US retailers go Commando

Star Wars fans salivating at the thought of the release of May's Star Wars: Edpisode III: Revenge of the Sith now have something to whet their appetites. LucasArts has announced that Star Wars Republic Commando has shipped to retail stores. The first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe is now blasting on the Xbox and PC.

Republic Commando puts gamers behind the combat-issued battle visor of an elite trooper in the Clone Wars, which began in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and rages through Episode III. As a squad leader, gamers will be leading three other troops behind enemy lines. Unlike your run-of-the-mill replicants, the four-man wrecking crew received special training and will be outfitted with advanced weapons that upgrade into variants of sniper rifles and grenade launchers.

Although high-tech weapons will be at your disposal, as LucasArts puts it, "none [will be] more lethal than the squad." Gamers will have to use each soldier's specialized strengths to battle through the game's missions, which will take them to locales such as the surfaces and depths of Geonosis and Wookie-world Kashyyyk.

Familiar multiplayer modes such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag are available on both the PC and Xbox. The game supports four to 16 players online.

Star Wars Republic Commando is rated T for Teen and retails for $49.99 on both platforms. For more information on the game, read GameSpot's full review.