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"Look, sir, droids!" - Scorch, RC-1262

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

That pretty much sums up every battle you'll get into in this game, but darn if it isn't fun getting into them. Yeah, your main gun is a peashooter and ammo is hard to come by (considering you and your squad are the only ones in the level using Deeces), but firing it off is fun. The weapons overall really give you that frantic "TAKE HIM DOWN! NOOOOW!" feeling. Well, it least it does for me; that's right, I get an adrenline rush out of playing Commando. Despite your Commando status, you're not a seven-foot-tall army of one. You're a MEMBER of a six-foot-tall army of one.

The squad is pretty good. They're not sitting ducks, but they're not going to be pulling Matrix moves or finishing the objective on you (although you'll have to give them credit for coming back to revive you if you get put down. "Got your back, Three-Eight" is a pretty good quote for the squad). They can kill stuff, but sometimes it takes a while (blame it on the peashooters). They also bicker between themselves a bit, but it keeps things real.

Single player does seem a bit repetitive, but it's a fun kind of repetitive. Before owning the game I played the demo for hours on end, and it never got old (I'm easy to please). Multiplayer seems to be a cookie-cutter afterthought, but I love it just for the player customization.

Bugs? Of course, every game has a few (ah, deadlines...). Most graphics bugs I can deal with (it's the gameplay that matters, not how it looks), but there are a few level issues. Well, all I can say is deal with them.

All-in-all, it starts fast, plays fast, and ends fast (real fast). A great slice of war for you slice-of-war fans. Might not be worth full retail, but it's a good pick-me-up for a slow weekend.

"Is it too late to be one of those fighter pilots?"

Superb Combat Action

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Among all the genres of computer games, military shooters (First-Person shooters, FPS) are the most difficult to like, for me. There are so many - and so many HORRIBLE ones. Only a few manage to make a gripping gameplay come alive with bone-rattling and nerve-pinching action. Star Wars: Republic Commando does a superb job on all fronts.

I won't review it all, just some key points that help veterans of shooter games get an idea of the differences and tweaks:

- You cannot accomplish anything in this game alone: your main character (you, the boss) must use the other squad members to succeed. They can do some things better and just they're presence is essential.

- Controlling the squad is VERY simple - one button issues very complex orders and the squad AI executes the orders very well. There are some small glitches but all-in-all nothing that hinders the mission success.

- The enviroments and enemies are much different than many of the shooters I've played. Cover, rubble, explosions, doors, etc all play a strong role in carrying out tactics. Enemies can fly, jump, bounce, roll, dodge, and take cover just like your troopers can.

- The controls are similiar to most shooting games - nothing new except the squad controls which are all mapped to one or more hotkey buttons. For instance, press one key when facing a sealed door to activate a "door breach" and have the whole squad position themselves to blast the door and deal with any threats on the other side.

- There is much more: those points are highlights!

Performance Notes:

- Make sure your PC EXCEEDS the minimum requirements. This game, with all the FX turned up, is monstrous. It will slow down in areas with multiple enemies and fire. You will need a fairly new or updated video card (check lucas arts website) to even run this game. Download the latest video & sound drivers available to you. Check compatibility before you buy!

- Shut off any background services, virus programs, etc before starting single player games: it will help. Adjust graphic settings in game to help performance (shutting off anti-aliasing and complex shadows is a big improvement)

- Save your game often as I noted a couple of bugs where one or more squad member would get stuck and unable to follow during the rest of the mission. Even with the patch installed this still occured. Oh, check for the patch at the lucas arts website as well.

Take care, happy hunting

Republic Commando Rocks the Star Wars Game Scene

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars: Republic Commando is a pretty amazing game -- from the graphics, to the AI, to the storyline, the game is brilliant, with lots of little touches that make the game a great experience to play.

The squad AI works amazingly well. Your squadmates duck, cover, flank, and shoot with more skill than I have ever seen computer-based AI characters use. This is one of the first games where I think I actually trust my computer controlled squadmates to get the job done. The squad commands system is simple to learn but challenging to master, and that lends a ton of replayability to the game, as you retry your approaches to different situations.

The graphics are truly amazing, with the "helmet view" being a conceit that works wonderfully well to fully immerse you in the game. Some of the enemy death animations are such a delight to watch you might get killed a few times just stopping to soak them in.

Two real standouts in the game are the sound design and the storyline. From the music to the chatter of your squadmates the sound in the game really creates a mood and draws you into the game world. It creates an intense, scary world around you with just the right level of humor blended in. You'll catch all kinds of Star Wars references in the game (yes, the ubiquitous "I have a bad feeling about this" line is there, as well as some other surprises) that really make the game a must have for any dedicated Star Wars gamer.

This is one of the best Star Wars titles released for a while, on par with the excitement of Battlefront, but with a level of story that really deepens and intensifies the game experience. I highly recommend this one!

Fun...while it lasts!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Great game! I was totally hooked from the first second. All the elements are well-done: visuals, sound, voice-acting, action, etc.

My one gripe? Way too short! I purchased this game the day it came out and finished it exactly one week later. When the game ended after only three missions, I was stunned.

LucasArts needs to provide some free additional content online for this game pronto. More missions and better multiplay.

Great cutscenes and gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: August 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The game plays great, scenery and enemies are very well done so if you're into the star wars genre you'll love it. The game is very balanced too, not boringly easy or unplayably hard. The only real problem with the game is you'll wish there were more single player levels. After playing Far Cry which takes some serious time to conquer, it's not brief but it does seem short.

Great inital experience that wears on you.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I got a very good impression when I first played this game. The graphics are stellar (no pun intended) and the controls have a low learning curve.

After palying the game for a few hours the novelty started to wear off. The gameplay became very repetitive. They use squad based action as a selling point, but there are relatively few things you can do with the squad. You can odrer them to hold position, follow you, and every once and a while you can tell them to sit at a sniper position or 'slice' a computer.

The limit placed on the amount of things your squad can do makes you notice the repetitiveness of your tasks a lot quicker than you otherwise would. You basically move down a path into a large open area. Tell your squad to slice a computer to open a door or blow some rock formation up so you can go down the next corridor that leads to another large room with more of the same.

This could be a good game when the price is right. It did hold me in long enough to finish the game, but I doubt I'll go back for seconds. You really have to decide when the price is right for you based on the reviews.

P.S. Check your graphics card out BEFORE you buy this game. Your card must support pixel shader 1.1. There are several economy cards that you might have used to push games with a heavy graphics requirement, but that does not mean your card has pixel shader 1.1. Check first.

This is the best star wars game ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First let me point out the only two (minor) things i disliked about this game: Its only 15 levels long (so play on hard mode) and there is not that big of a weapons selection. But besides that, this game is one of the best i've ever played, and in my opinion is MUCH funner then Halo or Halo 2, albeit a bit shorter. The graphics are good, the acting is good, and the weapons that you do get are really cool. By this game, you love it! I personally cant wait for the sequel.

Lock and load!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I make no bones about loving Star Wars games. I think that, pound for pound, they're the best games based on a movie franchise that you can find today. I've loved them for ten years now, and while I don't go out of my way to get every last one of them **cough*BattleFront*cough**, I do get those that catch my eye.

So, imagine my surprise when I picked up REPUBLIC COMMANDO, and found out that this is the kind of game I'd been missing; one that takes place between the events of the movies, and that puts you square in the middle of the action. I haven't felt that way since the original DARK FORCES, and I loved getting that feeling again. Now, that's not to say I don't get a massive thrill out of playing games from the JEDI KNIGHT or KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC lines; this is just very different, and very welcome, that's all.

...What's that? What's it ABOUT? Oh, right...

During the Clone Wars, the Grand Army of the Republic wasn't limited to just the rank-and-file clonetroopers. While most of them were trained to be soldiers, pilots, technicians, and so forth, there were others trained to be commando units, using small-unit tactics to tackle especially tricky jobs against the Confederacy. These four-man teams were the Republic Commandos.

And you get to lead one of these teams.

Your unit is called Delta Squad, one of the best units ever cranked out. Your character is RC-1138, known by the nickname of "Boss;" and coincidentally, your character is voiced by the same actor who played Jango Fett in the movies. RC-1140, or "Fixer," is your second-in-command, and is versed in computer hacking. RC-1207, or "Sev," is the unit sniper and a talented hunter...and he has a very dark sense of humor. Finally, there's RC-1262, or "Scorch," the unit's demolitions expert. He's a master of explosives, and is unofficially the unit's class clown. To help differentiate between clones, each one is color-coded; Fixer wears green, Sev wears red, and Scorch wears yellow.

The game stretches from the Battle of Geonosis at the end of ATTACK OF THE CLONES to the Battle of Kashyyyk during REVENGE OF THE SITH. You'll be squaring off against Confederate battle droids, Geonosian shock troops, and Trandoshan bounty hunters, at times in such numbers you'll be scrambling to stem the tide. Sheer firepower won't get the job done; you'll have to be very careful about when and where you put your troops to do the most good. The good news is, you'll find plenty of hard points where your guys can be stationed to be snipers, grenadiers, or manning assault turrets.

You can only carry three weapons at a time, but as surprising as it sounds, that's really all you'll need. There's a standard-issue pistol with a self-recharging battery that you can use to spare ammo; and you can pick up one and only one discarded weapon used by enemy soldiers, ranging from Wookiee bowcasters to Trandoshan slugthrowers to Geonosian beam weapons. But that third weapon, the one you'll be using 80% of the time, is a real beaut. The DC-17 blaster rifle is actually three weapons in one; it's an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, and a grenade launcher. All you have to do is push a button, swap out a couple of components, and it'll be whatever you need.

(In fact, this baby's based on the XM-29, a weapon being developed by the U.S. military for just that purpose. If this sounds familiar, it's because this weapon appeared as the OICW in both SOLDIER OF FORTUNE II and FAR CRY. A little trivia for you.)

The only downside to this game is that it's a little on the short side. You only play three actual missions, with multiple levels in each mission. However, there was a rumor floating around a while ago that LucasArts may be doing a sequel to this game internally, called -- ready for it? -- IMPERIAL COMMANDO. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but after having played through this game several times, I'm almost drooling over the possibilities it can offer.

The graphics are excellent, which isn't surprising when you consider that they're based heavily on the Unreal engine. Sounds are spot-on accurate, using the kind of background mood music and sound effects you'd find in the movies themselves. And while the locales you visit might be a little limited in variety, they're absolutely massive in scope. It turns out those Trade Federation Battlecruisers are even bigger on the inside than you think.

One last thing that I thought was a nice touch, is that you never once encounter any Jedi. Not as commanders, not as allies; the closest you ever get is finding an abandoned lightsaber aboard a derelict Republic Assault Ship. And Boss's comment when he sees it is classic: "An elegant, more sophisticated weapon for a more civilized age, eh? Well, guess what? Times have changed!"

Indeed they have.

overlooked game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a game I've had since it came out originally in 2005, and I keep coming back to it. The action is great, the graphics hold up well, and the squad controls (and the squad members themselves) are brilliant and very easy to use. This game also holds the distinction of being the only shooter I've died in because I was laughing at something (fortunately dying is no big deal since your squad members can resuscitate you...unless they go down too)

As a star wars game, it succeeds brilliantly in capturing a much more in-the-trenches feel of the clone wars than the movies even though it takes us to the same places (geonosis and kashyyyk). This is partially because with one small, green exception there are no jedi in the game, which leaves you and your squad to do all the work without any forcepowered cheating :P The other thing that bears pointing out is your squadmates themselves. Despite being clones, they all have a unique character and provide a good amount of comic relief, Sev and Scorch especially. They're very much one of the strengths of this game.

There's a technical problem with nvidia 8000 series graphics cards where you have to set the bump mapping to low or the game won't play. Hopefully that'll be fixed in a driver update sometime soon.

The worst thing about the game is the ending leaves it wide open for a sequel...and three years on, no word of one. Delta squad has appeared in the republic commando novel series, so, their future may play out there. Still hoping for Imperial Commando, though :P

Overall Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm 13 years old so I can't compare this to the older games but this is the best 1st person shooter out there. First of all it's Star Wars and plus this time you are the clone. Your 1 touch squad is most effective in battle. Plus the weapons, enemies, and great missions. It's a five out of five game.
The online play is great, but I thought they could have added more online options like kicking, spawn, and whisper and possibly a friends list. But another good thing is there's not that many cheats/hacks online (there are a few). Overall, I think it's probably the best 1st person shooter!

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