Apparition
03-23-2000, 03:32 AM
Ahh....... yes. The inevitable RTS based on Star Wars. Three years ago I held PCGamer in my hand as I sweated with anticipation at the sprits moving over the land and here I am, three years later, not looking down upon my troops but running the ground with them. Fighting alongside my troops and obliterationg the enemy. I will say it now, I have played the Imperials in every skirmish I have played but this review is based on gameplay and the like and not which side I prefer. I have played the game nearly three days straight(unlike DailyRadar I usually play the game more than two hours before writing a half-assed review) and I have loved it to death even for the areas it falls short upon.
When the package came I calmly kicked back in a chair and read the manual. That was a very hard thing to do as my eyes continuously glanced at the two-CD set sitting by my PC with the handy reference card. Still I laborously read through the manual. The manual is great with a good back story on the characters and overview of the controls. It looks like a field manual, reads like a field manual, hey, IT IS A FIELD MANUAL! I can practically smell the Dewbacks already as I fire up the installation and am treated to numerous pictures as I drool over the reference card. Upon it's completion I threw away the read me and ran into the game. Nice Lucas Arts intro. Heavy rains showering upong a lone AT-ST as it zooms out to a logo of LEC. I'm loving it already!
Next comes the usual Star Wars crawl done just as good as Lucas could have done and after a brief time the camera shy's away to show star destroyers launching Barges and transports towards a planet surface. My jaw drops as the vehicles land and the stromies run down the platform and into battle. This is truly the greatest introduction I have seen in many a year as I feel the adrenaline pumping to the awesome music and the battle in front of me. Not a few explosions here and a AT-AT walking there but a full blown cinematic war. Impressive indeed. After I see our main character going through a little spiel with his superiors, though I won't give anything away for those in the UK or just too lazy to go get it.
And so I dive into the interface and adjust the options and find the resolution lacking. With a euphoric sense of battle I quickly leave and change it knowing that resolution affects graphics (Apparently DailyRadar is not aware of this. And they run a PC website?) and rush back in and fire up the campaign to begind my training. I find it a little odd that the loading screen for Tatooine is Hoth but I brush it aside as I see the sand swirling across the desert and since then after playing non-stop here I draw my conclusions-
Graphics- Excellent. With My GeForce it is so beautiful it really immerses you in the game. So many times I was willing to lose units just so I could have the camera among the units as I rushed. The animations and cinematics are excellent though the lip syncing in the display is way off of the dialogue. The unit animations are a little stiff but considering current technology and all that goes involved it is way ahead of any RTS. I dislike the AT-AT's turning though it is better than the video where they instantly just swiveled around. All in all with excellent weather and night time effects this is really a great package.
Interface- Fairly good and not at all complex. It does take up a good amount of space but I tab it unless I need it. The ability to name your own units was probably my favorite portion of the entire game since I had a closer relation to the units and watched out for them instead of just needlessly throwing them this way and that. Otherwise everything that should be here is here and the ability to designate leaders and set camera angles as well as save camera angles is a really nice touch. The postures are useful in most situations though I found most of my time was set on guard mode. My one complaint is that when you hit escape and that ugly model comes up. It looks like it was drawn in crayon and then rendered. It really looks bad. Perhaps having given it a touch up making it look more chromish and realistic would have helped immensely.
Units/Balancing- Top notch. Every unit for every side has a unit that is just made for destroying on the other side and vice versa. Ties rule the air but are like toothpicks to the Anti-Air guns. Mobil proton torpedo launchers can slaughter units but when faced with heavy oppositiong crumble quickly.
Gameplay- I've played the game for two days and hate you all for being pulled away to write this. Does that tell you? The gameplay is excellent though a save feature for skirmishes would have been nice. It would have made me happy for some games can drag for several hours and with no save it makes completion difficult. I do love the way the terrain affects gameplay though.
Camera- Hard as hell to get used to and gives a little trouble every now and then. But after 30 minutes most people should have it down pretty well and after an hour it should be near second nature. Excellent abilities to orbit, pan, and zoom with great levels of detail. A little daunting when in cavernous areas but otherwise quite respectable.
I could go on forever about other issues and compliments but it's really up to the player to decide. Don't listen to some company who only spent less than a day playing the game. Make your own opinions but know this, read the manual and listen to the tutorial and you won't go wrong. Do neither and you'll be as moronic as DailyRadar.
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The deadliest predators need not pursue their prey for the deadliest predators are already lurking in the distance.
When the package came I calmly kicked back in a chair and read the manual. That was a very hard thing to do as my eyes continuously glanced at the two-CD set sitting by my PC with the handy reference card. Still I laborously read through the manual. The manual is great with a good back story on the characters and overview of the controls. It looks like a field manual, reads like a field manual, hey, IT IS A FIELD MANUAL! I can practically smell the Dewbacks already as I fire up the installation and am treated to numerous pictures as I drool over the reference card. Upon it's completion I threw away the read me and ran into the game. Nice Lucas Arts intro. Heavy rains showering upong a lone AT-ST as it zooms out to a logo of LEC. I'm loving it already!
Next comes the usual Star Wars crawl done just as good as Lucas could have done and after a brief time the camera shy's away to show star destroyers launching Barges and transports towards a planet surface. My jaw drops as the vehicles land and the stromies run down the platform and into battle. This is truly the greatest introduction I have seen in many a year as I feel the adrenaline pumping to the awesome music and the battle in front of me. Not a few explosions here and a AT-AT walking there but a full blown cinematic war. Impressive indeed. After I see our main character going through a little spiel with his superiors, though I won't give anything away for those in the UK or just too lazy to go get it.
And so I dive into the interface and adjust the options and find the resolution lacking. With a euphoric sense of battle I quickly leave and change it knowing that resolution affects graphics (Apparently DailyRadar is not aware of this. And they run a PC website?) and rush back in and fire up the campaign to begind my training. I find it a little odd that the loading screen for Tatooine is Hoth but I brush it aside as I see the sand swirling across the desert and since then after playing non-stop here I draw my conclusions-
Graphics- Excellent. With My GeForce it is so beautiful it really immerses you in the game. So many times I was willing to lose units just so I could have the camera among the units as I rushed. The animations and cinematics are excellent though the lip syncing in the display is way off of the dialogue. The unit animations are a little stiff but considering current technology and all that goes involved it is way ahead of any RTS. I dislike the AT-AT's turning though it is better than the video where they instantly just swiveled around. All in all with excellent weather and night time effects this is really a great package.
Interface- Fairly good and not at all complex. It does take up a good amount of space but I tab it unless I need it. The ability to name your own units was probably my favorite portion of the entire game since I had a closer relation to the units and watched out for them instead of just needlessly throwing them this way and that. Otherwise everything that should be here is here and the ability to designate leaders and set camera angles as well as save camera angles is a really nice touch. The postures are useful in most situations though I found most of my time was set on guard mode. My one complaint is that when you hit escape and that ugly model comes up. It looks like it was drawn in crayon and then rendered. It really looks bad. Perhaps having given it a touch up making it look more chromish and realistic would have helped immensely.
Units/Balancing- Top notch. Every unit for every side has a unit that is just made for destroying on the other side and vice versa. Ties rule the air but are like toothpicks to the Anti-Air guns. Mobil proton torpedo launchers can slaughter units but when faced with heavy oppositiong crumble quickly.
Gameplay- I've played the game for two days and hate you all for being pulled away to write this. Does that tell you? The gameplay is excellent though a save feature for skirmishes would have been nice. It would have made me happy for some games can drag for several hours and with no save it makes completion difficult. I do love the way the terrain affects gameplay though.
Camera- Hard as hell to get used to and gives a little trouble every now and then. But after 30 minutes most people should have it down pretty well and after an hour it should be near second nature. Excellent abilities to orbit, pan, and zoom with great levels of detail. A little daunting when in cavernous areas but otherwise quite respectable.
I could go on forever about other issues and compliments but it's really up to the player to decide. Don't listen to some company who only spent less than a day playing the game. Make your own opinions but know this, read the manual and listen to the tutorial and you won't go wrong. Do neither and you'll be as moronic as DailyRadar.
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The deadliest predators need not pursue their prey for the deadliest predators are already lurking in the distance.