Ground Control Anthology
Ground Control Anthology
Game
Game2010
STAR WARS™ Empire at War - Gold Pack
Developer Petroglyph
Star Wars: Empire at War is a 2006 real-time strategy video game developed by Petroglyph Games and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Set between Episode III and Episode IV, it focuses on the fledgling struggle between the Empire and the Rebels. In October 2006, an expansion titled Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption was released. An active modding community exists for the game,… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
317 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
95
LovedLoved
299 positive · 16 negative
95% range 92–97%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 299 | 16 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
30,237 of 30,947 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
95% recommend · 240 yes, 12 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 252 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (42,317 of 43,301 positive).
Players praise the game's space combat and capital ship battles as cinematic and strategic. [1][2][3] Many highlight the dedicated modding community that keeps the game alive with total conversions. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note the game feels dated, with clunky ground combat and technical issues. [7][2][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [4]
A great game that today is largely kept alive by a highly dedicated modding community, with several outstanding mods available, though the base game still holds up well on its own. At the time of release, this was one of the if not the most innovative RTS titles, and it does an excellent job of honoring its source material in terms of quality and presentation. My actual playtime is probably well over 600 hours. I …
- [2]
C L A S S I C. This is the best Star Wars RTS that I've played, but I don't think there're many out there to compare it to. The space combat is the best part, with various ships having their separate roles, and larger ships having hardpoints you can target to decrease their combat effectiveness. You can fly a bunch of Y-Wings in to bomb a shield generator on a Star Destroyer, then take it out more quickly with your …
- [3]
If you've ever wanted to command a Star Destroyer fleet or stage a massive planetary invasion, this is your dream game. The space battles are magnificent, cinematic spectacles where targeting specific ship subsystems actually matters, even if the ground combat feels a bit clunky by comparison. Thanks to a legendary modding community that keeps it alive with massive total conversions, the replay value here is …
- [6]
I have been playing this game since 2008, first on Disk which had countless hours, and now through steam. No matter what I always come back to this RTS, but I do so because the modding community has pushed the limits of this game beyond its initial intention giving it a crazy long life span, and a dedicated fan base. Recommend playing the base game through the campaigns to get you familiar but mods are really where …
- [1]
Easily one of my favourite games of all time. Especially the capital ship combat in space! Needs a remaster ASAP!
Summarised from 28 of the 254 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked STAR WARS™ Empire at War - Gold Pack talk about excellent space combat with ship subsystem targeting; those who didn't talk about ground combat is clunky and less engaging. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Star Wars: Empire at War received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. By 2017, the game sold over 6.7 million copies. Star Wars: Empire at War received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. GameSpot said, "Empire at War delivers a true Star Wars experience". IGN said, "Star Wars: Empire at War definitely scores big in terms of style.... If you're hoping to enjoy this game because you really like Star Wars, you'll probably be satisfied for quite a while, but if your interest in the Star Wars property takes a back…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 317 · most liked firstMost games have you take the POV of the Rebellion so it's a nice change to play as the Empire and crush the Rebel scum
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great game that today is largely kept alive by a highly dedicated modding community, with several outstanding mods available, though the base game still holds up well on its own. At the time of release, this was one of the if not the most innovative RTS titles, and it does an excellent job of honoring its source material in terms of quality and presentation. My actual playtime is probably well over 600 hours. I originally owned the boxed version of both the base game and its expansion and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A MUST FOR STAR WARS FANS. The love and detail poured into the Republic at War mod alone is enough to please even the most autistic star wars fan. Count Dooku was a visionary. Please buy this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easily one of my favourite games of all time. Especially the capital ship combat in space! Needs a remaster ASAP!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will never understand why we no longer get such Star Wars games, they are so simple and yet so good and so much fun. I played this one as a child first, and even today it is an incomparable game in the Star Wars universe.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been playing this since it came out. OG PC version with disk. My hours in Steam are low compared to true hours played. Almost 20 years and the MOD community is still keeping it alive. It has evolved much over the year's and new playthrough's still surprise me. I will always come back from time to time and conquer or free the galaxy. Yes it's old and outdated. It is the will of the Force that I continue to play. I shall do as I must.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had so much fun with this game. 2026 and I installed it again to play the campaigns. Honestly could not think about any cons.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy 20th Aniversary to the best Star Wars RTS game known to the galaxy. Still holds up to the test of time. Try the Republic Mods
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You ever play OG Battlefront 2 galactic conquest mode and think, man I wish I could control the whole army. This is that game. Incredible when it came out and kept alive by some amazing mod authors. If you see the trailer and think it looks old just go to the workshop and sort by top rated. Filled with gold. My favorite RTS of all time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I cant put into words, the sheer mind numbing horror and psychological distress one Galactic Conquest match against the Zann Consortium does to a mf ... Seriously wtf was Petroglyph smoking when they made this DLC -_-
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The base game is clunky and visually hasn't aged well. The story in Forces of Corruption feels like a fever dream. But you got to control star destroyers so it balanced out. Now, the modding scene keeps EAW alive with tons of more modern ideas and visual updates that breathe new life into this 20 year old game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I had this game on disk, and probably have 5k hours in total, This game NEEDS a remaster so we can have multithreaded support so this game can last another 100 years
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →C L A S S I C. This is the best Star Wars RTS that I've played, but I don't think there're many out there to compare it to. The space combat is the best part, with various ships having their separate roles, and larger ships having hardpoints you can target to decrease their combat effectiveness. You can fly a bunch of Y-Wings in to bomb a shield generator on a Star Destroyer, then take it out more quickly with your other ships and fighters. Ground combat, however, leaves quite a bit to be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have been playing this game since 2008, first on Disk which had countless hours, and now through steam. No matter what I always come back to this RTS, but I do so because the modding community has pushed the limits of this game beyond its initial intention giving it a crazy long life span, and a dedicated fan base. Recommend playing the base game through the campaigns to get you familiar but mods are really where this game shines. Recommendations for mods: EAWX: Thrawns Revenge, Fall of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you've ever wanted to command a Star Destroyer fleet or stage a massive planetary invasion, this is your dream game. The space battles are magnificent, cinematic spectacles where targeting specific ship subsystems actually matters, even if the ground combat feels a bit clunky by comparison. Thanks to a legendary modding community that keeps it alive with massive total conversions, the replay value here is practically infinite.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is my childhood. Back when I was a kid, I remember waking up early on Saturdays to watch my Dad play this game. That was my form of entertainment. When I got older and was able to play it myself, I remember spending an hour every day just either dominating the campaign with Urai Fen or Garm Bel Iblis, or playing on the Kamino Skirmish map, afking after setting up a impenetrable defense at my base just to see how many enemy units gets destroyed in that limited time frame. (I was a kid,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Empire at War is a charming, janky, somewhat simplistic RTS from the golden age of Star Wars video games. Compared to the main RTS games of its day like Command and Conquer (The developers, Petroglyph, were former Westwood employees) the game is somewhat simplistic and small scale, with max unit limits, no tactical base building and active resource gathering, and a fairly strict rock-paper-scissors approach to gameplay. The campaigns are charming, especially the buck-wild Forces of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Must play with an EAWX mod for a great experience. With an amazing Mod Team perfoming regular updates it really brings out the true Star Wars Empire At War experience. the games original content was great for a start, but its modded content can really let you fight massive fleet and ground battles with all your favorite factions. Definetly a must play for any Star Wars enthusiasts.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A 2006 game that I got for like 2 dollars has given me more enjoyment than AAA games. The modding on it is great, big thanks to all the modders, just like in Sins of a Solar Empire.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its feels like your actually the wide commander. fleet size does matter, but its also important how you use it, like the empire has strong ships anyway, but the rebels dont have as strong ones they need more tactics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was the game back in 2006 that I begged my mom to get me a pc to play it. 20 years later it's my second most played game on Steam. There's a variety of mods still being updated from the old days of Filefront and Gaming Forums. There's Thrawn's Revenge converting the mod to the legends post Endor that focuses on macro and galactic control rather than rock paper scissor of units. This team also has two additional mods, on for the KOTOR era and one for the prequel era. They all play…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played countless of hours, both on cd (i actually have 2 sets of cd's , from both game, cause i thougt i lost them), its a shame it still doesnt have a sequel...i mean disney..are u out of your f**** mind? If im not mistaken this is the last rts from the star wars franchise, and it will be 20 yrs old in a month..from an era where instead of dlc's, u got full games as expansions.. Still thousands of players playing it.. Positive: The campaign, both games, but especially in the base game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Base game is probably good, all my hours are in mods though. Thrawns Revenge and Fall of the Republic are crazy good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the best Star Wars RTS hell I'd say one of the Best RTS in general, The space combat is amazing, the ships all look and feel like they have power behind it, you see them get destroyed, you hear frantic radios, and you see the weapons and core components of ships (Which you can target with your ships, to take out) you in control and while movement is wonky it's amazing for 20 year old game, it holds up even today, and with mod support you can do so much more. it's a 10/10 and definitely…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not signing a contract with Disney™ to play a game that I bought before their rat fingers touched it, and that they had nothing to do with creating.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Holds up very well for it's age and has an amazing modding community. Some most try mods are the fall of the republic mod, thrawns revenege mod, and the empire at war remake.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would honestly only recommend this game if you're also willing to mod it, which in fairness is easily done via the workshop. In my opinion, the base game is incredibly flawed. While the Forces of Corruption expansion did improve a lot of the core gameplay loop, it's still just too rudimentary and unbalanced. It's generally very frustrating due to the blatantly unfair advantages the AI has, as well as an outdated UI and limited controls. The lack of a single button to pause the game during…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the greatest Star Wars game I have ever played. The base game has tons of excellent content & the campaigns are fun. The modding scene in the Steam Workshop is what takes this game to the next level, you can play in any galatic era with any navy or army you want. Clones Wars, Old Republic, New Republic, etc. The possibilies are endless, there is so much content for this game, this game is an MUST BUY for Star Wars fans.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GOATED Game with endless opportunities and experiences. Fun for those starting in strategy development and want a fun Star Wars Game to play*^
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is really the only option out there for Star Wars strategy games, and its a good one. Even though it's essentially 20 years old now, it still delivers. That is fully dependent on the absolutely incredible modding community around the game, which is literally the only reason this game didn't die out years ago. Mods like the Empire at War Expanded family and Empire at War: Remake turn it into a whole different game, bringing it up to modern standards.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →love the game, mods make it twice as fun like fall of the republic, but that might just be cause i love the clones
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Empire at War" is a true "Star Wars" gem, but you have to stick with it for a while before it starts to shine. At first I was discouraged by how hectic the galactic map management and the battles were while I was still trying to make heads or tails of things. Even now I'm not quite sure why the game ended up working so well for me. The story is average at best, the maps are all very small and quite repetitive, and I kept using "auto-resolve" more often than I would have liked. Then came the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the best star wars rts game ever + the amazing modding community
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →base game is totally sick and mods are literally insane
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The base game is fun enough, but the total conversion mods are absolutely stellar. More like sequels than expansion packs, the time and thought that's gone into these is clearly extraordinary. Some bugs here and there, but they're better than some professionally made fully released titles, undergo regular updates and patches and are undoubtedly worth the price of this game several times over
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Indubitably one of the best real time strategy games I have gotten my hands on for years on end. Simplicity is what makes it fun and exciting to wage battles; the graphics and designs of everything is overshadowed by the sheer fun and possibilities to battle and employ all matter of tactics. I heavily recommend this for all those that stumble upon it, it is simple to learn and it is undoubtably fun in doing so.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yes I would recommend this game. It might be old, but active modders keep it alove.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best star wars rts game + active mod community. Best played with mods
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has always been my favorite strategy game since childhood. Its probably the only good Star Wars strategy game and its basically 2 games in 1. Not only that, the mods this game has can be considered their very own game aswell like Thrawn's Revenge, Republic at war, etc. The storyline seems to be enjoyable with each faction having their own mechanics and unique units to control. Soundtrack is pretty good, especially the ones in Force of Corruption. Multiplayer for this steam version is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my favorite RTS games I've picked up, the performance holds up really well with fun cinematic gameplay and strategizing along with really fun mods that are easy to use. I love the concept of being able to target individual parts of the cruisers in space battles, it makes it feel so much more immersive, me and my brother love to play this game together and just sink ourselves into building an army. The only downside to the game is the low pop cap for units, but there are mods to help with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It holds up surprisingly well. Space battles are peak cinema. You will get your enjoyment out of this one way or another. If you don't like certain aspects (ground fights are some hell version of rock-paper-scissors for me (skill issue)), other will make you fall in love.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game refuses to die, rightfully so. Despite it being ancient, modders have managed to use the base platform to create a game which still holds up to this day. I came back to it recently to get my Star Wars fix - it's nice to have a Star Wars game that hasn't been EA-ified. Sure there are things which would be nice to have, and the pathing's a bit janky, but ultimately they're two drops of water compared to an ocean of positivity. The vanilla game itself is worth a play, but the overhaul…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of the most flawed strategy games of all time, lacking basic features even with mods. So, given I've logged 800 plus hours on it on steam ( not the only copy I've owned) it's clearly got something. Best played with mods such as Fall of the Republic or Thrawn's Revenge. The upside: star destroyers! The downside: the prevalence of ground combat (necessary to avoid huge casualties and prepare for counter invasion) the lack of zoom and rotate on the map, the lack of hotlinks in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best Star Wars games ever made. I wish this got a sequel with a Clone Wars era and/or Old Republic era DLC/Expansion Pack.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you have an Intel processor, do not bother. The game has a hard-coded check because of Intel's late adoption of shaders, and it never got patched out. So, space battles cannot load. There's an XML file that you can supposedly edit to fix it, but even after going through the steps of getting the fan-made .meg extractor, modifying the file, and setting it up as a mod... it still doesn't work. Unfortunately unplayable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game lets you not only create an amazing military but it also makes it so you have to plan ahead and use strategy against stronger foes. i give this game a solid 10/10 its graphics and story still hold up after all these years and it better then anything halo or disney has made.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →solid rts and probably the best star wars game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The mod community for this game is amazing. Highly recommended for anyone interested in buying the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have always been a fan of Star Wars and by chance I happened upon 'Corey Loses' on Youtube which brought me to this game. I love FoTR and mostly play that since I find the base game/FOC to be kinda unplayable after FoTR and Thrawns Revenge. I wish that all of the code would be released so Developers would have greater flexibility with what they can do with the game, but I am content with the lore and Submods! Base Game = 3/10 FOC = 5/10 FoTR = 9.5/10 Thrawns Revenge = 8.5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh my days. Addictive, easy to learn, hard to master, so fun play it. runs great on my awful pc
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is well balanced and offers new experiences every time. The mod community is outstanding as well.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is old but been wanted to play it for a long time didnt have a pc until now they need to remaster this game and add it to ps5 and xbox
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Get this game. It needs mods to truly be fun, but Fall of the Republic + 5000 unit cap = so much fun. Being able to rip apart enemies with 25 venators is peak. Gets a little laggy tho.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My favorite RTS of all time that has enhanced and evolved my love for this game all over again because of the the Modding community
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →rogal dorn approves of this game, 10/10 game, 10/10 modding community, we all praying for empire at war updates
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If your looking for an RTS style game that's Star Wars themed, then this is the perfect one! Its so good that its no wonder there hasn't been another one like it in the last 20 years. The Mod community on STEAM has been the best ever! TONS of mods/upgrades in the workshop section on STEAM.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Idk what to write for the review really, amazing game, amazing space combat with a bit janky ground combat that I find hard to dislike due to how well the sound and art of the game is. Should have bought it earlier is all I can add. Kino
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even before the mods, Empire at War is a fantastic game. The DLC, Forces of Corruption, has a great story mode and introduces several great new characters to the Star Wars setting. The overall gameplay loop is very satisfying, and I could easily pour hundreds of hours into this game without getting bored. And with a very active modding community, there's endless ways to enjoy Empire at War. One of my favorite Star Wars games of all time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Peak + amazing mods, honestly the best oldhead Star Wars game by a good mile
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun short RTS game with a star wars theme! Campaigns are fun, can be very difficult at times.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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