Tying both of those game modes together is the other great thing about Empire At War - namely the decision to create a Total War style campaign, where rather than simply being led by the hand from battle to battle, you actually define the sweep of the war across the galaxy by your own actions. Interestingly, Petroglyph has opted to create standard single-player campaigns for both the Imperial and Rebel sides as well, but for most players I suspect that the real meat of the game is to be found in the full-size campaign.

The battle of the former child TV stars is on! Err, former Westwood / Command & Conquer teams, that is. One of them (Battle for Middle Earth) is what remains from the initial takever at EA, the other (Empire at War) is a start up studio called Petroglyph based out in Vegas where it all began. Who will win? You make the call in this week's VE poll -- vote on your right!

The campaign begins with Darth Vader looking to track down a loose cannon in the Empire's ranks. There's a traitor informant lurking and Darth doesn't exactly appreciate tattletales. So the first order of business is to crush a planet hoping to find the traitor while having fun blowing things up at the same time. Before too long, Vader and crew are spreading the power of the Empire throughout the entire galaxy.