Well I will be away from for GS for the next few days. A bunch of mates are coming down to mine for the weekend and I have a serious 3 day party planned, taking in St Patricks Day and the Ireland v England rugby match.

So I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Paddy's day.

Lads if you like my review you you recommend it here : http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/starwarsrts/player_review.html?id=265253

Anyhoo..

Star Wars : Empire at War

While not the greatest RTS ever made SW : EAW has more than enough going for it to be part of every RTS collection. While not the greatest RTS ever made SW : EAW has more than enough going for it to be part of every RTS collection especially if you are a SW fan.

Before i started to play this I was genuinely worried that I would be disappointed again by a SW rts title that would not even come close to living up to the hype. Luckily my worries were unfounded.

This game is truly epic in scale from the huge space battles between the empire and the rebellion featuring a satisifyingly diverse ranges of craft from x-wings and tie -fighters right up to the mighty Imperial Star Destroyers all of which seem very well scaled. In fact the space battles are so good that they undermine the land battles somewhat.

My first impression of the land battles was a little muted but as I have playeed a few of land skirmish modes I have found that they are a lot more nuanced than I origonally thought. I would strongly recommend that you dont walk away from this game with watching Obi-wan battle Darth Vader or taking down an AT-AT with a snowspeeder. The only criticism I would level at the game is that the A.I. isnt the sharpest on land maps.

Graphically SW:EAW blew me away so much so that there were times that I wished someone could take over for me so I could just sit back and watch the action unfold.

The sound is as we have come to expect from a SW game, perfect. I am fortunate to own a 5.1 surround sound system and this is one of the few RTS games to use this facility to its full cinematic potential.

In Summary this is a must buy game for any RTS gamer or SW fan. Like all the great games it improves with repeat playing.

I am off to Austria skiing for the next week so obviously I will not be on GS for the next 10 days so If anyone is wondering where I am, can any of you that read my Blog pass the word.

It's been a few years since I was last skiing and I cant wait to get back on the piste.

Wow, these levels and posts are just flying by, It helps that I am now heavily involved in a few great unions, Notably the Jedi Council, Masters of Literature and All About Anything unions.

Its amazing that once you get a few dedicated and interesting posters together a union thrives, I hope these unions can continue to prosper.

I have just finished one of the greatest FPS games in recent years, not for a very very long time have I been so totally absorbed into a shooter.

The gameplay is so fast and frenitic and filled with so many moments of raw tension. The AI (friend and foe alike) was a lot smarter than I have come to expect from these games regularly using suppressive fire and flanking movements, not to mention extremely effective use of grenades.

The level design was superb, from the bombed streets and squares of Stalingrad to the vast desert of North Africa to the war torn landscape of Northern France and Germany. I was particularly pleased with the fact that the obligitary D-Day level was not the usual Omaha beach rush but the scaling of the cliff at Point du Hoc.

The graphics and sound really compliment what is already an amazing experience. You are really made to feel that you only a very small part in a much bigger conflict, be it fighters dogfighting overhead or a Tiger decimating a tank column while you desperatly try to clear buildings of resistance to the fact that your squadmates and the germans are constantly communicating in the heat of a firefight.

The only issue I have is the inaccuracy of the weapons. While I am sure this is to make the game more authentic, it is frustrating when you unload a clip on a soldier and he gets up and owns you while you are reloading. It doesent havent often but is very frustrating when it does.

Overall in my opinion you can keep your Half-lifes,your Dooms and your Quakes, this was the FPS of the year!