Game Review: Star Wars: Republic Commando

I will be honest. I have been waiting for this title for almost two years now, since the trailer was first shown at E3 last year. This is a game that finally takes me to the place in the Star Wars universe I always longed to be. The dark, gritty realm of total warfare as seen through the eyes of the Trooper. Granted, these aren’t the Stormtroopers we all know and love. Hell, they aren’t even the newer Clonetroopers we saw in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. No, these are the elite Republic Commandos known as Delta Squad, and these boys grew out of a different vat than their more obedient brothers, you might say. More about them later. First let’s get to the meat of this. The game play.

A game from a Trooper’s point of view - Star Wars: Republic Commando - Review by TD-0013 (Kevin O’ Conner)

• Console: Xbox/PC

• Developer/Publisher: LucasArts
• ESRB Rating: T for Teeen

This game plays in a way that could be described as ?Star Wars meets Rainbow Six?, meaning that you are in command of a squad of four specially trained Special Ops troopers. The controls for moving and shooting are pretty much standard Halo fare, but that’s about where the comparison to Halo ends and this beast takes off on its own path. The controls used to order your squad to do different tasks are wicked simple. You move the reticule over an area, and a holographic image of a trooper appears over it. You click the button, and a trooper goes there and performs the task. He’ll do things such as ?Sniping Maneuver’, ?Anti-Armor’, ?Console Slicing’ (SW slang for computer hacking), and my favorite, ‘Door Breach. It is all done ?on the fly? and is a wonderfully innovative and simple way to execute the tactics needed to get through this game.

Speaking of ?Door Breach’, the reason this is my favorite is because it’s done right. If you’ve ever seen how this procedure is done in real life by the military and/or SWAT, then you’ll appreciate the fact that one man plants the charge, one man kneels with his back to the door jam, flash-bang (or other grenade) in hand, while another soldier stands ready, his weapon trained over the kneeling trooper, covering the door. Again, this is the way it’s actually done, and LucasArts hired tactics training expert Joe Bacciocco to ensure the Commandos move in a very precise, military manner. The way the unit moves throughout the game is as close to prefect as I’ve seen in a game of this nature, and I was quite happy to see this degree of military realism finally make it into the Star Wars universe.

The military realism factor doesn’t end with movements, either. The attitude displayed by these troopers is a refreshing change from the usual ?mindless drone? mentality we see associated to troopers in the films and games of the past. These men are clones, but their own personal experiences have shaped each one into an individual with his own personality. All the usual ?army movie? clich?are here. There’s the ?hard-nosed squad leader?, the ?by the book? soldier, the ?brooding, quiet one?, and of course, the ?squad smart ass”. The script also packs plenty of humor thanks to these relationships. All these things lead to the player to actually give a crap about these guys and makes you feel concern for their well being. You want to take care of your boys, as this will help make you the good leader you have to be to accomplish the mission.

Fleshing out these quirky killers is some top-notch voice acting by a great cast lead by Temuera Morrison, who provides the voice for Delta 38, the squad leader. You may remember him as the actor who played Jango Fett in Episode II and who we’ll be seeing again as various Clonetroopers in Episode III. Rena Owen also reprises her role as female Kaminoan cloner Taun We. The other members of the cast give some really great performances that bring these characters to life.

Also of note is the much welcome lack of Jedi. No saber swingers in this one, folks, and I for one am glad. There is one saber, and when you find it, you’re rewarded with a great moment of humor delivered by Delta 38.

Graphically, this game is gorgeous to look at, without any frame-rate issues whatsoever. Everything looks the way you would expect to see, from the arid, battle torn wastes of Geonosis, the cold, dark underbelly of a Republic Assault Ship, and the lush, green forest Wookiee home world of Kashyyyk. Vision isn’t alone, as sound is another thing that’s so great about this game. From the incredible sound effects, to the haunting musical score, which is in a way unlike any other music you’ve heard associated with Star Wars. The sound plays a huge role in the game.

There is one slight problem to this experience though. It’s just too damned short. I beat this game in just over two days, and while there is a great ?Halo-esque? multiplayer both offline and on Xbox Live, it’s unfortunately more of the same ol’ same ol’ from this type of multiplayer game. If you’ve played Halo or Unreal multiplayer, then you’ve played Republic Commando’s multiplayer features as well. I would gladly sacrificed these cookie cutter ?added features? for more single player action any day, as that is where the true goodness of the game is.

For the hardcore Star wars fan this is a must buy, and for everyone else, it’s a definite rental, but be forewarned; you just might end up buying it anyhow if for no other reason than developing a concern for these Republic Commandos.

Take a look at some in-game videos, and download the whole soundtrack for FREE!

Here’s hoping ?Imperial Commando? is in the works to continue this great tradition of having Star Wars military behave like the military.