Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption updated impressions

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Upcoming strategy expansion flips the script on the Empire and Rebellion by adding crime

If you've played the original Empire at War, then you know that you couldn't move from planet to planet without fighting for control of them. Tyber, however, is able to slip under the radar by sending his agents to "corrupt" a planet. Once it's corrupted, you can travel past it freely by paying a bribe or - better yet - get an advance look at where enemy units are stationed on its surface. If they look too intimidating, you'll be able to send in a saboteur to soften up their defenses a little before battle.

Once you've taken control of a world, you can choose the placement of your own forces on a static map - something the original Empire at War didn't let you do. You'll have 40 new units to place, including new ones for the Imperial and Rebel factions (sadly, only the Underworld gets new single-player missions).

For a real guilty pleasure, though, we'll take the Saboteur, who can place "sticky bombs" on enemy units. These can be detonated at any time, turning enemies into unwitting suicide bombers.

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.