As in Age of Kings, in Battlegrounds, each side can build a unique unit. In the expansion to Age of Empires II, the Huns don't have to build houses, and in Galactic Battlegrounds, the Trade Federation doesn't have to build prefab shelters. For instance, in the Age of Kings, the Turks collect gold a little faster, and in Galactic Battlegrounds, the Royal Naboo collect nova crystals a little faster. The six sides in Galactic Battlegrounds are the equivalent of the civilizations in Age of Kings, each with minor differences. The four tech levels are analogous to Age of Kings' four ages. So many elements are almost identical-the interface, the resource management, the upgradeable units, and the unit balance, for starters. The fundamentals of the Age of Empires II engine are so intact in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds that veterans of that game can jump right in with barely a glance at the manual. Rest assured that Galactic Battlegrounds has a relatively deep design with enough twists to distinguish it from Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. Although at times it seems LucasArts was being lazy, this isn't just a slapdash skin job. But they are grounds to wonder whether this is just a cheap tug at the pocketbooks of the fans or whether any thought went into this Star Wars adaptation of Ensemble's Age of Empires II engine.
These are hardly grounds to dismiss LucasArts' latest real-time strategy stab at the most lucrative license of them all. Galactic Battlegrounds uses the Age of Kings engine suitably well. Tauntauns on Tatooine? Dewbacks in outer space? Naboo Fighters tussling with X-Wings that haven't been invented yet? TIE Fighters with shields? And since when do Wookiees have tanks? The Star Wars universe already requires a willing suspension of disbelief, but most fans at least expect some internal consistency. Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds will send Star Wars purists into a tizzy.
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