Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds Gungans and Wookiees

By Elliott Chin, GameSpotPosted Nov 2, 2001 6:36 pm PT

Our third and final profile covers the Gungans and Wookiees of Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds.

The Gungans have a unique look, with bulbous, organic buildings.

Finally, we have come to the end of our three-part look at the civilizations of LucasArts' strategy game, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds. We have profiled the infamous Empire and heralded Rebel Alliance, the sinister Trade Federation, and noble Naboo. Now, we arrive at the primitive races of Star Wars, at least as the Galactic Empire classes them. These are peoples who live in harmony with nature, who have no need to control worlds or conquer stars, although they are every bit as capable and technologically advanced as the more "civilized" factions in the game. These two remaining civilizations are the amphibious Gungans of Episode I and the Wookiees of classic Star Wars.

Chewbacca leads the charge in the game's final campaign, featuring Wookiees.

The Gungans have gotten a bad rap ever since Episode I hit movie theaters last year. Jar Jar Binks has forever tarnished the reputation of this honorable race. Gungans in fact do have an advanced government, with refined laws and respected codes. Remember that Jar Jar is an outcast; he is not representative of the Gungan people. The Gungans in Battlegrounds have many unique elements to their gameplay style, perhaps in an attempt by the designers to compensate for the well-known loathing that people have for Gungans. If the designers are worried that people might not play Gungans because of the stigma attached to them, then they have gone all-out to give them many interesting advantages that no other civilization gets. As far as LucasArts' is concerned, you will play the Gungans and be pleasantly surprised by their capabilities. They are the only civilization that has portable shield generators, that can build underwater, and that ride massive dinosaurlike mounts.

Wookiees, on the other hand, need no special treatment to lift them up in the eyes of Star Wars fans and gamers. Chewbacca, unlike Jar Jar, has done an outstanding job in representing his people. He is loyal, strong, technologically brilliant, and immensely strong. His people likewise exude these admirable qualities. Wookiees are a very advanced civilization. In fact, originally, they were supposed to be the forest people encountered in Return of the Jedi. However, they were replaced by Ewoks, because George Lucas wanted a Stone Age civilization--not a high-technology civilization--on Endor. In the lore of Star Wars, Wookiees are also the backbone of the Imperial slave army of laborers and engineers. They built the first Death Star. Their buildings and homes reflect their technological ingenuity in Battlegrounds. Many of their structures have a junkyard appearance, sporting wood and metal plates. Wookiees, as you would expect, are very strong in infantry and air units. They have their definite advantages, but they also have some fairly obvious weaknesses.

We'll explore more of their qualities, as well as those of the Gungans, as we now take a more in-depth look at both civilizations.

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jakeboudville
Posted Sep 10, 2006 8:05 pm PT

kinda impressive
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