Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption (2006) Online

Major nostalgia: I've played this game since it came out, and for every time I think I've played it to my hearts comtent, a year or two later I'll rediscover it and fall in love again. Star Wars creates a rich, rich universe full of characters and technology that has always captured my imagination, but EAW and this DLC FoC Gabe that universe solidity, and introduced me to the expanded universe back when it was canon.

The controls are pretty standard for these kinds of strategy games, and games like Stellaris have significantly improved mechanics that don't have to do with waging war (diplomacy, trade, politics, ect), but if you're ok with controlling characters ranging from Admiral Ackbar to Grand Admiral Thrawn in epic Space battles and ground assaults, this is a pretty great game. It also has a massive moder community, with some mods like Imperial Civil War and Republic at War being so massive and rich that they practically constitute free sequels and prequels. If you can get it for like $5 during a steam sale I would highly recommend it, this game has hundreds of hours of content (on its own and with its mods) that a Star Wars fan can enjoy.