Star Wars: Republic Commando

Developer: Lucasarts | Publisher: Lucasarts |Release Date: 2005 | Genre:Tactical First Person Shooter | Website: Star Wars Wiki | Format: Digital Download

WHat would Star Wars be without light sabers and force powers? It would be Republic Commando, a game that puts you in the boots of a clone commando send in to do the dirty work so the Jedis can swoop in later and take all the credit.As Delta 38, it’s up to you and the rest of your Delta squad (Delta’s 07, 40 & 62) to complete missions across three campaigns spread throughout the Star Wars universe. You only have direct control over Delta 38 but the rest of your squad can take care of themselves and each has their own specialities to be utilized.
A good commander will know when to use who and where to do so. While Republic Commando is a pretty straightforward First Person Shooter the addition of three squad mates actually ad a lot of depth to the game. Forget the days of fumbling with shortcut keys and cumbersome menus to order your men around. Republic Commando utilizes an innovative system whereby simply pointing at a something and pressing one key will activate the desired results.See a nice sniping spot? Look at it and a green holographic image will be superimposed over it and with one click of the command button your sniper will head over and provide covering fire. Look at a door that needs to be sliced? Same procedure, only this time your computer expert will do the job.

It’s a fast and fluid system that takes a lot of the hassle out of having team mates and actually makes combat a fun tactical experience. Don’t worry about the game ending if one of your team mates bite the dust either as you can simply revive them after combat. They will do the same for you, so as long as one of the deltas is breathing after a firefight you don’t have to worry about the game ending.

Graphically Republic Commando isn’t going to win any awards but it’s still a rich and detailed experience. From Geonosis to Kashyyyk the game provides you with an up close and personal view of the action. You view everything from the perspective of your clone trooper helmet and there’s some cool visual effects like blood or oil splattering across your screen when you execute a close up kill. Don’t worry though as an electronic wiper will clean everything off shortly after.

At first, the screen can appear a bit cluttered but after playing for a while you get used to it and it all makes sense. Your enemies range from Geonosian Warriors, Trandoshan Mercenaries, Battle Droids and Spider Bots to General Grievous’ personal guards. Fortunately you have a range of cool weapons at your disposal and while some of them feel a bit weak with teamwork you can bring down any group of enemies.

The audio of Republic Commando was a definite highlight and besides the excellent music the sound effects were also superlative. Foley was used to create some immersive effects so if you have a decent set of audio hardware you are in for a treat. The voice overs were also very impressive with Temvera Morrison himself providing the voice of your character. For those of you who don’t know he played Jango Fedd in the movies and is the person your character in the game is a clone of.

With only 3 campaigns Republic Commando will probably end before you want it to but at least the ending hints at a sequel. You can also unlock some nice extra video clips after each campaign which Star Wars fans will lap up. First Person Shooters might be a dime a dozen lately but don’t pass this one up as it’s definitely one of the more enjoyable Star Wars titles out there.