are usually live-service or mobile games with predatory microtransactions, older Star Wars games like Empire at War, Republic Commando, and the classic Battlefront games become nostalgic treasures in the midst of a rapidly expanding desert.”
- “Epic Star Wars battles from a time before EA and microtransactions.”
- “Oh, the good DLC-free, no-microtransactions times...”
- “At a time when newer Star Wars games are usually live-service or mobile games with predatory microtransactions, and single-player experiences are rare, older Star Wars games like Empire at War, Republic Commando, and the classic Battlefront games become nostalgic treasures in the midst of a rapidly expanding desert.”
- “The advertising shows the expansion, but that isn't visible in any of the options I've seen - just the original version, which is fine for me, but feels a bit misleading.”
- “I don't care for EA's microtransactions and Disney's childish Star Wars episodes 7 and 8.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is praised for creating a strong emotional connection with both the protagonist and supporting characters. While the character design and voice acting enhance the experience, the game's appeal is further heightened for seasoned fans through its references to the expanded universe and engaging space battles.
- “The character development is exceptional, making me feel a genuine connection with the protagonist and the supporting cast.”