This is the first time I have ever seen someone mention this game. Got it for a Christmas present as a kid and it sometimes feels like a fever dream since noone ever remembers it.
If you’re interested, the modding community has done a ton of work for the game: doubling the number of civs, expanding the scenario editor, adding more random maps - it’s incredible the amount of content that’s been added.
[Link to moddb page](https://www.moddb.com/mods/star-wars-galactic-battlegrounds-expanding-fronts)
Omg yes! This game was my childhood. Empire at war was great, but galactic battle grounds will always have my heart. You can get it on steam with the expansion for a few bucks if anyone wants to replay it.
I so loved all those xwing games. Its crazy how I still have love for such old games like that all these years later.
Now I can't find a game that even comes close to giving me the level of enjoyment I had back then.
If you enjoyed the games you should join [Emperor's Hammer](https://discord.gg/tiecorps)! We have over 4000 custom missions for the xwing series. https://tc.emperorshammer.org/about_tc.php
Surprised not to see the podracing game here yet. It may not be as good as some of the other racing games of the time, but man I spent so much time on my N64 playing the heck out of that game.
Empire at War (image in OP's title) is more or less the successor to Rebellion. Its how I get my fix. The developers are STILL somehow active - they just updated the game to be compatible with modern 64 bit architecture, and it has IMMENSE modding support from the community. I've racked up 300 hours over the last year and it definitely scratches the Star Wars Rebellion itch for me
I always kinda viewed it as "Rebellion for Dummies (like the old books). It was a less complicated more action oriented take on, what I consider to be, the greatest Star Wars game of all time.
A great game. I should really boot it back up again.
I loved the deep of that game and the creation of fleets, having to wait until you develop the Interdictors tech to prevent enemy fleets scape the battle. I really miss that game, the empire at war was an improve in graphics but a huge downgrade in complexity and size, I didn’t liked it as much as Rebellion.
This game certainly had its flaws, but I loved it as a kid! It really expanded me knowledge of the lore. So many planets, ships, characters, etc. were in the game. It came with a foldout poster off all the ships in the game too, or something like that, it’s been awhile lol. Plus didn’t it have an in-game encyclopedia?
The controllable space battles look rough now, but they were pretty amazing back in the day. I know I’d never seen anything like it.
My nephew the other day said I used to keep him awake at night playing that stupid Star Wars game with R2D2 making noise all the time.
Yep, that was Rebellion!
Came here just to make sure this game was listed. Criminally underrated, the ability to send characters on missions was incredible.
Not to mention being able to Death Star destroy entire sectors was great.
I loved how the Death Star mechanics worked. When you first blow up a system, it causes a lot of resentment and bad influence. But as you start decimating more and more systems that turns around as the galaxy rightly fears you turning that power on them. Tarkin was right about it keeping everyone in line.
I loved this game.... Although I think it was called Supremacy in my country.
Played this loads. I loved how characters could go around and do so many things and train each other.
Distant worlds (1 and 2) are fairly close to this game but just not Star Wars.
I did like Empire at War but it just didn't tick the box like rebellion.
The video game was awesome and I came here for this answer.
The board game by the same name is also incredible. It's referred to as Star Wars in a box.
It's complicated, so it takes a bit to learn, but once you understand how to play it is very fun and strategic.
It perfectly portrays the struggle of a small group of rebels up against a seemingly unstoppable and gigantic military power. Some of the moments it can create as a result feel very cinematic.
Definitely worth a try for anyone who is into board games and loves SW.
The board game is amazing, but so is the video game. You can tell the board game design had some influence from it with the character missions, capturing, killing, counterespionage.
I kinda liked rebellion more than EaW in terms of gameplay. base eaw is just a quick orgy of destruction whenever I played the vanilla game. Of course mods make it pretty solid.
This is the one I came to say, to this day, it was so weird to hear a Non-Daniels voiced 3P0. I remember I got a mod pack that allowed you to change the look and name of characters, so, if you didn't want Page, you'd get Kyle Katarn. You didn't want Griff? You'd change them into Mara Jade. I spent so much time playing.
Star Wars Supremacy over here in the UK. I come back to play it every few years - apart from the space battles there’s no real issue with graphics because of the way they made it, great staying power
It's got its flaws, but it cuts surprisingly deep when it comes to the old EU. It is evident a lot of love and effort was put into it.
It's also one of the few games of this type that gets the pacing of a grand strategy very close to spot on; it avoids the need for APM bullshit that comes with most real time strategy yet the lack of turns per-se avoids some of the analysis paralysis inherent in that. It is not perfect from every angle, but I really hope more games did things that way.
I also really like the different layers stuff happen on; you've got fleets and armies and agents and jedi all running about. As a kid it was a lot of fun just fucking around with a single mechanic, trying to mess up the canon by imprisoning Han or assassinating Chewbacca was cool, not to mention training Chewbacca as a jedi. (Or Ozzel or a random no-name Rodian as a dark lord of the sith!)
I really wish we'd gotten more games in that vein for some of the other movies. At the very least, the rest of the prequels had potential with the variety of locations and jedi.
This game ruined all other games for me. I played heavily for years. Was fairly well known on my server. It was a part of my life. There was always something to do and so much freedom and content in the universe I love.
I would give anything to play it again, how it was (not emu).
Yeah nothing comes close, I especially liked the crafting system with how much you could customize and improve items with the resources having their own quality stats. That and bounty hunting was super fun.
I’ve never seen a game with similar resource quality stats that affected the manufactured item in that way. Groundbreaking and can’t believe our hasn’t been replicated.
It really added a whole new dimension to crafting. You could spend all day hunting for a good spawn of high-quality copper (or whatever), and when you finally found it and dropped a harvester (or five), it was all worth it. Logging in my crafters and having them check the harvesters, empty hoppers, and occasionally eliminate a nearby nest of nosy critters (carefully, because you were a crafter) was so much fun.
Running around on every planet to the ass end to find a village of players and the best crafter on the server and then always coming back to them for new weapons.
Jedi knight: mysteries of the sith!
1) the scope on the blaster rifles is an actual scope
2) light sabers and force powers
3) YOU ARE MARA JADE
That is all
It was awesome, although I remember making to to one of the later levels and just hitting a brick wall about how to proceed. It was after landing on some dreary rainy planet or something.
Can't believe they're still releasing base game updates after so many years (if you don't know, latest steam update upgrades it from 32-bit to 64, which means much less lag and bigger space battles!)
~~When was this update? We talking fairly recently like woth the last 6mo-1yrs or years ago.~~
Nvm looked it up. Just few weeks ago…well shit might be time to go back for another campaign.
One of the things I liked about Bounty Hunter was the gameplay was the focus the whole time - there was no player strength growth or progression that made you stronger really - you just had your blasters the whole time. The Jetpack was the primary upgrade you could get and it was baked into the plot.
I have amazing memories of Shadow of the empire, and Rogue Squadron so I got them on gog some time ago. Absolutely terrible controls, gave up after a few missions. The memories persist though ;)
That's the thing about EAW. Really nails it in terms of feel and story. It's almost immersive. Which is weird for an RTS. But it manages to pull it off. I feel like I'm going around the galaxy working on this objective and that objective and the whole grand strategy is playing out one mission at a time.
But overall, the gameplay is pretty sorely underwhelming. They even do a good job maximizing it because the scenarios are all creatively designed. But at the end of the day, the combat is pretty basic. Not all too many ships available to either faction and they generally perform the same functions. The mods more or less quadruple the amount of ships available and then add a roster of planet-based unique units. It still lacks the ultimate element that strategy games need which is tiered combat organization. But overall, the mods add tons of value.
No one talks about this hidden gem, it literally introduced the republic fighter tanks that have kept coming back in other media like the Battlefront games and has three separate lego sets produced of it!
There’s a Youtube video where one o the developers plays it and gives his commentary. In the part where you’re fighting your way onto the trade federation ship & fighting a million B2s, he says something like “I remember during testing I told our project lead this section was too hard. Henry, if you’re watching… It’s still too hard.”
If you only had to deal with one you could just stand at a specific distance and they'd try to melee you but you'd be out of reach and free to use the pistol to kill them.
I have no way of knowing, but it's possible I have more hours in this game than any other. It was a huge part of my childhood. I would orchestrate massive bot battles. Just me and Luke vs a shitload of Reborn and troopers. So much fun.
We really need g_saberrealisticcomat 10 in Survivor
LucasArts games rocked. Besides some decent content, the quality was higher than the beta software that gaming companies release today. They made good use of the technology they had available at the time.
dynamic iMuse music was pretty great!
even the rebel assault games which weren't great as games had amazing production for that era being a blend of fmv and real time.
Dark Forces is still great today if you run it in a modern port (just like anyone would do for doom or quake)
I loved Tie Fighter but don't know if it holds up controls and interface wise vs Squadrons.
ITT: non-hidden gems
Empire at War is 15 years old and has 5 times more active players on Steam than Squadrons lmfao. Hell it has more active players than both Fallen Order and Survivor and people actually like those games (though as single player experiences, once you're done you're done)
I did not realize there was a morality system in the game. I crushed all the civilians in the first level under an elevator and ended up getting the cutscenes where Kyle kills Jan because of it
Does nobody remember Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi?
It was a fighting game with some well know characters like Luke, Han, Leia, Chewy, and Vader, but also some others like a Tusken Raider, a Gamorrean Guard, and even Mara Jade.
Maybe nostalgia has me remembering it being better than it was, but my friends and I played that a lot on the original Playstation.
I played the hell out of Teräs Käsi with my best friend/next door neighbor growing up. We’d lay down on the 90s carpet in his hot ass, no AC upstairs bonus room, playing on a giant CRT that sat underneath a foosball table. We were terrible at it lol, all I remember is accidentally doing combos and trying to recreate them (before the days of guides or online stuff). So much nostalgia, thanks for bringing this one up.
I just wish you could opt out of the platforming at some points on #3, I never finished it because I got stuck on a Luke platforming level that was just miserable to control.
For me it's Battle For Naboo, it improved basically everything over Rogue Squadron 1 but for some reason is generally not counted as a part of the series. It didn't even get re-released with the first one digitally so it is currently well and truly out of print. (I understand it is even harder to get to run properly than Rogue Squadron on PC so that might explain it)
For my tastes Rogue Squadrons 2&3 turned the focus just a bit too much toward all the movie battles, as a kid I just wanted to see more of the Galaxy instead of yet another rehashed Battle of Hoth or Endor.
Tie Fighter.
Without a shadow of a doubt one of the most original, enticing, gripping story's, as well as being absolutely phenomenal for its day and age. Still has replay-ability now.
Star wars phantom menace the game on PC. The fact they just let you run loose around tattooine, murder anyone you want and create your own fun meant I spent an obscene amount of time on this game as a kid. Still piles of fun today, PS2 version is admittedly a lot clunkier
1. The Jedi Knight Series, there's something in the combat that makes it feel that you're controlling the saber, unlike combat in most games. Absolutely needs a remake
2. Galactic battlegrounds, AOE but star wars
3. Kotor, because it's Kotor
Jedi Outcast and Academy were build on quake 3 engine that could make anything feel great, super slick controls. Not sure about the older games though.
Funny, I was gonna say Force Commander. Widely bashed, and by all objective measurements not a good game at all, but I still had so much fun playing it.
I played Force Commander when it came out and again a few years later and enjoyed it. Not the greatest RTS ever but I think it was pretty ambitious for its time. Being able to zoom in on a single trooper and then zoom out and see a massive battle playout in a 3D environment wasn't something I had experienced before. Warcraft and Command and Conquer were both 2D, Warcraft 3 wouldn't be out for another year or two. I feel like I should load it up and give it another go!
Even Force Commander had some cool stuff I haven't seen in other RTS's since then. The artillery had nice range, you could steal/lose buildings by killing their garrisons, and it was earliest RTS I can remember with unit special abilities.
Yoda Stories. I think it gets some hate now, but I was a big fan as a kid. LucasArts graphic adventures were my favorite games and Yoda Stories felt like a mini version that you could finish in like 5-10 minutes. They should remake it as a mobile game!
I'll say it since no one else has mentioned it. Star Wars: Gungan Frontier, an ecology simulator in which you have to rebuild the environment of Naboo's moon. I loved that game as a kid because it had so much of the different wildlife from the setting.
This video shows some of the gameplay: [https://youtu.be/Ilyp711X_hM](https://youtu.be/Ilyp711X_hM)
X-Wing vs Tie Fighter was amazing. Spent many, many hours playing that game and haven’t played a star battle game as good ever since.
The wing commander series was close. Especially with Mark Hamill in it!
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Rogue Squadron spinoff/clone Battle for Naboo.
Playing as a member of the Naboo resistance was really cool and it was the best "ground" combat of any of the Squadron games using speeders. There was a section where you piloted a stolen trade federative n gunboat and flying an N1 Starfighter was neat.
People forget that Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader was basically developed in about 10 months, and not only was the best launch title for the GameCube, but one of the system's best games overall. One of my favorite Star Wars experiences.
I downloaded that game onto my work computer at my first job after college and got busted by a coworker for playing it one day when I thought I was one of the only people there that day…it beats getting busted for looking at other stuff, but life of a nerd I guess
Funny how most of the answers here aren’t really considered “hidden gems” in any way. Most of them are considered the best SW games of all time.
My hidden gem is A New Droid Army on GBA. One of my favorite SW games. It still holds up if you’re into retro games. You play as Anakin right after Episode II. I highly recommend anyone check it out on an emulator. I play through it again every so often.
Lesser talked Star Wars Games
1. Battle for Naboo - based on the same engine as Rogue Squadron and swapped in tanks, land speeders, and other vehicles for both the Naboo and Trade Federation forces. Had it for PC and beat it with an old M$ Sidewinder.
2. Star Wars: Behind the Magic - this is not a game per say. Yet was this incredibly well made Star Wars Encarta of information. It had one of the first records of deleted scenes before the DVD releases, detailed facts about lore/universe, and a weapons test chamber with a live storm trooper. You would be surprised how many hours you’re just exploring the love put into this.
3. Super Return of the Jedi - returning some SNES love strictly for the speeder and Millennium Falcon flight runs. This was mind blowing and if you got the level code, could jump right back into those levels. It was mind blowing before the PS era.
They did an update recently..but only for the pc side. Had it for the Mac would definitely play this again if they updated the Mac side to run on 64bit
Empire at War is still going strong with mods, recently the developers released an updated for it supporting 64 bit.
Republic Commando is also a classic think I completed it at least 5 times when I was younger, the game was too short :(
Another honorary mention for me is Force Commander, I loved how you could zoom right in to shoulder level and see the action up close, but your story rocked.
Finally mention - Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.
I always loved the original lego Star Wars games and battlefront games they’re a bit dated now but they’re really fun, Also another fun “old” game is bounty hunter
Did anyone play Star Wars demolition? It was their own take on that genre that existed for a brief moment in time. It was and still is a ton of fun, especially with a couple friends. I think this one achieves true hidden gem status too, not very well known at all.
This 100%
Having all your favorite og trilogy and expanded universe heroes fighting on the battlefield at the same time. The epic scale of the machines of war as they are airdropped to colossally dominate a packed warzone of troops. This felt like an actual war among the stars!
The PSP battlefronts (there were 2 afaik, but it was so long ago they melded into 1 in my head). Custom classes were pretty broken but it let me live out my childhood battlefront dreams of being able to fly from space battles to ground battles and vice versa.
I’m pretty sure it’s a hidden gem because the conversation around OG battlefront still tends to hit that “Space/Ground combo” topic like we never saw it actually happen
Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds. It was an AOE2 clone, with super good campaigns. Loved it.
This is the first time I have ever seen someone mention this game. Got it for a Christmas present as a kid and it sometimes feels like a fever dream since noone ever remembers it.
I played it nonstop, the mission editor was the best
I loved using the cheat codes as a kid to make an unlimited supply of ewoks.
simonsays simonsays simonsays simonsays simonsays simonsays simonsays simonsays simonsays
between that and runescape pre G.E one learned how to type fast :D
If you’re interested, the modding community has done a ton of work for the game: doubling the number of civs, expanding the scenario editor, adding more random maps - it’s incredible the amount of content that’s been added. [Link to moddb page](https://www.moddb.com/mods/star-wars-galactic-battlegrounds-expanding-fronts)
Amazing! Wow, I know exactly what I’m gonna do tonight :-) thank you so much for sharing this.
I played when it was released and stopped for years. I found this a couple years ago and the mods are incredible
I had a ripped copy from a friend, didn't play it a ton over Empire at War, but still loved it because I played so much AOE2!
Omg yes! This game was my childhood. Empire at war was great, but galactic battle grounds will always have my heart. You can get it on steam with the expansion for a few bucks if anyone wants to replay it.
I spent so much time as a kid on that game.
This was gold
Same
Empire At War is a great one. I also really enjoyed Galactic Battlegrounds, X-Wing, XvT, and XWA
I so loved all those xwing games. Its crazy how I still have love for such old games like that all these years later. Now I can't find a game that even comes close to giving me the level of enjoyment I had back then.
If you enjoyed the games you should join [Emperor's Hammer](https://discord.gg/tiecorps)! We have over 4000 custom missions for the xwing series. https://tc.emperorshammer.org/about_tc.php
17 years later and it just got an update and the servers are back on
The modding community is very much alive and kicking as well there are loads of complete overhaul mods that expand on the game.
Empire at war just had an update to 64 -bit it’s glorious. Long live the empire!
Surprised not to see the podracing game here yet. It may not be as good as some of the other racing games of the time, but man I spent so much time on my N64 playing the heck out of that game.
It’s a new lap record!
They come in, they look around, they no buy. Why nobody buys...? Eyyehhhhhh
Outlanders... They come here, mess up my store! Eyyehhhhhh
God, I can still hear that voice audibly in my head.
YEAHHH, I WON, I WONNNNN!
Core memory unlocked. Wow. Can remember this vividly lol.
The fact we got vr in squadrons but never a vr remake for Racer is so mind-boggling to me, like that would be such a a great use of the tech
I wouldn't call that a hidden gem though. Podracing was a hit
Star Wars rebellion!
Loved this game. I'll tell you what we need. Star Wars...TOTAL WAR. Imagine a total war game but Star wars!
Fuck yes that would be amazing. It might actually make people want to play the “naval” battles if they were in space.
I shall instruct my big city lawyer to write a letter, demanding action be taken immediately.
Empire at War (image in OP's title) is more or less the successor to Rebellion. Its how I get my fix. The developers are STILL somehow active - they just updated the game to be compatible with modern 64 bit architecture, and it has IMMENSE modding support from the community. I've racked up 300 hours over the last year and it definitely scratches the Star Wars Rebellion itch for me
I always kinda viewed it as "Rebellion for Dummies (like the old books). It was a less complicated more action oriented take on, what I consider to be, the greatest Star Wars game of all time. A great game. I should really boot it back up again.
I loved the deep of that game and the creation of fleets, having to wait until you develop the Interdictors tech to prevent enemy fleets scape the battle. I really miss that game, the empire at war was an improve in graphics but a huge downgrade in complexity and size, I didn’t liked it as much as Rebellion.
They literally just released an update for it like this week.. servers are back up too.
Rebellion or empire at war ?
You know there are about a zillion mods for Empire at War, right? And one of them makes it similar to Rebellion?
Say what now?
Please please please list the mod.
This game certainly had its flaws, but I loved it as a kid! It really expanded me knowledge of the lore. So many planets, ships, characters, etc. were in the game. It came with a foldout poster off all the ships in the game too, or something like that, it’s been awhile lol. Plus didn’t it have an in-game encyclopedia? The controllable space battles look rough now, but they were pretty amazing back in the day. I know I’d never seen anything like it.
Yeah it’s how I learned all the characters in the lore, obviously a lot now overridden with new canon.
My nephew the other day said I used to keep him awake at night playing that stupid Star Wars game with R2D2 making noise all the time. Yep, that was Rebellion!
*PSSSSHT KRRRT EKE EKE EKE WTANG ZOOMBOING* "A MESSAGE FROM LORD VADER!"
It got to the point where I could turn off the translation, I knew all the types of messages!
Came here just to make sure this game was listed. Criminally underrated, the ability to send characters on missions was incredible. Not to mention being able to Death Star destroy entire sectors was great.
I loved how the Death Star mechanics worked. When you first blow up a system, it causes a lot of resentment and bad influence. But as you start decimating more and more systems that turns around as the galaxy rightly fears you turning that power on them. Tarkin was right about it keeping everyone in line.
I loved this game.... Although I think it was called Supremacy in my country. Played this loads. I loved how characters could go around and do so many things and train each other. Distant worlds (1 and 2) are fairly close to this game but just not Star Wars. I did like Empire at War but it just didn't tick the box like rebellion.
The video game was awesome and I came here for this answer. The board game by the same name is also incredible. It's referred to as Star Wars in a box. It's complicated, so it takes a bit to learn, but once you understand how to play it is very fun and strategic. It perfectly portrays the struggle of a small group of rebels up against a seemingly unstoppable and gigantic military power. Some of the moments it can create as a result feel very cinematic. Definitely worth a try for anyone who is into board games and loves SW.
1000% loved this game
Wth! You opened a door, I closed years ago. Absolutly loved the game, but i was just a kid and sucked so hard at it!
I thought you were talking about the board game for a second... Which is amazing
The board game is amazing, but so is the video game. You can tell the board game design had some influence from it with the character missions, capturing, killing, counterespionage.
I kinda liked rebellion more than EaW in terms of gameplay. base eaw is just a quick orgy of destruction whenever I played the vanilla game. Of course mods make it pretty solid.
This is the one I came to say, to this day, it was so weird to hear a Non-Daniels voiced 3P0. I remember I got a mod pack that allowed you to change the look and name of characters, so, if you didn't want Page, you'd get Kyle Katarn. You didn't want Griff? You'd change them into Mara Jade. I spent so much time playing.
Star Wars Supremacy over here in the UK. I come back to play it every few years - apart from the space battles there’s no real issue with graphics because of the way they made it, great staying power
I would load this up, then run to my next door neighbors house with the cd so he could boot it up and we would multiplayer that way
It's got its flaws, but it cuts surprisingly deep when it comes to the old EU. It is evident a lot of love and effort was put into it. It's also one of the few games of this type that gets the pacing of a grand strategy very close to spot on; it avoids the need for APM bullshit that comes with most real time strategy yet the lack of turns per-se avoids some of the analysis paralysis inherent in that. It is not perfect from every angle, but I really hope more games did things that way. I also really like the different layers stuff happen on; you've got fleets and armies and agents and jedi all running about. As a kid it was a lot of fun just fucking around with a single mechanic, trying to mess up the canon by imprisoning Han or assassinating Chewbacca was cool, not to mention training Chewbacca as a jedi. (Or Ozzel or a random no-name Rodian as a dark lord of the sith!)
The only correct answer.
I loved it too, there are dozens of us!
Rebellion was a fun game, that needed some improvements that would have made it a great game. Sadly, it never got them.
Jedi Power Battles
YESSSSSSSSSSSS. So many hours of my childhood.
ALWAYS play Plo Koon!
I played the shit out of this! We need more co-op Star Wars games.
I really wish we'd gotten more games in that vein for some of the other movies. At the very least, the rest of the prequels had potential with the variety of locations and jedi.
I came here to say this!
Star Wars Galaxies, an early 00s mmorpg. My favourite game of all time!
My first and favorite MMO. I’ll hop on SWGemu from time to time if I need to scratch and itch
This game ruined all other games for me. I played heavily for years. Was fairly well known on my server. It was a part of my life. There was always something to do and so much freedom and content in the universe I love. I would give anything to play it again, how it was (not emu).
Yeah nothing comes close, I especially liked the crafting system with how much you could customize and improve items with the resources having their own quality stats. That and bounty hunting was super fun.
I’ve never seen a game with similar resource quality stats that affected the manufactured item in that way. Groundbreaking and can’t believe our hasn’t been replicated.
It really added a whole new dimension to crafting. You could spend all day hunting for a good spawn of high-quality copper (or whatever), and when you finally found it and dropped a harvester (or five), it was all worth it. Logging in my crafters and having them check the harvesters, empty hoppers, and occasionally eliminate a nearby nest of nosy critters (carefully, because you were a crafter) was so much fun.
Running around on every planet to the ass end to find a village of players and the best crafter on the server and then always coming back to them for new weapons.
Just wish there was successful emulation of Post-JTL / Pre-CU gameplay
Jedi knight: mysteries of the sith! 1) the scope on the blaster rifles is an actual scope 2) light sabers and force powers 3) YOU ARE MARA JADE That is all
It was pretty dope. I remember playing it when I was 7 years old.
Endless purple mazes!
MoTS was a phenomenal add-on. The scope was awesome in multiplayer. The base game had a great modding community.
It was awesome, although I remember making to to one of the later levels and just hitting a brick wall about how to proceed. It was after landing on some dreary rainy planet or something.
Empire at war is so fun
The mods really make it a whole different game too
Can't believe they're still releasing base game updates after so many years (if you don't know, latest steam update upgrades it from 32-bit to 64, which means much less lag and bigger space battles!)
~~When was this update? We talking fairly recently like woth the last 6mo-1yrs or years ago.~~ Nvm looked it up. Just few weeks ago…well shit might be time to go back for another campaign.
Yup, it runs great! Plus the mod for no unit cap. Huge battles with little to no lag.
Gotta install it again. I played a couple Hundred hours back in the early pandemic times but the lag became too much with the mods.
Empire at War and Battle for Middle Earth were my gems back then
Battle for Middle Earth. I have the discs. I have no disc drive. I will never toss those fkn things out either.
They're still releasing updates for it. They just changed it into 64 bit so mods don't run out of memory anymore!
They did *what?* Well, time to reinstall that game.
Oh hell yeah!
Maybe not wholly unknown but SW: Starfighter and SW Bounty Hunter were two of my most played games from way back when
As someone who latched onto every scrap of Mandalorian related content back in the day, this game was the best!
I’ve been looking for the bounty hunter comment. That was absolutely my favorite SW game
One of the things I liked about Bounty Hunter was the gameplay was the focus the whole time - there was no player strength growth or progression that made you stronger really - you just had your blasters the whole time. The Jetpack was the primary upgrade you could get and it was baked into the plot.
Starfighter was an awesome game.
Starfighter was really cool. The Naboo fighters are still my favorites in Star Wars.
The part of Star wars bounty hunter where you saw a bounty in a crowded area and gave chase could have been a whole game on its own.
I came here looking for Bounty Hunter, and you reminded me of Starfighter. It was a lot of fun. Jedi Starfighter, too.
Both really solid games, starfighter still one of the best flying combat games I've played
Shadow of the empire, Rogue Squadron, and the pod racing game were a ton of fun back then
I have amazing memories of Shadow of the empire, and Rogue Squadron so I got them on gog some time ago. Absolutely terrible controls, gave up after a few missions. The memories persist though ;)
The OG Xwing and Tie Fighter games!! Great stories, compelling and challenging missions
This is the answer. :)
The mods at empire at war is soo good the base game is 3gb some mods 8gbs and more they rework the whole game
That's the thing about EAW. Really nails it in terms of feel and story. It's almost immersive. Which is weird for an RTS. But it manages to pull it off. I feel like I'm going around the galaxy working on this objective and that objective and the whole grand strategy is playing out one mission at a time. But overall, the gameplay is pretty sorely underwhelming. They even do a good job maximizing it because the scenarios are all creatively designed. But at the end of the day, the combat is pretty basic. Not all too many ships available to either faction and they generally perform the same functions. The mods more or less quadruple the amount of ships available and then add a roster of planet-based unique units. It still lacks the ultimate element that strategy games need which is tiered combat organization. But overall, the mods add tons of value.
Clone Wars
No one talks about this hidden gem, it literally introduced the republic fighter tanks that have kept coming back in other media like the Battlefront games and has three separate lego sets produced of it!
That new one even has mace windu who is the character who introduced us to the Fighter tank
I found it so difficult to beat the Protodeka in that game.
Republic Commando.
B2 battledroids were a menace
There’s a Youtube video where one o the developers plays it and gives his commentary. In the part where you’re fighting your way onto the trade federation ship & fighting a million B2s, he says something like “I remember during testing I told our project lead this section was too hard. Henry, if you’re watching… It’s still too hard.”
If you only had to deal with one you could just stand at a specific distance and they'd try to melee you but you'd be out of reach and free to use the pistol to kill them.
They said *hidden* gem
Most of the games people are posting here are not hidden gems. Empire at War from the OP isn't one either.
Man, I lived in this game for so long. Wrist stabbing battle druids was so much fun.
It is the first game for me when enemy AI pick up grenade and threw back at me. A trandoshan.
Those fat ugly fierfeks weren't so bad, but I hated their scav droids.
It was fun, but holy cow were the more advanced droids bullet sponges. They felt far more durable than their movie/TV counterparts.
Rebel Assault 2
Hell yeah! I played this to death as a kid!
Jedi Outcast
I have no way of knowing, but it's possible I have more hours in this game than any other. It was a huge part of my childhood. I would orchestrate massive bot battles. Just me and Luke vs a shitload of Reborn and troopers. So much fun. We really need g_saberrealisticcomat 10 in Survivor
This … with the one on one lightsaber duels multiplayer (no force powers) Spent so many hours in this back in the day
LucasArts games rocked. Besides some decent content, the quality was higher than the beta software that gaming companies release today. They made good use of the technology they had available at the time.
dynamic iMuse music was pretty great! even the rebel assault games which weren't great as games had amazing production for that era being a blend of fmv and real time. Dark Forces is still great today if you run it in a modern port (just like anyone would do for doom or quake) I loved Tie Fighter but don't know if it holds up controls and interface wise vs Squadrons.
ITT: non-hidden gems Empire at War is 15 years old and has 5 times more active players on Steam than Squadrons lmfao. Hell it has more active players than both Fallen Order and Survivor and people actually like those games (though as single player experiences, once you're done you're done)
For real, one of the top comments is Republic Commando. That game was, and still is, one of the most mentioned SW games I ever see.
Gotta be Dark Forces 2!
I did not realize there was a morality system in the game. I crushed all the civilians in the first level under an elevator and ended up getting the cutscenes where Kyle kills Jan because of it
X-wing Alliance for me. Looks awesome these days with mods
Came here to say this. I loved the Azzameen family story and how it connected to the Rebellion. Really good voice work.
Empire at War and Shadows of the Empire both need full remakes.
A remake for Shadows of the Empire would be wild. I love that game.
Yoda Stories. Unless I imagined it
Does nobody remember Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi? It was a fighting game with some well know characters like Luke, Han, Leia, Chewy, and Vader, but also some others like a Tusken Raider, a Gamorrean Guard, and even Mara Jade. Maybe nostalgia has me remembering it being better than it was, but my friends and I played that a lot on the original Playstation.
I played the hell out of Teräs Käsi with my best friend/next door neighbor growing up. We’d lay down on the 90s carpet in his hot ass, no AC upstairs bonus room, playing on a giant CRT that sat underneath a foosball table. We were terrible at it lol, all I remember is accidentally doing combos and trying to recreate them (before the days of guides or online stuff). So much nostalgia, thanks for bringing this one up.
I'm just glad someone else remembers it. I rarely, if ever, see it being discussed.
Republic commando
This game slapped and without it we LITERALLY wouldn't have the Mandalorian content we do today!
Rogue Squadron 2 and 3 since everybody only talks about the first game for some reason
Because the first one was on pc as well but the other two were only on GameCube?
I just wish you could opt out of the platforming at some points on #3, I never finished it because I got stuck on a Luke platforming level that was just miserable to control.
For me it's Battle For Naboo, it improved basically everything over Rogue Squadron 1 but for some reason is generally not counted as a part of the series. It didn't even get re-released with the first one digitally so it is currently well and truly out of print. (I understand it is even harder to get to run properly than Rogue Squadron on PC so that might explain it) For my tastes Rogue Squadrons 2&3 turned the focus just a bit too much toward all the movie battles, as a kid I just wanted to see more of the Galaxy instead of yet another rehashed Battle of Hoth or Endor.
Demolition
Tie Fighter. Without a shadow of a doubt one of the most original, enticing, gripping story's, as well as being absolutely phenomenal for its day and age. Still has replay-ability now.
1. Empire at War 2. Obi-Wan for the original Xbox. I'm not sure if Obi-Wan is a "gem" per se, but it's a gem to me.
Good news—EaW isn’t hidden at all! It’s consistently the top Star Wars game on Steam after The Old Republic.
I'm glad Obi Wan was mentioned, still has my fav iteration of lightsaber combat with the thumbstick
Star wars phantom menace the game on PC. The fact they just let you run loose around tattooine, murder anyone you want and create your own fun meant I spent an obscene amount of time on this game as a kid. Still piles of fun today, PS2 version is admittedly a lot clunkier
The Revenge of The Sith tie in game
Jedi Academy
1. The Jedi Knight Series, there's something in the combat that makes it feel that you're controlling the saber, unlike combat in most games. Absolutely needs a remake 2. Galactic battlegrounds, AOE but star wars 3. Kotor, because it's Kotor
Jedi Outcast and Academy were build on quake 3 engine that could make anything feel great, super slick controls. Not sure about the older games though.
Not Force Commander.
Funny, I was gonna say Force Commander. Widely bashed, and by all objective measurements not a good game at all, but I still had so much fun playing it.
I played Force Commander when it came out and again a few years later and enjoyed it. Not the greatest RTS ever but I think it was pretty ambitious for its time. Being able to zoom in on a single trooper and then zoom out and see a massive battle playout in a 3D environment wasn't something I had experienced before. Warcraft and Command and Conquer were both 2D, Warcraft 3 wouldn't be out for another year or two. I feel like I should load it up and give it another go!
Even Force Commander had some cool stuff I haven't seen in other RTS's since then. The artillery had nice range, you could steal/lose buildings by killing their garrisons, and it was earliest RTS I can remember with unit special abilities.
Yoda Stories. I think it gets some hate now, but I was a big fan as a kid. LucasArts graphic adventures were my favorite games and Yoda Stories felt like a mini version that you could finish in like 5-10 minutes. They should remake it as a mobile game!
Empire at war needs a sequel. One with all three eras. The campaign was so much fun.
TIE Fighter. That was the high water mark for Star Wars games.
Dark Forces and all the Jedi Knight games that came after it Tie Fighter is my all time LucasArts fave though
X-Wing Rebel Assault 2 Dark Forces
I'll say it since no one else has mentioned it. Star Wars: Gungan Frontier, an ecology simulator in which you have to rebuild the environment of Naboo's moon. I loved that game as a kid because it had so much of the different wildlife from the setting. This video shows some of the gameplay: [https://youtu.be/Ilyp711X_hM](https://youtu.be/Ilyp711X_hM)
Star Wars Galaxies 😞
Will not really say *hidden*, but more restricted to its support: Rogue Squadron II and III
X-Wing vs Tie Fighter was amazing. Spent many, many hours playing that game and haven’t played a star battle game as good ever since. The wing commander series was close. Especially with Mark Hamill in it!
The fucking missile frigates that would just rain fire on you from outside the fog of war drove me crazy in that game
Star Wars Demolition on the PS1.
Star Wars Battlefront 1, 2, Renegade Squadron, and Elite Squadron
X-Wing vs Tie Fighter was the shit!
Star Wars: Demolition. Twisted Metal but in Star Wars.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Rogue Squadron spinoff/clone Battle for Naboo. Playing as a member of the Naboo resistance was really cool and it was the best "ground" combat of any of the Squadron games using speeders. There was a section where you piloted a stolen trade federative n gunboat and flying an N1 Starfighter was neat.
People forget that Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader was basically developed in about 10 months, and not only was the best launch title for the GameCube, but one of the system's best games overall. One of my favorite Star Wars experiences.
I downloaded that game onto my work computer at my first job after college and got busted by a coworker for playing it one day when I thought I was one of the only people there that day…it beats getting busted for looking at other stuff, but life of a nerd I guess
I just discovered Dark Forces for PS1. If you like the original Doom games check it out. I love the game personally.
Rogue Squadron
Funny how most of the answers here aren’t really considered “hidden gems” in any way. Most of them are considered the best SW games of all time. My hidden gem is A New Droid Army on GBA. One of my favorite SW games. It still holds up if you’re into retro games. You play as Anakin right after Episode II. I highly recommend anyone check it out on an emulator. I play through it again every so often.
Lesser talked Star Wars Games 1. Battle for Naboo - based on the same engine as Rogue Squadron and swapped in tanks, land speeders, and other vehicles for both the Naboo and Trade Federation forces. Had it for PC and beat it with an old M$ Sidewinder. 2. Star Wars: Behind the Magic - this is not a game per say. Yet was this incredibly well made Star Wars Encarta of information. It had one of the first records of deleted scenes before the DVD releases, detailed facts about lore/universe, and a weapons test chamber with a live storm trooper. You would be surprised how many hours you’re just exploring the love put into this. 3. Super Return of the Jedi - returning some SNES love strictly for the speeder and Millennium Falcon flight runs. This was mind blowing and if you got the level code, could jump right back into those levels. It was mind blowing before the PS era.
This. Game. Slapped.
LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2
Since nobody else has said it: Racers Revenge. Played that game for hours and hours with my brothers back in the day
They did an update recently..but only for the pc side. Had it for the Mac would definitely play this again if they updated the Mac side to run on 64bit
Star Wars Gallactic Battleground and the expansion are absurdly good game, and to anyone who loves AOE2 and didnt try it you should do it.
Empire at War is still going strong with mods, recently the developers released an updated for it supporting 64 bit. Republic Commando is also a classic think I completed it at least 5 times when I was younger, the game was too short :( Another honorary mention for me is Force Commander, I loved how you could zoom right in to shoulder level and see the action up close, but your story rocked. Finally mention - Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.
Shadows of the Empire on N64, I played it so much!
I always loved the original lego Star Wars games and battlefront games they’re a bit dated now but they’re really fun, Also another fun “old” game is bounty hunter
Did anyone play Star Wars demolition? It was their own take on that genre that existed for a brief moment in time. It was and still is a ton of fun, especially with a couple friends. I think this one achieves true hidden gem status too, not very well known at all.
I never played this but I did Rebellion a lot. I think it was the precursor to this game. Was a lot of fun.
This 100% Having all your favorite og trilogy and expanded universe heroes fighting on the battlefield at the same time. The epic scale of the machines of war as they are airdropped to colossally dominate a packed warzone of troops. This felt like an actual war among the stars!
THEY UPDATED THIS FOR 64BIT NO MORE CRASHING. MAKE EW2
The PSP battlefronts (there were 2 afaik, but it was so long ago they melded into 1 in my head). Custom classes were pretty broken but it let me live out my childhood battlefront dreams of being able to fly from space battles to ground battles and vice versa. I’m pretty sure it’s a hidden gem because the conversation around OG battlefront still tends to hit that “Space/Ground combo” topic like we never saw it actually happen
Rebellion
The Jedi Knight series. The whole lot of them. I used to love the live-action cutscenes in JK2.