A long time has passed since I reviewed a computer game—I usually leave that for Trigger Happy—but Star Wars: Empire at War managed to make the leap from Windows to a Mac version (Intel-based Macs only) relatively quickly, so I thought I’d leap too and buy it (Lucasarts, $60, rated teen). Not to mention the fact that May 25 marked the 30th anniversary of the release of the original movie to theatres, and much of the cast is represented in this game—in likeness and voice-clip form, anyway.

There have been a lot of Star Wars–branded games over the years, but most have only dealt with portions of the mythos and story lines built up in the films: usually you just get a shoot-’em-up or a racing game, and maybe some space combat. Frankly, absurd as it was, Lego Star Wars (yes, everything built of virtual plastic bricks) was at least unique and fun to play.

Empire at War is fairly ambitious, largely set in the period before Star Wars IV: A New Hope, just as the Rebel Alliance is starting up. (You can play as either the Alliance or the Empire side.) It’s a real-time strategy game, which means there can be several battles taking place at the same time on the map you’re on, and also that events occur without you, out there in the galaxy among planets you haven’t even visited yet.

But it’s tough to generalize, because there are really three types of games on the DVD (necessary to fit the 3.2-gigabyte files). One is Skirmish, in which you choose a ground or space map and engage in combat with the other side. In other words, Warcraft (before it went on-line) but with Star Wars units and hero characters. (Reach Tech Level Three and shell out 2,500 pieces of game money, and Obi-Wan Kenobi could be leading your troops!) And just like in Warcraft, the first four maps are great, but by the sixth one I was bored with the repetition. It was a good way to get used to the features and weaknesses of each military unit, and then it got dull.

Next there’s the Galactic Conquest level. This gives you a choice of eight scenarios with between eight and 43 planets. Again, kind of familiar. Start from a small base, gradually take over planets, have a big showdown with the other guy. Yes, the ground maps are exactly like Skirmish’s, and so are the space maps, but being able to fight on them as part of a grander plan helps give them a reason to exist. Plus, you get more opportunities during the big space battles to drop into the cinematic mode and watch things unfold, say while the camera is following the Millennium Falcon as it strafes an Imperial star destroyer.

That cinematic mode is also just a click away during ground battles, but it’s not as thrilling there. And you can’t really direct the battle the way you’re supposed to. Ground fighting is tricky, but space battles only require you to make an “All guns—shoot over there” type of command once in a while. The ships largely know what to do on their own. And the graphics are very nice during those outer-space fights, often with dozens of ships of all sizes twirling and firing around you.

Pretty pictures aside, I was feeling a bit underwhelmed. Just slapping some Star Wars themes onto Warcraft-style maps and then wrapping it all in a tarted-up version of what I played two decades ago as Stellar Conquest added up to about 30 hours of interesting play. Fortunately, there’s a third type of game included. In Campaign mode, you undertake a series of missions (just over a dozen for each side) in order to take over the galaxy. Thankfully, these missions aren’t the same as the skirmishes but involve either daring raids (as the Alliance) or wiping out Rebel scum (as the Empire).

It’s also good that the missions aren’t simply mirrored versions of each other—this adds another 20 or 30 hours of unique game play.

Animated cinematic cut scenes that advance the larger plot bracket each mission. And just like every other cut scene ever made, no matter how short they are, they’re always too long, especially if you have to reload a saved game and go through it again. You start wondering, “Why do we have to watch the robots go for a short walk before this scene ends? They don’t do anything. There’s no reason for that stroll. Why couldn’t this end before they take a step?” And then it finally ends and you’re back playing the game.

So, a mixed review. There’s some fun—arguably $60 worth, although if you like Warcraft, you’ll probably get more from the Skirmish missions (and the custom maps others have created and posted on-line) than I did. There are some nice spaceship battles, but unless you’re a real Star Wars fan, if that’s what you’re after, try Homeworld2 instead.