Star Wars: Republic Commando: upon first glance you see a bit of Metroid Prime in there. You've got the helmet, the heads-up display, the multi-purpose gun and the goo that splatters on your visor. Some see Halo; fun, fast-paced action that puts the "shoot" in "shooter." Some see Rainbow Six 3; squad commands that are specific and executed with grace, but only with much more intelligence than a normal Rainbow team member. And finally, there's the Star Wars fans who literally drool upon seeing it. They know what Commandos can do, and they know what you can do as a leader of a team of four. Parts from all these 4 great things are included in Republic Commando. Excellent, you say. This will rock! And yes, reader, it really does rock. Let's start with the great but short thing that is the single-player campaign. In single-player the opening cut-scene is phenominal -- you start off as a little baby clone inside a testing tube. In front of you is a strange creature: it is your "nurse," so to speak. All of the sudden a flash appears across the screen, and you are taken into the future. You are with some of your kind, a ready clone prepared for life. Another flash: you are at a table. On it resides a helmet. You pick it up and put it on your head. Another flash: you are standing in a training simulation. You see your amored brethren in front of you shooting at the hologram. The final flash takes you to your team in a dropship. You are introduced to them, and the cut-scene concludes. Then you are taken into the midst of battle. Take this one slow: it is a phenominal campaign, but savour it: the campaign is rather brief. You can command your squad to do many things such as securing an area, search-and-destroying, sniping, rocketing, turreting, healing, deploying bombs and more. The A.I executes these moves with much talent, and is very smart and knowing what it should and shouldn't do. If the A.I detects something isn't recommended, he'll advise you, but try and pull the command off no matter how crazy it is . Your squad, Delta Squad, consists of Delta 38, which is the squad leader a.k.a you, Delta 07, which is a sniper and weapons expert, Delta 40, which is a computer genius, and Delta 62, which is a wise-cracking demolitions specialist. Each is assigned a nick-name. You are "Boss," 07 is "Sev," 40 is "Fixer" and 62 is "Scorch." You will see how they got their names when you play the game itself. The campaign consists of three chapters. Each chapter is a campaign you can play, one after the other, in a specified order. The first one pits you on your first intense mission on Geonosia, which is a desert planet full of evil droids and Separatists. The second takes you to an abandonded assault ship hovering in the voids of space. The last takes you to Kashyyk, home world of the fuzz-ball Wookies -- like Chewbacca, for those who don't know what it is. You can fight droids, like droidekas and super-battle droids, a lizard-like alien race and more. Each campaign consists of 4-5 missions which must be completed to advance. In short, single-player is a great, fun, short addition to the game. It excels the average Star Wars game campaign. Multiplayer is fun, too. You've got system link, split-screen and Live play. It's no Halo 2, but it's close. Firstly, there's no scoreboards or ranking, so you can't see how you're doing. Secondly, there are no vehicles to wreak havoc in. Thirdly, the game is limited to four game-modes: deathmatch, team deathmatch, standard capture the flag and assault, which has the offensive team trying to deploy a flag in the defender's team. If these three things had just a little more involvement by the developers, it would have been on par with Halo 2. Because you can customize your character down to the details, it also gives a "free" feeling to it. As far as weapons go, you have your standard DC-17 blaster, as well as a separated sniper component and anti-tank component. You also have Wookie rocket launchers, concussion beams, a full arsenal of grenades, an alien "chain-gun," a weapon that acts like a pump-shotgun and more. Weapons are certainly not limited in Republic Commando. Overall, Republic Commando is a great gaming experience. Since Republic Commando takes place in between Episode 2 and Episode 3 in the Star Wars trilogy, you get a little glimpse as to what went on in between. If you don't have Live, it's still worth a rent. The single-player will keep you entertained for sure. If you're a Star Wars fan, go out and give the game a try. You won't be dissapointed. But still, Star Wars: Republic Commando is a great game for both Star Wars fans and just those looking for a really great shooter. Even if you simply want a break from all that Halo 2 you've been playing for the last few months, Republic Commando won't dissapoint.
Other Helpful Reviews for Star Wars: Republic Commando
No FPS bring 100% action adrenaline excitement like the single greatest FPS of all time, Star Wars: Republic Commando. The game starts off droping off Geonosis and you are introduced to your squadmates, Forty is the all... Read Full Review
When I bought this game a little more than a year ago, I didn't know what to expect from RC. When I first played through it, I was actually impressed with the single player mode. Gameplay: Like I just said. The camp... Read Full Review
