Star Wars:
Republic Commando

In the midst of the Clone Wars, only a ragged band of commandos stands a chance of saving the Republic

	Star Wars: Republic Commando
	By Lucas Arts
	Xbox
	MSRP: $49.99

Review by Mark H. Walker

he Clone Wars, which were depicted at the end of Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, are in full swing, and an alien alliance comprised of the buglike Geonosians, Predator-like Trandoshans and moneybag-like Trade Federation (and their hordes of droids) threaten to splinter the Republic. Against these forces of evil stands the Republic's Clone army. Well, the Clone army and a few other good men—the Clone Commandos.

Star Wars: Republic Commandos is the story of one such hardy band of warriors. Gamers play the leader of a squad of four commandos in this tactical, squad-based shooter from LucasArts. The leader will need to have a fast trigger finger, because there are plenty of aliens to vaporize, and plenty of weapons to do it with, including the DC-15s Blaster, Accelerated Charged Particle Repeater Gun and Wookiee Bowcaster.

But, as the game's ad campaign states, the squad is also your weapon. In addition to their elite warfare skills, each has a special talent. Specifically, one is a sniper, another a demolitions expert and yet another a computer whiz who can hack into terminals and open locked doors. To play well, gamers need to learn not only when to employ these tactics, but also how to give general squad commands, such as Search and Destroy, Secure Area, and Breach and Enter. The game includes a robust multiplayer suite, supporting Xbox Live, System Link and split-screen play in a multitude of game types, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Assault.

Tactical warfare Lucas-style

This is tactical shooter action at its best. Each team member is an elite commando, yet quick to obey your orders. Whether directed to secure a room, advance aggressively or concentrate their fire on the selected target, they respond intelligently, quickly and with great precision. Additionally, the context-sensitive commands that utilize an individual's special talent, or direct the team to perform semi-complex actions, provide a droidful of tactical options.

For example, place the cursor on a boulder at the mouth of a canyon, press a button, and your sniper ducks behind the rock, sniping any bugs in the canyon and providing cover to your advancing team. By the same token, you can put your cursor on a door and direct your team to breach and enter. Two will take position on either side of the door, and one will blow it. Then the three will rush into the space, neutralizing any opposition they find. Very cool stuff.

Although the squad control is effortless, the missions are anything but. You'll work hard to wind your way through this campaign. At first, it's not too difficult, but after a while it gets much tougher, and you'll need all the tactical acumen that you can muster to finish this puppy. But that's OK; it's a tough time well spent. Star Wars: Republic Commando combines visceral action with cerebral strategy to deliver one of the best tactical shooters on the market today. Go play it.

Man, this is more fun than a barrel of Wookiees. Gotta go; must play more. —Mark

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