Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"...the Empire, Trade Federation and Separatists fight against the Rebellion, Wookies/Gungans, and Republic. Jedi starfighters fighting alongside X-Wings compete with giant predators fighting alongside AT-ATs; what a cool sight!"

---from the review

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Note: You'll need Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds to play this expansion disk: click above to order (click here for full review).

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Sidebar :

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That Star Trek Game, redux... I mention Star Trek Armada 2 a lot less in this review than I did the original game. However, there's no denying that a space battle would've been cooler than a land-based army of clones. How cool would it have been to have those powerful seismic charges at your command, which Jango Fett used against Obi-Wan in the asteroid field? Regardless, I mention Armada 2 a lot less in this review for a very good reason; there's a whole lot more to love here than there was in the original game. 'nuf said.

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Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

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Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds was nice, yet needed that little something extra. No surprise, then, that this expansion disk, The Clone Campaigns, offers that something extra, yet how much it adds to the overall game is actually quite surprising. It is essentially everything the original game promised, and more, with not only two new campaigns based on the new film; it enhances the original game campaigns as well, allowing you to re-play those missions, with the new weaponry added to those armies! In some ways, this is the best add-on pack offered by Lucasarts since Mysteries of the Sith, for Dark Forces 2. Not unlike that expansion pack, this is almost like getting a whole new game.

Not that the additions are readily apparent. There are only two sets of new single-player missions --seven game maps each-- allowing you to play as either the Separatist Movement (Count Dooku), or the Republic (Mace Windu, among others). What this boils down to is the ability to make a hundred battle droids and pit them against clones, clones, and more clones. Furthermore, the separatists have the unique ability to create controllable predators, while the Republic can make Jedi Starfighters. What are "controllable predators," you ask? Well, they're the three cool giant aliens seen at the end of Attack of the Clones. now you can research them and breed an army of them, then see them topple an enemy laser tower like it was a toy. This is fun, though the fun has only started.

What makes this game so worthwhile are all the added perks to playing the original teams. Research for optional equipment and items has been expanded immensely, including the ability to make power droids. These are little droids of energy which can be sent to any part of your base --or elsewhere-- to power items where a power core will take time to build. Research can also be made (in all army types) to strengthen the power cores and shield units, which were both far more vulnerable than expected in the prior game. Other enhancements include how Jedi/Sith masters regenerate health points, with a higher health rate to start off with than the average soldier. This makes sense, and it's a welcome enhancement.

This only enhances the fun of multiplayer, of course. Now, the best games include a 3-on-3 scenario, where the Empire, Trade Federation and Separatists fight against the Rebellion, Wookies/Gungans, and Republic. Jedi starfighters fighting alongside X-Wings compete with giant predators fighting alongside AT-ATs; what a cool sight! Of course, single player has the enhanced replay value of the same create-a-mission menu that the original game had, only now with the additional armies of the Republic and Separatists to toy with! Choose any number of cool locales (though still no cloud city type locale, darn it) and see how things would've looked with alternate armies in similar situations. What if the Rebellion was around while the Republic was still in power? What if the battle of Hoth had the added threat of the Trade Federation to contend with? This is similar to the original game, yet far more fun. Furthermore, these enhancements are playable in all the original single player missions, allowing you to see how earlier missions could've been played differently with the added weaponry and research on your side. All told, this is an excellent expansion pack!

Not that this expansion pack is without any faults. Jedi starfighters, for example, would seem by logic to be flown by Jedi, yet are just as easily shot down as any other ship. It also would be nice if any one Jedi starfighter could be flown by a Jedi you train in your Jedi Academy, only to be allowed to depart the ship when land-combat is required; no, sadly, that's not allowed. Furthermore, ships still don't have range of height --they merely hover higher off the ground than speeder bikes-- making it even easier for various anti-aircraft turrets to shoot them down. Pilots of better intelligence should automatically "dodge" such missiles, yet don't. It also takes an obscene amount of raw materials to both research and produce products that would be the most fun to use, like At-Ats and Jedi starfighters. Forget reality; I want to be able to make my dozen AT-ATs!

Be that as it may, this is still a cool enhancement of a good game, making it into a great one. It still is hampered by choosing the strictly 2D-graphics game engine of Age of Kings, rather than a 3D accelerated frenzy like Star Trek Armada 2. Regardless, it is fun to see all the little stormtroopers battle it out with the rebels, and pit AT-ATs against X-Wings as well. If you even slightly liked either the latest Star Wars film, or the original galactic Battlegrounds game, you should give this game a look. If you liked both, you probably should get it right now!