February 16^th, 2006 (2:52pm) - LucasArts has announced the release of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Empire at War. This PC game puts the power to command an entire war for the Star Wars galaxy at your fingertips, with battles focused on action-packed combat rather than tedious resource gathering. Set a few years before the events of Episode IV A New Hope, LucasArts’ new PC game lets players wage war on ground and in space, as well as experience the creation of the Rebel Alliance, the strengthening of the Empire and the beginnings of the Galactic Civil War.

Using an entirely new game engine created by the Las Vegas-based developer Petroglyph Games, Empire at War features beautifully rendered land and space battles set on memorable planets such as Hoth, Tatooine and Dagobah, as well as never-before-seen environments taken directly from the Star Wars films and Expanded Universe novels. In the game, players choose to join either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, building and setting up tactical forces to unleash upon the enemy in real-time 3D. Memorable Star Wars hero characters such as Darth Vader or Han Solo can be brought into the action to help turn the tide of the battle as players build, manage and upgrade their space and ground-based units, vehicles, troops and base structures.

All of the gameplay and action within Empire at War is persistent, meaning that strategic and tactical elements from previous events will have a permanent effect on the galaxy. In addition to the story-driven Campaign mode for one player, the game includes a one- or two-player Galactic Conquest mode, as well as off- or online Skirmish modes for up to eight players.

Star Wars: Empire at War is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB and has a suggested retail price of $49.95. A special Collector’s Edition of the game is also available, featuring five new Skirmish maps, 3D lenticular packaging and other exclusive content for a suggested retail price of $59.95.