izigame.me

I've spent a good portion of my childhood messing around in Star Wars Rebellion/Supremacy and was waiting a while for something new to scratch that itch. That ancient game had some serious flaws, but also had incredible strategic depth for its time and tons of atmosphere. Empire At War, while very similar in some aspects, was a bit disapponting to me, not capturing the same feeling of scale and complexity, even if it was still an enjoyable RTS in its own right. The Forces of Curruption expansion improved that to some extent, feeling like a more complete and varied experience, but still didn't fully replace Rebellion in my heart.
However, the reason why you should check out Empire at War today is not what the basic game offers, it is the incredible wealth of mods that make the game feel modern and pretty much unmatched in scale when it goes to space combat (the only comparison I can think of being Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2). Thrawn's Revenge and Fall of the Republic in particular are amazing conversions that make the galaxy-scale war feel properly epic and challenging, while polishing the visuals and the UI to not feel dated. These are some of the best space strategy experiences available, and include pretty much all I even wanted from a Star Wars strategy game. And for the cost of only buying into this cheap old game... There's basically no reason not to check them out.