Republic Commando spans the length of the Clone Wars, from its start at the Battle of Geonosis (seen in “Attack of the Clones”) to the final battle in “Revenge of the Sith.” Unlike most (or maybe all) other
Star Wars games, you take on the role of a soldier in the battles, not a general or Jedi that is a pivotal character in the overall storyline.
This game is a good view of what goes on behind the scenes of the Clone Wars, and shows that it isn’t just the major players out there winning or losing this war. And because of that, Republic Commando stands out in the sea of Star Wars games that have been coming out lately. Okay, so it’s unique among the SW genre, but how does it stack up as a squad-based shooter?
In the past, I have stayed away from squad-based games like Rainbow Six because I always felt the controls would be too complicated, and it was hard to convey to my troops what I wanted them to do. Such is not the case with this game. I found it a breeze to command my unit as we snaked our way through twisted tunnels and walkways. And when I needed one of my commandos to perform a specific task, the clone obeyed without delay and did exactly what I was expecting. This is in addition to the fact that the characters' A.I. seemed to anticipate my needs at times – like allowing untasked troops to run over and play field medic to my wounded. These little features made it easy for me to focus on the mission and plow through the enemy.
That doesn’t mean you can just let your team do whatever it wants to and still plan to complete the mission. You have to direct them to various hot spots and give them commands to hold the line, attack the enemy, or various other military tasks, if you plan to survive. The key to making your way through any of the levels is assessing the environment quickly and placing your troops in the needed locations before you get overrun by the enemy.
Republic Commando has three major missions. You will fight your way through the Geonosian tunnels, a Republic Cruiser, and finally, the Battle of Kashyyk (from “Episode III”). Your character is RC-1138 (notice the convenient Lucas movie reference), the leader of the Delta Three-Eight squad. You view the world through a highly advanced HUD built into your helmet (very similar to the HUD system found in the Metroid: Prime series) which gives you information about you and your team’s health, how close you are to your objective, as well as hot spots (which are holographic images of places to position your team for the best possible tactical advantage).
Beyond all of this, there is no real story to the game. You are given a brief introduction to each of the missions just before you get started, and then you’re shipped off to battle the Separatists. Being the Star Wars fan that I am, I was able to understand exactly where each part of the game fit in the grand scheme of things. But I find it hard to believe that anyone just casually familiar with the Star Wars saga will be able to see the story in this game. Though I guess if someone is just a casual fan of the series, they will be less inclined to get this game in the first place.
Unfortunately, I was not able to try out the game’s online or multiplayer capabilities. However, Republic Commando boasts four modes of multiplayer fun. These modes include the standard Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. You can also play in Team Deathmatch and Assault modes. Team Deathmatch is just like it sounds – you form up into groups and go against enemy teams. Assault Mode breaks the participants up into two modes. One team tries to defend a base while the other leads the assault. In the next round, the roles are reversed.
