A long time ago, an awesome real-time strategy game set in Earth's pastnamedAge of Empires IIwas unleashed on an unwitting public. Almostimmediately, it took its place among the best games of its genre.GalacticBattlegroundstakes many of the elements that madeAge of Empires IIso good and gives them a completeStar Warsmakeover. The gameplay is sosimilar, it's hard to recommend it to anyone with a copy ofAOE II.However, if you haven't playedAOE II, or you're a hard-coreStarWarsfan, you might just find this game to be strong in the Force.

Battlegroundsoffers you the chance to become a leader in deciding someof the most important battles of theStar Warsmythology. As in otherreal-time strategy games, you'll concern yourself with such things as keepingyour troops fed, advancing technology, and trade. And, of course, keeping yourbase from getting completely wiped out is generally considered a plus.

Among the few enhancementsBattlegroundsmakes to theAge of EmpiresIIengine is the bigger technology tree (more stuff to invent and play with)and air and anti-air units (TIE fighters, X-wings, etc.). Most of the favoriteraces, machinery, and characters of the films are also well represented.Wookiees, Jedi, the Trade Federation, Darth Vader, Luke, and the rest of thegang (including Jar Jar) are all there for you to command in the campaign mode.Those looking to wage war in the battles seen in the films might be somewhatdisappointed, as many of the missions, while no less important, take placeparallel (and usually very close to) those shown in movies.

Thankfully, a few of the better-known skirmishes have been incorporated in thegame--just don't expect to significantly alterStar Warshistory. Forexample, when controlling Imperial forces in the Battle of Hoth (the snow battlefromThe Empire Strikes Back), you lead your troops in an effort toannihilate Rebel scum before they can flee the planet. Can you change theoutcome of the battle seen in the films? Aside from losing your commander andimmediately losing the game, no. But the stories behind the skirmishes depictedthroughoutBattlegroundsdo fit well into theStar Warsmyth andare usually fun. There are also quite a few standalone missions, a random mapgenerator, and tools for creating your own battles. It's enough to keephard-core Star Wars fans ignoring their earthly responsibilities for a good longtime.

Battlegroundsis, at its core, a modification ofAge of Empires IIand it plays about as well as can be expected. Fortunately, despite its somewhatoutdated graphics,Battlegrounds' famous characters and locales add justenoughStar Warsflavor to help make it a solid game in its own right.

Pros:

• Puts you in command of AT-ATs, stormtroopers, and Jedi
• FamiliarStar Warslocales, characters, and music
• Uses the familiar (and very good)Age of Empires IIinterface
• Interesting main campaign that spans the films and goes beyondReturn ofthe Jedi

• Outdated graphics lack definition and are rather flat
• AT-ATs too small, TIEs and X-wings hover instead of fly