Planets that are cut off might not be undefended, though, so be sure to send a spy or a Probe Droid to check things out before recklessly committing a huge army to battle. Generally speaking, you're going to want to tackle any enemy planets that are cut off from the rest of your enemy's territory before making a strike at the heart of their empire. One of the keys to success on the Galactic Map is to consolidate your planetary holdings so that you're not facing attack from too many directions at the same time. GameSpot's Game Guide is here to help you in your mission, with a complete walkthrough of the game's two campaigns, a rundown on all the units and heroes, some general tips, and a guide to each of the planets in the game. In Empire At War, you'll take on the role of either the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance, and guide your faction across multiple planets, fighting both on ground and in space, in an effort to restore peace and/or order to the galaxy. And although the RTS genre has always been an unlucky one for the Star Wars license, Star Wars: Empire At War aims to continue the recent tradition of excellence for the license, and definitely seems capable of doing so. Games like Knights of the Old Republic, Republic Commando, and Mercenaries were all superb games in their own way. Over the last couple of years, though, LucasArts has turned the ship around by focusing on producing better-quality titles.

Games like Force Commander, Galactic Battlegrounds, Rebellion, and Obi-Wan for the Xbox just never lived up to the standards of quality set by LucasArts' previous titles. While they used to be renowned for their classic adventure games and great fighter simulations, around the time the Star Wars prequel films starting coming out, they began cranking out sub-par Star Wars games almost exclusively. The fortunes of LucasArts over the years have been pretty interesting. By: Matthew Rorie Design: Randall Montanari

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