I was a little disappointed reading some reviews for this game, not that they knocked it in anyway, but the comments the reviewers made on the previous Star Wars RTS - Galactic Battlegrounds...
If the sodding reviewers actually had played the game, they would have realised that it's very very good, excellent in fact as it's based on the Age of Empires engine.
That aside, Empire at War has received rave (raver, raver!) reviews and the screenshots spread all over the 'net are promising too.
So, while I sit and wait for the release (penned in for 17th February) I am downloading the huge (700mb+) demo, which Simon kindly pointed out was up on Gamershell. It's currently at 89%, about 2 hours total to download.
I'll report back (as always) with my own short review - expect it to be another raver.