I have a question. For those geeks reading this: Did you ever want to be the commander of the Rebel fleet or the Death Star in Star Wars? And if you answered yes, which one would you rather command? For those who aren’t geeks: Wouldn’t it be cool if you could blow up an entire planet? Well, that fantasy comes to life in Aspyr Media’s new game, Star Wars: Empire at War. In EAW, you can choose to command either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire (aka the Good Guys and The Bad Guys) at the start of the Galactic Civil War (in between Episodes III and IV). You can do a campaign where you command from the end of Episode III up to the point when you have completely destroyed either the Rebels or the Empire, depending on which side you command. The battles themselves are unique; you can play either on land or in space. I know it sounds like a lot of fun, and believe me, it is. But I need to tell you people something: This is not for the light gamer. It is a strategy game, and will take a while to complete. Some of you reading this must be thinking “Wow! This looks like the best game ever!” I know; when I first saw it, I was pumped, but then I read the fine print on the bottom of the ad: “Notice: Apple Intel chipsets only. Power PC processors (G4 and G5) are not supported.” For those of you with Macs from 2005 on, you’re okay. But those of you with Power PC’s, well, there’s nothing you can do. You’ll need Mac OS 10.4.8 or above, 3.5 GB of HD space, and an Intel 1.83 GHz or faster. However, you don’t really need the 1.83 GHz, because I tested on a Mac mini running 1.6. It's Universal Binary for Intel Mac compatibility. Anyway, while you have fun conquering the galaxy remember this: Will you repeat history, or make it?

Thomas Fogel, Posted 8/28/2007

For more information on Star Wars: Empire at War, visit: www.aspyr.com