- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 6 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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7 out of 7 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Problems, but not with the game"
Pros: Well put together game, nice change from the ordinary
Cons: Security on the CD can cause some major issues
Summary: Well, Lucasarts has once more outdone themselves. This game brings the best of all the Star Wars games and puts them in one nice neat package. It is the game that I expected when I first picked up Star Wars Rebellion, only this time I wasn?t disappointed with it, not with the demo anyway. The actual full release, now there?s another monster all together. This game started out as a thrill to have purchased, but turned quickly into a nightmare...
I got the game home and began the installation, which was quick and painless, as it should be. The first time I started up the game I was met with an odd mouse cursor, something I had never seen on my computer before. It was a spinning CD with a small arrow in the top left corner. Well, I figured it was a cursor from the game so paid it no mind. Then up came an error message. ?CD Emulation Detected?, which was a surprise but not that big of one. I use CD emulation in my business of making ?video memory? DVD?s, as it?s a lot easier to fix a virtual ISO DVD than a burned one, saves money too. I disabled the virtual drives and tried again, same error. I sat and thought about it for a little while and then decided to see if anyone else was having this problem. I use the emulation software legally for business, so removing it just to play a game isn't an option. To my chagrin I went to the Lucasarts forum only to find it covered with posts from others who were having the same issues that I was. The first thing that ran through my mind was, ?Uh oh?. I followed all of the suggestions that were listed by the less than helpful staff, meaning they usually just gave excuses how it wasn?t their software that was the problem and to uninstall a mass of other software that might be conflicting with their one program. I thought it was the other way around, that their software was conflicting with other non-illegal software, but tried their suguestions anyway. It didn?t solve anything. So I followed their suggestion next to forward my error log file to Securom, who makes the security for the game. They just insulted me by suguesting I had a pirated copy of the game, which I guess is their way of shifting blame off themselves. They didn't even look at me until I offered to fax the recipt to them, that shows it was purchased. They denied the fax offer and sent me a ?modified? executable file that should have worked. It did work, at first.
I started up the game and my excitement once more grew. I had a little trouble getting out of the starting block, but now I was rolling. I fired up the first campaign mission and was off. Approximately four minutes later, my cursor turns into a standard mouse cursor and I hear an error beep over my speakers. After alt+tabbing out of the apparently frozen game, I find an error stating that a fatal exception occurred. Isolated incident right? Wrong?. I started back up thinking ?Well, maybe it?s just that map?. So I tried another, a space map this time. Same crash. A different land map, crash. A different space map, crash. A multiplayer game, crash. Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash!!! I meet all the requirements, have no spyware/viruses on this PC (as I'm in the PC industry and avoid that stuff like the plague), so I'm at a loss.... Suddenly I?m reminded of Windows ME, I don?t know why. I checked the website one more time and noticed a patch! ?A patch is good?, is what I thought. Wrong! Installed the patch and it only got worse, my original issue was back again. ?CD Emulation Detected?? I replaced the EXE with the Securom modified EXE and got a version error. Now I was pissed. I checked the error log that the game generated when the crash occoured and it stated that it tried to read/write to a memory location that it wasn?t authorized to access. I couldn?t help but think, with my programming background, that these guys have idiots working for them. I mean, seriously. Both companies. Idiots!!!
Having a bit of practice, after having to go through this same bull with F.E.A.R, I turned to the software piracy ?industry?. Hell, in my opinion Lucasarts violated their own Terms of Service by selling me software that doesn't work, and can't be returned after being opened. Using a special search engine and a program called bittorrent I downloaded something called a ?Mini ISO?, which is CD1 of the game with the junk taken off of it. I mounted it using my virtual emulation software and used a program called Curerom that apparently prevents the Empire at War program from discovering the CD emulation. Now remember, I own the game so I'm not doing anything illegal. I don't condone the actions of the piracy industry, but if it can help get my legitimate copy of the game working then I'm all for it. I started up the game, freshly patched again to replace the EXE that Securom sent me, and it fired right up. I played for a few minutes, anticipating a crash, but it didn?t happen. I played one mission, then another, and another, into a 5-hour gaming session. Nadda, no crash.
So now that I have a functioning game, and can still use my emulation software for LEGIT use, I?m happy. I have one message for Lucasarts and Securom though, it?s pretty sad when you force your customers to turn to the very thing your trying to prevent, just to get the game they legitimately purchased to run. Perhaps, Lucasarts, you should think again about ever using Securom on one of your software titles because this flop has earned you a hell of a bad name. You went to all of this trouble, and caused your legitimate customers so much heartache, and the dam piracy industry had your security cracked in less than a couple days. Now that I got my game working, well actually MY game is back in the box it came in because I'm using the pirated WORKING version to play, but at any rate I can do an actual review now.
Let?s start off with the game play, as it?s the major addiction in this game. There are aspects of game play taken from every game that has been a major success. You have strategy game play, like Starcraft. You have game board game play, like risk. You even have 3rd person game play, like Rogue Squadron. Add to that a grand storyline that, if you are a Star Wars fan, you might have been able to anticipate and you get one hell of a game. There are some new model additions to the game that we haven?t been able to control previously in Star Wars games, such as the Alliance troop transports. Not to mention all the favorites have been added as well, like the giant ATAT walkers and Star Destroyers. I think, however, the best aspect of this game is that you are not restricted to the surface of a planet or the space above. It truly is a massive universe, and you can explore pretty much all of it.
Graphics in this game are very well done, but fairly normal for today?s gamer standards. We have beautiful lighting effects and scenery with well-detailed models, and add to that environmental and particle effects and you have everything that makes up a good game. I enjoyed watching a slew of storm troopers getting slaughtered; I think it?s my new hobby.
Sound in this game was also top notch. Being an avid gamer I did recognize some effects that were reused from older games, but for the most part they were done very tasteful. Music in this game had the same mix of the themes we?ve all grown accustomed too, with a few additional scores that have been unheard prior. All in all it was a very nice mixture that struck a very good chord with this Star Wars fan.
The originality of this game is hard to judge. It is a Star Wars themed game, which has been done over and over again, so there isn?t much originality there. However, the game?s aspects as far as bringing multiple game functionality (cinematic views, strategy, etc.) together into one game, as well as using multiple locations that appear as completely different games (surface/space) make it somewhat unique in that aspect. I believe I reflected that nicely in the given score.
If this game didn?t have problems with its built-in security features it would receive a perfect score. But, in my research I have found that I?m not the only legit software holder that has had this issue. Actually, hundreds of other gamers who purchased this game legitimately have been having the same issue. Thus, I only give it a 4.Updated
My review was taken directly from my own review site which has segregated ratings so some spots, like where I refer to a "nicely reflected" rating for origionality, might not make sence in my overall rating here. To simplify, here is the ratings as I gave them on my own review site.
GAMEPLAY: 5/5
GRAPHICS: 5/5
MUSIC: 5/5
STORY: 4/5
ORIGIONALITY: 3/5
EASE OF USE: 2/5
STABILITY: 1/5
SUPPORT: 2/5
It should also be noted the poor "Ease of Use" and "Stability" scores are related to my personal experience with this program, as well as the knowledge that many others are having the same experience, and may not reflect everyone's experience.
Star Wars: Empire at War (PC):
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