 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Star Wars: Empire at War
- Windows
- Price: $49.99
- Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Common Sense Media says
Good but imperfect Star Wars RTS.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is a safe and fun game for teens and possibly even mature tweens. There are plenty of explosions and frequent battle scenes, but players will not encounter any blood or gore. The game is online enabled, and while the online portion doesn't contain any different content, there isn't any control over the language or actions of other players. Common Sense does not recommend online play for anyone younger than 12.
What's it about?
In STAR WARS: EMPIRES AT WAR, players take command of either the galactic Empire or rebel forces and attempt to gain control of the entire galaxy. Set roughly around the time of Star Wars: Episode IV, the rebellion is just starting to form and is looking for a way to steal the plans of a rumored super-weapon (the Death Star). Meanwhile, the Empire hopes to continue to expand its grip on the galaxy.
Since the space and land battles are handled separately, players need to build both space and ground forces, including a wide variety of vehicles and spaceships. It can get complicated managing the vast array of forces at hand; however, to make things simpler, players don't need to be concerned with the gathering of resources, which is a major break from most real-time strategy games.
Is it any good?
Unfortunately, the battle sequences are fairly linear. Players may be frustrated by the land maps, which typically only have a few approaches to enemy forces and offer limited areas to bring in reinforcements. In the campaign mode, this often leads to a situation in which the side that starts with the biggest army wins, reducing strategic options during battle. Battles in space tend to be more satisfying, replicating the laser-fire, explosions, and excitement of the movies.
Clear differences exist between the Empire and the rebellion, with the Empire being markedly more sinister. For example, during the tutorial, one character of the Empire says, "We will bomb the rebels, and when they come out with their hands up, we will bomb them again." While the Empire is able to take over any planet it desires, the rebellion is limited to freeing planets from Empire or space pirate control. To make up for that limitation, the rebellion is able to steal weapon designs from the Empire using spies.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how this game fits in with the movies, books, and other games about Star Wars. Do you like how the game allows you to, in essence, change the storyline of the fourth movie, or do you feel it makes it less appealing? Does playing out the action in a game give you more freedom to imagine your own stories? How?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
Star wars: Empire at war is a looong but worthwhile game.
Star wars: empire at war is a much different game than usual, as it's a RTS(real time strategy) this time around. It requires a good amount of planning and strategy for battles. The violence is low, as in no blood or gore. Language is well, there is no bad language from what i know. The game itself can be very long, especially if you do galactic conquest. I had a galactic conquest game last a week before i was able to win. The space battles are intense and you can turn on a cinematic mode which jumps randomly following ships and giving it a movie like feel. The land battles however are for the most part ridiculously hard. The good part is, you can have the battle auto resolve, which fights the battle instantly and depending on some other variables let's you win or lose, but using the auto resolve will cause more casualties for your forces than if you fought it yourself. At first the game will be really complicated, but it teaches you all the things you need to know in a good way. I'd recommend the game for anyone who likes strategy type games and who like a long game also.
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AGE
Notable Point
It should be noted that, although there is no blood or gore, players can maul enemy infantry with vehicles.
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AGE
cool
great game but land battles are cheap but you can ajust the graphics so..
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April 9, 2008
AGE
Good Star Wars Fun
I'm glad this game was set in Galactic Civil war the better era of the two but beyond hat the game is ok, I like the campaign and the conquest mode but the skirmish sucks.
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AGE
Empire at War
Empire at War is a Star Wars strategy game for the pc. I think the game can be kind of boring but im not a big fan of this type of game. It does have many explosions and gunshots along with space battles but nothing graphic is shown.
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AGE
Better for teens.
Although, the game is wasy to play, the role models for the Empire aren't good, as they are bent on crushing the Rebellion. But the Strategy matches no other game I have played. So, it depends on what you let your kids play.
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Kid, 12 years old
July 23, 2010
AGE
Perfect for any kid going on second childhood to the end of being a tweenager.
1)Very fun and easy to play, I just love it!
2)No flashing lights that cause seizures of fatigues.
3)No blood or gore.
4)Very strategical, and teaches some rules about life.
It's the best PC, no the best of all games I have ever played in my life!
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AGE
star wars loving preteens and up, unite!
This game is amazing. It is a great star wars based strategy game. Star Wars Empire at War is basically the Galactic Civil War, and players can either choose to be the evil Galactic Empire or the heroic Alliance to Restore The Republic(aka the Rebel Alliance). Violence is strong and you can hear men screaming when they die. There are many things to this in this game, like go on long campaigns, missions, and skirmishes.This game isn't too hard once you get used to it. Overall, this game is fairly violent, but no blood. I would recommend this for 9 year olds and up, but kids below 8 are too young to play.
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| Platforms: | Windows |
| Available online? | Available online |
| Genre: | Real Time Strategy (RTS) |
| Developer: | LucasArts |
| Release date: | February 16, 2006 |
| Price: | $49.99 |
| ESRB rating: | T for Fantasy Violence |
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