In a galaxy far, far away……… (Cue the music). Somewhere between Episode II & III, Republic Commando is the latest instalment from the Star Wars franchise to grace the Xbox and is a first person shooter that brings the Clone Wars, up close and personal. So put away the light sabres and forget your Jedi powers, because this time you have a trusty blaster to take down the enemy.

Gameplay|

You take on the role of “Delta Three-Eight” a.k.a. “The Boss” , the commander of a four man squad that consist of genetically enhanced clone troopers that are all superior in every way to your run of the mill clones. These three brothers (even though you are all cloned from the same person), each has a speciality that makes them unique from the other and together forms the kick ass crew of Delta Squad. “Sev” is the cold as ice killing machine sniper. “Scorch” is your demolitions expert. “Fixer” is the hacker of the team. Of course, you are the brains behind the brawn and it is up to you to guide them through the three campaigns totalling 15 missions of battle and bringing them out the other end alive.

The controls are pretty much bog standard for a First Person Shooter (FPS) with your default weapon being the DC-17M blaster. This weapon can be modified with attachments that will change the functionality, transforming this simple blaster into a sniper rifle or anti-armour weapon. Also during one of the many battles you are able to pick up some of the enemies weapons including the Geonosian Elite Beam, Trandoshan Slaver APC Array Blaster or even a Wookiee Bowcaster. These slot neatly into your secondary weapons area but will disappear when they have been exhausted. All of these weapons can be accessed easily using the D-pad.

What makes Republic Commando so different from some of the other FPS games is the ‘One Touch Squad Control’. Instead of sending your squad to any area of the environment as seen in Rainbow Six, you can only order them to specific areas that highlight on your HUD (heads up display) via a holographic figure. This method makes ordering your troops very easy and keeps the frantic pace of battle constant but unfortunately you can’t decide which trooper goes to that area which makes the whole idea of each of your troopers being a specialist kind of pointless, since they all can snipe, hack doors or blow things up. The only way around this problem is to ‘form up’ your team and reissue the orders because the tasks are performed more efficiently if the specialist does it. The AI of your team is second to none and pretty much take care of themselves; from healing each other to taking out the enemy, leaving you the only problem of what should you shoot at first.

Apart from the main mission, Republic Commando has several multiplayer game modes including 1-4 players in split-screen, 2-16 players via system link and Xbox Live. There are the standard death match and Capture the Flag game types, which are played on a decent selection of multiplayer maps online, with the availability of future downloads on offer as well; but a rather limited amount of maps to choose from for split-screen play. You are able to customize your character slightly from the two available models – Commando or Trandoshan but it would have been nice to choose from a bigger selection considering the amount of aliens present in the game.

Graphics:|

You will not be surprised to hear that this game looks stunning with both new and familiar environments portrayed perfectly to make you feel like you are there, whether it is the hostile surface and subterranean settings of the planet Geonosis, the massive machine-like interiors of a Separatist Core Ship or a Republic Assault Ship from Episode II or the lower jungles and tree cities of Kashyyk, home of the Wookiees from Episode III.

The animation of each Commando is superb and even manages to show off their personalities with great care and attention to detail. There are over ten enemies to battle against, ranging from Super Battle Droids to the all new powerful bodyguards of General Grievous. Each enemy model has been recreated perfectly from the films and is truly outstanding.

Sound:|

No faults here since LucasArts has always been the front runners when it comes to audio. With such an extensive library to pick and choose from, sound effects are second to none with original sound clips recorded exclusively for this game. The voice of Delta Three-Eight has been provided by Temuera Morrison who played Jango Fett in Episode II, which happened to be the original template for the entire clone army in case you have never seen Episode II. The soundtrack is superb and really sets the atmosphere.

Longevity:|

The main mission is fairly simple and shouldn’t take you that long to finish but with the inclusion of LIVE and the possibilities of future downloads, the life of this game has been extended. Unfortunately due to the repetition of the missions and the preset level of difficulty, the enthusiasm to replay the entire game from beginning to end is just not there.

Round Up:|

Republic Commando is a fantastic FPS and a much welcomed change from LucasArts other Star Wars games. The graphics and audio are excellent with a superb interface for you to control your squad but the main game is fairly short. The inclusion of LIVE does not necessary make this a must have to buy, but certainly one to rent first.

Pros:

• Star Wars
  
• LIVE
  
• 5:1 Audio
  
• Frantic Battles
  

  Cons:
  

  • Not enough variations on missions.