Lock S-foils in attack position! (Star Wars Galactic Battleground (PS))

Member Name: Kepler

Product:	Star Wars Galactic Battleground (PS)
Date:	10/02/04 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Highly addictive, Loads of units, buildings and options, Very detailed

Disadvantages: Very similar to Ages of Empires

Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (SWGB) is a strategy based game moulded around the popular Ages of Empires game engine. The game functions in pretty much the same way as Ages of Empires 2 and the only difference is that this game is set in the fictitious Star Wars universe.

When you load the game you are presented with the main menu which gives you access to the games various modes of play and other features associated with the game. The first feature of SWGB is Training mode. This mode is based around a learning campaign featuring Chewbacca?s father, Attichitcuk. The training option takes you through all the various controls that are used within the game and guides you through the steps needed to build up your civilisation and army. It starts off with the basics such as learning how to gather resources and ends with the more advanced features of the games such as Jedi Knights. Anyone who is familiar with Ages of Empires (AOE) will probably be able to skip the training as there are only a few features present in this game that aren?t in AOE. For those of you who aren?t familiar with AOE then Training mode is a good place to start and helps you to learn the basic controls needed to start playing the game.

The main bulk of the game however, is made up by the Single player mode. The single player mode is split between campaigns and standard games. The campaigns let you relive actual moments from the Star Wars universe from leading Darth Vader against the Rebel Alliance to the Gungan?s fight against the Trade Federation that occurred in Star Wars Episode 1. There are six different campaigns that steadily increase in difficulty, the final campaign is particularly hard and haven?t yet been able to complete it.

Standard mode is an open ended option that allows you to set up a battle to your exact specifications and you can fight against up to 7 other civilisations. There are six different types of standard game, which I have outlined briefly be


low:

- Random Map: This is the most basic type of game. The terrain is randomly generated and the standard rules will apply unless modified.
- Terminate the Commander: In this game type each player begins with a Fortress and a Commander unit, and the object is to eliminate the opposing commanders.
- Death Match - This game type sees the player beginning with huge resource stockpiles, which allows you to create large armies almost immediately. From there on in it?s a fight to the death.
- Commander of the Base: In this mode the aim is to capture a central monument and defend it until the timer reaches zero. If another player wrestles control of the monument the timer is reset and the other player has to try and win it back.
- Monument Race: The player engages in a purely economic war against other players, in order to be the first to complete the construction of a monument. Military actions are disabled in this mode.
Defend the Monument - You begin with a monument and must defend it against a concerted effort to destroy it by all your opponents.

In all of these game modes (except Monument race) the basic aim of the game is to stockpile resources which can then be used to construct buildings and train military units. At the start of a standard game you are presented with a small number of workers in the guise of your particular civilisation. For example, if your are playing the Rebel Alliance your workers are all little R2 units and if you play the Trade Federation your workers are droids. These worker units are used to collect the resources that you will need to begin constructing buildings and military units. There are four different resources for you to collect each of which is used for a specific purpose.

- Food: Is generally used for creating civilians and the infantry based military units.
- Carbon: Used for constructing buildings and some military units.
- Ore - This is needed for building walls a
nd de
fence
towers as well as other buildings.
- Nova Crystals: Used for creating elite units such as Jedi Knights and Bounty Hunters.

There are six different civilisations to choose from each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The civilisations that you can play are the Trade Federation, Royal Naboo, Gungans, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance and the Wookies.

Once you have decided upon your civilisation you start the game with one building, which is your Town Centre. From here you can produce worker units and also level up when you have enough resources. By levelling up you are given the opportunity to create better equipped military units and it also opens up new technologies that speed up resource gathering. In terms of gathering resources SWGB is basically the same as AOE, food is collected from animals or via farms while carbon is harvested from nearby forests. One extra feature, which I particularly like, is the Animal nursery. This building allows you to garrison animals and produces a set amount of food over a certain time span. This is a great way to ensure a steady flow of food even when you workers have run out of food sources and is not present in AOE.

Your workers are also responsible for constructing your buildings, at first you can only build a handful of basic buildings such as barracks and houses. But as the games progresses and you ascend the levels more complex buildings emerge. One such building is the Airfield where you can produce two different types of aircraft. You are given the choice between fighters, which are useful against other air units and bombers, which are primarily used to destroy enemy buildings. Another feature of SWGB that is not present in AOE is the option to build Power cores. These small structures are used to power your buildings and any structures within the radius of the Power core produces military units at an elevated rate. They are also used to power Shield generators, which
protect y
our units
from air, and artillery attacks.

As well as many different types of buildings there is also a multitude of different units, each specific to their own civilisation. The Rebel Alliance can produce A-Wing aircraft while the Galactic Empire produce Tie Fighters. The number of units available for production is truly astonishing and makes for very varied game play. If you simply concentrate on building land units and your opponent has built up a substantial air force then you will be wiped out in minutes. In order to succeed you need to strike a balance between all the different types of units. Nearly every unit or weapon that you can think of from the Star Wars universe is present and this makes the game extremely absorbing and enjoyable to play.

The main menu also boasts a databank, which is an encyclopedia of information about the Star Wars universe in general and about the various civilisations, settings, characters and technology featured in SWGB in particular. This is particularly useful if you are not familiar with Star Wars and can help you to find out what different units should be used for. For instance it tells you that Bounty Hunter units are good at combating Jedi units. This is something that any Star Wars fan would know but not something that a non Star Wars fan would know so it is useful for people who are not avid fans of Star Wars.

Overall I would say that the endless variations of game play mean that you will never become bored of this game, if you are a Star Wars fan as well as an AOE fan then you cannot afford to miss this game. If you like one but not the other then I would still suggest that you give this a go, Star Wars fans will appreciate the level of detail that has gone into creating the Star Wars universe while AOE fans will enjoy a healthy variation of the AOE theme. The campaigns are well thought out and are spread over enough levels of difficulty to suit all abilities from the ages
of 11 upwards.
The single player mode is a joy to play and has enough different settings and game play modes to keep you interested for months if not years.

Summary: