Star Wars Republic Commando has all the makings of a great squad-based tactical shooter, but that’s in appearance only. It’s a darn good first-person shooter but it misses a lot of opportunities to go deeper. It hints at real-time strategy and you do have a little control over your teammates but the focus of this game is on action and accessibility to a wide range of gamers. The original Star Wars movie is a classic, but it’s pretty light fare. It’s like American Graffiti in Outer Space. The characters are far too enduring and the story is a processed, thinly disguised fairytale. The entire LucasArts organization is so popular now that it’s become the sci-fi equivalent of Disney. I know that many fans just like to bathe in the Star Wars atmosphere like some comforting, alien, embryonic sack but personally I just find it too predictable. Characters are either good or evil or struggling to become one or the other. Even when they’re evil they’re not “sick” evil. It’s as though they are honoring a standard universal contract that outlines the professional definition of evil and all that it entails. I’ve had bosses that were more frightening than Darth Vader for crying out loud. Fortunately, it seems that the boys in Lucas-land may have been feeling much the same way as I. Republic Commando takes us to a darker place in the Star Wars realm. It’s a dangerous, nightmarish place full of murderous monsters and menacing robots. It’s dirty, gritty, violent and a whole lot of fun. Imagine Star Wars meets Doom and you’ll have a good idea of what this game is all about. The downside to the game is that underneath all the Star Wars veneer, the gameplay is incredibly unoriginal. As the head of Delta Squad, you are in charge of a team of highly trained and individualistic clones. These clones all have their own personality and skills. They are referred to as the “deluxe models” and are capable of surviving very tough missions. These guys actually make good company for you since they carry their weight in battle and offer some interesting dialog throughout the three-campaign adventure. Thrown into the heat of battle the boys know what to do. Simply gun down anything that appears to be a threat. Most of the time you will be forced down corridors where at any corner you may uncover a swarm of enemies. Obviously there’s not much strategy you can employ with this style of gameplay but there are some more open areas where you get to relax your trigger finger and use your brain. I wish there were more controls for commands. The gameplay is very linear and it’s all too obvious what you have to do and who you have to call to perform a specific task. At the very least you will feel as though your teammates are able to handle themselves in most situations. They will protect you, revive you, keep you company but most importantly they don’t do really stupid things like stand in front of an open door and drop a grenade a few feet in front of the squad. There are three huge campaigns in the single-player mode. It’s not a long game but it’s packed with action. You’re almost glad it’s over in the sense of feeling relieved. The pace of the action is perfect. You’re never totally overwhelmed and you don’t have any time to get bored. The online modes add some replay value but like the single-player mode, there’s nothing here that you haven’t played before. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Assault are play-by-the-numbers modes performed in a Star Wars setting. Up to 16 player can take part and you can customize your clone to look a little different than the others. I wouldn’t say this is an excellent looking game but it’s good. I would have preferred more open areas that showed different terrain or buildings in the distance. The textures that are displayed are great and aren’t recycled too often unless it’s to replicate the sterile architecture of a manufactured environment such as a spaceship. You can’t go wrong with the sound effects. They are tight, punchy, fuzzy and buzzy – all the futuristic sounds you’ve come to know and love. The voiceacting is well done and the script is polished. You’ll have no trouble believing you’re in the Star Wars universe. This isn’t a very long game and considering how generic the online modes are I would definitely recommend renting this. You’ll pretty much deplete all of the fun out of in a couple of intense days. |