What is Rebellion? A Review (2003)
What is Rebellion? A Review (2003) is a short overview of Star Wars: Rebellion that was published on the SWRebellion site on 20 January 2003. It is signed by Evaders99, who is given as the webmaster of SWRebellion.com.[1]
How the review describes the game
The review presents the game as a real-time strategy title from 1998 in which the player commands the entire force of either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, not only an army. It names the goal as taking or destroying the enemy headquarters and capturing the enemy's prized characters.[1]
According to the review, the galaxy is run from a galactic display of up to 20 sectors holding 10 systems each. Every system carries its own loyalty value and mining and energy slots, along with defenses, troops and fleets, and a message center reports on the player's forces.[1]
The review counts 30 characters per side, along with 15 capital ships, 4 fighter types, 4 special forces and 5 troop types, and says that 14 facilities are available for building and defense. It credits the game with drawing deeply on the wider Star Wars universe, and mentions Luke Skywalker and Adar Talon as examples of major and minor characters.[1]
Time, missions and economy
The review explains that one turn is one game day, but that the game is not turn based: both sides act at once, there is no end-turn button, and the player sets how quickly days pass.[1]
It calls missions the heart of the game and lists diplomacy, sabotage, capture and assassination. In its account, diplomacy is the main tool for turning systems, sabotage destroys enemy forces and capture stops enemy characters. It adds that characters can research new ships and facilities, while facilities build up the forces.[1]
On the economy, the review says that refineries turn the raw output of mines into refined resources used for building and construction, and that mines and refineries together produce maintenance points. More maintenance points allow forces to grow, so the review calls the balance between mines, refineries and defenses very important.[1]
Combat and the computer opponent
The review describes the 3D tactical mode as the most unusual feature: ship combat is shown as a visual battle and not resolved by dice. It judges the models not very realistic but enjoyable to watch, and compares the mode to an early forerunner of later 3D space strategy games such as Homeworld.[1]
It says that micromanaging is often better than relying on the computer, because the AI is limited to stocking garrisons with troops and stocking resources by building mines and refineries. The easy, medium and hard settings change only the starting conditions; the AI otherwise behaves the same.[1]
Criticisms and recommendations
The review names the lack of a training mode as the major bug and also notes that the game has no missions or story. It says single-player and multiplayer are alike, a single Rebel against a single Imperial.[1]
For learning, the review advises keeping the manual at hand and possibly Prima's strategy guide. It concludes that patient players will enjoy the game, since no two games are the same.[1]
Pointers and other titles
The review sends readers to SWRebellion.com for further questions and for the editor RebEd. Its final note says the game was sold in the UK as Star Wars Supremacy under a different title, and suggests looking for it in used game bins or on online auction sites.[1] Its header gives LEC as the publisher and Coolhand as the developer, and the page links to the "LucasArts official site". The archived copy, taken from the later site layout, shows site sections including a 1.01 update, an encyclopedia and a FAQ.[1]