Recent reviews by Zanthra

This review is based on an old CD ROM version I had.

Years ago I nearly lost a friend due to this game. He parked his imperial armada over my fortified rebel planet, and proceeded to lose a star destroyer in an attempt to bombard it. When he decided to maintain the blockade afterwards, I sent commandos onto the fleet to blow up some of his ships. He ragequit, and I am lucky I still have him as a friend.

This is a very nonstandard strategy game. The game is very much tied in with the story and lore of Star Wars. As important as the resources you collect, or the ships you build, are the characters you have and send on missions. Diplomacy, Intrigue, and Sabotage all come into play. If you don't have enough ground troops on a planet who's loyalty is swayed by the other side, you could lose it and all the resources it provides.

It is also great fun for anyone who is familiar with the Star Wars Expanded Universe, as many references to characters, ships, and species are included. The Empire get Noghri Assassin squads, and the Rebels get Bothan Spies. The empire get characters such as Thrawn and Dalla alongside classic characters like Piett, while the rebels get some characters that may have been of questionable loyalty in the books, like Talon Karrde or Borsk Fey'lya. A very fun game even if you just play it for the numerous references!

This continues to be one of my favorite games. It does away with the idea that the computer plays by the same rules as you, making for a wonderful single player game with lots of replayability. I can't wait for AI War II which has had a successful kickstarter.