Republic Commando offers a unique and memorable experience for fans of the Star Wars Universe or squad-based FPSs
In Republic Commando you play as Delta Three-Eight or 'Boss' the leader of three-man squad. You control your three squad members, 'Fixer', 'Sev' and 'Scorch'. Each member with their own special moves and techniques. You 'set up' your squad in highlighted areas to cover you with a sniper, demolition, set a trap, breach a door, etc with just a tap of the 'A button'. In hectic firefights you'll need to think quickly and strategize which positions will be suitable for each goal or enemy. You will also be required to decide the how the squad will follow you, such as 'Form Up' where the squad are always at your side or 'Secure Area' where your squad will focus on controlling a particular area from the enemy. Now it may sound complicated like other tactical shooters, but believe me its not. It's incredibly easy.
You see everything through a ‘helmet view’ (like in Metroid Prime) which features a HUD showing weapon ammo, shields, etc. At the beginning of the game you will have the standard repeating blaster, but as you progress you'll be given 'attachments' such as a 'Sniper Attachment' and a 'Demolition Attachment'. You will also have the chance to pick up alien weapons such as Trandoshan Shotguns and the famous Wookie Bowcaster! You also have a 'Melee' option, such as a dagger, which comes out of you left glove, which stabs the enemy, or if you have a weapon like the Wookie Rocket Launcher, you just hit the enemy with the weapon you're holding. If you have no ammo with any of your weapons, you can use a Pistol with comes off your repeating blaster, which has infinite ammo, but it needs to recharge for a second or two. You will also use different types of grenades such as thermal detonators, stun grenades, gas grenades and flash grenades. Each grenade will be useful for different types of enemies.
Sometimes if one of your squad is shot down, you can heal them with bacta kits (which only take a couple of seconds) or order one of your men to heal them. There will be times when your entire squad is injured, and you'll need to finish off the enemy before you can get them back on their feet. Three little icons representing your squad in the bottom of your HUD will show green when your squad is fully healed, yellow if they are slightly injured, orange if they are finding it hard to hold their blaster at the enemy and red if they're incapacitated. Bacta Tanks are scattered around levels, which you can order your squad to use to heal themselves.
You will play over 15 levels in 8 different alien environments, each with different types of enemies such as Trandoshan mercenaries, Wookies or General Grievous' personal bodyguards! Every level is huge, and you'll need to complete several different types of unique goals. Every enemy you come across will have their own deadly attribute and weakness, which you will soon discover when you run into firefights. For example, Trandoshans have a jetpack that you can shoot at with the ‘Sniper Attachment’ and they will explode, flying up into the air like a firework!
The animation in Republic Commando is one of its many highlights. The way your squad moves, the enemy moves, etc is very realistic. Combined with the amazing A.I, you'll see your squad ducking for cover behind almost anything and interacting with each other. When an enemy gets up close to them, they will perform a ‘counter attack’ such as tripping them up, punching them, and then finishing them off with a blaster or 'Melee attack'. One memorable move was when a Trandoshan took out two blades and was about to attack ‘Sev’, so ‘Sev’ pushed him down grabbed one of the Trandoshan’s blades and stabbed him with it. The enemy A.I is also very impressive, Geonosians will fly to cover and shoot at you or flying droids will latch on to you or a member of your squad and you will have to pull them off! Grievous’ personal bodyguards were difficult to deal with because of their A.I. The can leap at you with their electric staffs, running along walls, somersaulting over you, etc. When you reach the levels on Kashyyyk, you will get assistance from the Wookies, who will perform some fantastic animations. You’ll see them grabbing enemies and throwing them into walls and kicking them so they fly into other enemies.
The voice acting is another highlight of the game. Temuera Morrison (famous for his role as Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) provides superb voice acting for the main character ‘Boss’. The dialogue is absolutely fantastic and the voice acting provided for each unique character is the best I’ve seen in a Star Wars game. ‘Scorch’ is always making jokes, ‘Sev’ is obsessed with killing as many enemies as possible and ‘Fixer’ is always focused on the mission. The voice acting always creates tension or moments of comedy.
The music still features the John Williams score from the most recent Star Wars films, but there is also some new music especially for the game that works brilliantly with action.
The graphics overall, are marginally impressive. Sometimes the levels look like they’ve been rushed but sometimes they look like there’s been a lot of work done on them. The same goes for the character models. The squad looks brilliant but the Trandoshans and Geonosians don’t. There is a lack of polish throughout areas of the game, and you end up feeling that the game could have looked a whole lot better.
The multiplayer is very, very basic. It’s not really worth bothering with. A lot of things that feature in the single-player have been removed for the multiplayer and that really spoils the whole experience. The maps are very simplistic and rather dull. I felt the multiplayer could have been constructed a whole lot better, but it doesn’t really matter when you’ve got such a fantastic single-player to keep you busy.
Overall, Republic Commando is one of the best Star Wars games yet. It’s dark, exciting and an accurate presentation of squad-based tactics. Every scenario you encounter every enemy you face and every weapon you use offers some unique and memorable moments if you’re a Star Wars fan or just a fan of FPSs.