Star Wars: Empire at War Gold

[Paelos]

Saw this as for $20 for the game and the expansion pack. Anybody played it or can comment to the bang for the buck? If not, I'm just going to pick it up and give it a whirl tonight for my own report.

[NowhereMan]

Played this ages ago, I think. If it's the one I'm thinking of it's somewhat Total Wary. There's a turn based galaxy map where you move armies and fleets around and you get to construct facilities and defences on planets that switches to RTS battles when your armies or fleets meet the enemy. Both elements were fun, though not incredible but I really enjoyed watching space battles with capital ships and fighters. Basically it was fun and for $20 if you enjoy that sort of thing and like Star Wars it's probably worth it. Quick search and there's a demo available too.

[stu]

I haven't played in a few years but I remember enjoying the space battles much more than the ground missions. Concentrating fire and disabling the orbiting big rigs can be fun and seem to have the idea of the boss fights you see in the End of Nations videos. I did enjoy planning which planets to take, as each one offers something towards your overall military goal. Hero units add some nifty bonuses, both on the ground and in space.

Didn't quite maximize on the epic feel of Star Wars but the battles are still enjoyable. The game lacks soul but with the expansion, I'd say it's worth a go.

[Paelos]

Sounds like a purchase for me, I'll give my impression on it after the holiday weekend.

[Merusk]

I liked this game when it came out and recall playing it a lot for a few weeks then stopping dead.  It's incredibly shallow and was easily steamrolled as the Empire.  I don't recall being able to play as the Rebels in the single player, but wikipedia implies otherwise.  Guess I got through a few Empire games and gave up after that. 

Found a fan review a few mins ago that said it was a very 'full featured' RTS, but I disagree.  Things were very linear and obviously gamed.  I recall both space and ground combat being very rock-paper-scissors - BIG ROCK in terms of balance.  Once you reached a certain tech level you just beat the shit out of the other team with them having no hope of surviving and the rest just being clean up.

I'd say it'd be fun for a game or two, but not at $20.  Particularly when Amazon has the base game for $11. Perhaps the x-pac fixed the areas I didn't enjoy, though.

[Azazel]

I just ordered 2 copies of this from the UK, too. Well, not the gold version since they didn't have it in stock anymore. And it was only about half the price. But still...

[Paelos]

Played the Empire Campaign this weekend at a relatively quick pace. The campaign frustrated me a little in the beginning because you are on technology rails, and I'd have liked those bigger starships quicker. In terms of a total war game, it's similar but a lot less involved. Games are much quicker and building options aren't nearly as long or numerous.

The game rolls forward in real time, with a bar that counts the days. You get paid at the end of each fictional day, and from what I saw the economy is almost laughably unimportant. I never had a serious problem acquiring or having enough cash. The real resource management is based on your population caps given your planetary controls. More planets with higher level docking stations mean you have more leeway to create gargantuan fleets.

I did like the fact that battles are quick, and they aren't based on resource gathering or buildings at all. You control your units, and the object of the game is control "reinforcement points" where you can call down air drops of more units from your ships in orbit. Also, you can call in bombing strikes on particular areas, and have your heros perform force skills if they are so inclined. The only thing I didn't like about ground battles was that heroes are ridiculously overpowered. A single hero can basically blast a small to medium force by themselves with no backup. Given average backup, you can steamroll anything.

[Paelos]

As an update, I finished the Empire campaign and had a generally fun time doing it. Once you do get the better upgrades, there is very little the alliance can do to stop you. I'm going to play the Rebels campaign to see how the other half lives, but I imagine it has to be tougher than playing as Empire.

At one point I went on ground patrol with just Darth Vader and the Emperor as my forces. They basically destroyed anything and everything that got in their way, with no support troopers. It was hilariously fun. The Emperor can convert troops to your side using a force ability, and then mass lightning chain everyone to kill off the rest. Vader can do a full on AoE force pushback that kills anything around him, and also crushes any vehicles with his powers.

[Azazel]

Sounds totally balanced, then. 

What "extra" stuff does the expansion come with?

[Ingmar]

It adds a third side (non-canon I think, paging WUA - its a crime syndicate I forget the name of), a campaign for that side, new units for the other sides, orbital bombardment, and some other stuff I forget.

[Paelos]

I think it's called the Consortium or something. I haven't gotten there yet. I'm playing the rebels atm, and they are totally lame compared to the Empire. The Imperial heroes would just rip these guys new assholes without having to get up.