Star Wars Force Commander

Imperial Star cruisers darken the skies over Kalaan, while transports are landing, bringing a host of Stormtroopers to the surface.

The ground trembles beneath the weight of the Imperial AT-ATs. The rebels are attacking. With a cry of “long live the Emperor,” you plunge your forces into battle.

Hey, wait a minute! “Long live the Emperor!” Haven’t we all, through four films, become erstwhile rebels ourselves, hating the Dark side embodied by the malignant and utterly evil Emperor? Then why are we fighting for him? The reason is simple: This is Star Wars Force Commander, a real-time strategy game that puts you in charge of Imperial forces trying to crush the rebellion, or at least foil their attacks and preserve the Imperial foothold on distant planets.

In previous Star Wars releases, LucasArts has touched on role-playing with Episode 1 The Phantom Menace, and the racing genre with Episode 1 Racer. Force Commander enters the realm of real-time strategy games, bringing all the hardware of the Star Wars universe into play with the emphasis on playing on the side of the Imperial forces, but the options of representing the Rebellion as well.

The storyline follows the lives of two brothers, who grew up appreciating the Imperial forces and who have joined up. Brenn and Dellis Tantor - represented during cut scenes by great three-dimensional smooth polygonal figures - have taken slightly different tracks though. Both began as Stormtroopers, but Brenn was elevated through the ranks during field combat on Kalaan, and now is the central figure of the story. He represents the game player who fights on the side of the Emperor. Clicking into scenario mode will introduce you to the ‘enemy general,’ Tyr Taskeen, who is able to recruit someone surprising to battle for the Rebellion.

The program has three modes of play: Campaign, skirmish and scenario. The campaign is just that - a series of missions beginning with learning the operations of the game and progressing to confrontations and open battle with the Rebels. Skirmish is the quick combat mode, and you can battle for either side here. Scenario is the other mode that allows the game player to pick the side he or she wishes to fight on.

The key controls, which are walked through in the initial phases of the campaign mode, are managed by the Battlefield Holographic Control Interface (BHCI). Basically this is the interface that utilizes cameras to pan the battlefield and allows the player to target troops for deployment. As is stock for most of these styles of games, the map is dark when forces have not explored. The BHCI, once explained, is mostly intuitive for game players. The keyboard controls may be a little different, but the mouse can also be employed and those commands are easy to understand and use.

The most challenging part of this program comes in the planning phases. After a mission is explained, you have to select forces to carry it out. The only problem is that the Imperial commanders offer the bare minimum and you can’t overstock your forces. You must choose what to take to combat on a wide variety of terrains - from the ice world of Hoth to the deserts of Tatooine, and points in between.

Graphically, this game is nicely rendered. Requiring both a 3D card and 64 megs of RAM, the program presents the wide variety of Star Wars hardware: probe droids, speeders, TIE bombers and fighters, Y Wings and Corellian heavy lifters are all represented. There are approximately 55 units and buildings indigenous to the Star Wars universe represented in this program. The game boards are rather big and the sounds are exactly what one would expect from a Star Wars product - from the opening theme (yes, with the title and introductory paragraphs receding against a star-filled background) to the combat sounds and crisp vocal characterizations of the lead characters. If you heard it in the theaters, you’ll probably hear it in this game.

Overall, Force Commander is enjoyable. This program will certainly appeal to Star Wars fans. But step away from the fascination with that universe and look at the game from an objective point of view, and what you have is a basic real-time strategy game that is not as in-depth or enjoyable as Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun. Yes, the Star Wars theme carries this program - but if you are a fan, what’s wrong with that?

Multiplayer action is available over the Internet on the MSN Gaming Zone, or through a LAN connection for two-player gaming. You cannot play the campaign in multiplayer.  Rather the action is instant, in the skirmish style of play. The options allow for playing with or against human foes. All can battle on the side of either the Rebels or the Imperial forces, and computer units, droids, can be employed.

This program is rated Teen for animated violence, although the violence is no less severe than anything ever seen in the movies.

Install: Medium. Full install consumes 565 megs of hard drive space, while minimum - the only other option - eats 456 megs. It is a two-disk process, requiring a bit of time while flashing up artist concepts of the Star Wars saga.

Gameplay: 8. This is your basic hidden map, real-time strategy combat game. Seamless, and enjoyable because of the Star Wars universe, but otherwise just ordinary.

Graphics: 8. Cut scenes (those little mini movies) are well done, the game board and animation are both solid.

Sound: 8. Some of the music is founded in traditional Star Wars themes, while the vocal characterizations carry the same urgency as the movie series. All other sounds associated with the movies are intact, from the laser blasts to the vocalizations of the Tuskan raiders.

Difficulty: 9. In the vein of other RTS programs, Force Commander is challenging.

Concept: 7. Giving the viewpoint of the Imperial forces is a nice twist, but merely dumping this style of game into the Star Wars universe is not innovative enough to score too high here.

Overall: 8. The name of Star Wars carries certain thrills, and being able to manipulate stormtroopers, dewbacks and the host is quite enjoyable. But when ignoring that, and looking at the game itself, it is fun, but not incredibly fun.