With the prospect of the third and final episode of Star Wars on the horizon, I could not wait for the release of Republic Commando. LucasArts has a track record of releasing sub-par games that sell big only because the Star Wars label is plastered on the packaging. So I give mad props to who ever broke the cycle and finally released a game that is a solid title. Letting the player take the lead of an elite storm trooper unit, Republic Commando covers the time period right before Episode III, and features such characters as General Grievous, and the big angry Wookie leader, Tarful. Republic Commando does not expand the Star Wars universe any, yet it highlights a few key events and people that will play a larger part in Episode III. Republic Commando is a good solid FPS that is joined at the hip with a watered down tactical based squad game. Even though the squad based portion of the game is simplistic, it’s a nice addition to this otherwise normal title. One of the better decisions made regarding Republic Commando was to implement an easy to use, simple squad element that did not detract in the least to the first person action based shooter. The squad commands are simple and clean, and while there are not overly tactful maneuvers, when it does come into play it does not disappoint in the least. As a whole the voice acting is top notch, but specifically getting the actor who played Jenga Fett, is a very nice touch. Many times I found myself wishing that the Star Wars movies themselves were scripted and acted as beautifully as Republic Commando.
The AI in Republic Commando is a two fold bane and blessing. As it should be, the team AI, unlike in some other games is more helpful then hurtful. For the most part my team members never got in the way or got lost; they also saved my arse many a time in firefights. On the whole, the team AI is some of the best I have seen, even though it is far from perfect. Despite the nice team AI, the only phrase that I could use to describe the enemy AI would be mentally handicapped. Sometimes the AI worked well for certain enemies, but left something to be desired with others. I am not sure if they programmers wished the AI for the battle droids to be weaker than for other enemies, but I definitely noticed a severe lack of intelligence on their part. Now I am aware that they are battle droids who were meant to achieve victory through power by numbers and not by tactfulness or strategy. But in all honesty, when an enemy lost track of me because I was standing behind or to the side of them, it severely detracted from the game. Despite the general lack of intelligent enemies, there were a few times where I couldn,t tell if some of the enemy movements were scripted or if there actually were some bright spots in the enemy AI. Forgetting these few bright spots, the popular enemy tactic seemed to be running at my squad in a single file line yelling at the top of their lungs, which as you can imagine did not work to well for them.
The game play in Republic Commando is a fast passed joy ride with solid play that kept me coming back for more. Even though it was a console port, there were very few times that I could feel the “consoleness” of it. Some textures were not as clean as I would have liked to see but the overall graphical presentation is satisfying and above par. RC features faster game play that grants many hectic and crazy firefights. In these scenarios bacta becomes a dear friend and a trusted ally. Even after taking a rocket to the face Sev, a fellow commando, runs over administers the bacta and in three seconds flat I am back on my feet ripping apart droids. I do not know if bacta has the ability to restore life to somebody after they eat a rocket, but I do know that it keeps the action flowing and kept me from my greatest bane, which is replaying levels after dying.
One thing that I personally found very lacking was a varied arsenal. Seeing as you play as the leader of an elite kick-ass command unit, I though that we might be privileged enough to get something other than the stock blaster rifle. While later in the game the arsenal does get beefed up a bit with additions such as a wicked sweet Wookie rocket launcher, amounts ammo for everything other than the blaster rifle is lower than Joe,s IQ. Given the low amounts of ammo there are some pretty cool moments where I found myself out of ammo and fending off ungodly amounts of Trandosians.
The final product of Star Wars Republic Commando is one that tops any other Lucas Arts game in recent years. Although the meager campaign of ten hours is shorter than I would have liked, I still enjoyed the majority of the time I spent blasting battle droids. I would definitely suggest this game to any Star Wars fans out there and anyone else who enjoys a decent FPS.
