Following a tantalising preview in this month's Zone magazine comes the official word from on their new game. Star Wars: Empire at War is being developed by Petroglyph which is made up of veterans who have worked on the obligatory C&C series amongst others.

Set a few scant years before the events in Episode IV, Empire at War will allow players to experience the aftermath of the events in Episode III, such as the creation of the Rebel Alliance and Darth Vader's rise to power. Unusually for a Star Wars game, players will be able to rewrite history, with their victories or losses on the battlefield changing the outcome of the entire Rebellion.

Naturally the game will be in full and as the screenshots show it's looking very nice indeed. The screenshots also reveal that space combat will feature alongside the more traditional land-based with the developers promising a seamless interplay between the two realms of combat. Combining elements of the expanded universe with the worlds of the movies, Empire at War will rage across Dagobah, Endor, Hoth and Tatooine as well as other never seen before worlds. Unsurprisingly, many favourite characters from the films will make appearances, so expect a mission where C-3p0's continued existence is something you must ensure. A raft of new units will join more familiar troops like Snowtroopers, Speeder Bikes and the gargantuan AT-ATs. Imperial Star Destroyers Y-Wings, X-wing and Tie Fighters will all do battle across the inky darkness of space.

With gorgeous graphics and gameplay that promises to satisfy nuts, Empire at War should finally expunge from memory the terrible travesty that was Force Commander, the last attempt to field a Star Wars RTS game.

By Sam Gibson