Star Wars Republic Commando
March 9,2005 - Star Wars is not just a film franchise: it's a full-fledged cultural phenomenon and marketing juggernaut, inspiring not just films and video games but countless novels, action figures, and rabid fans. Ask the average gamer about movie-based games, and most won't initially mention a Star Wars game, not because there haven't been good ones (and in fact, there have been many superb ones), but because Star Wars is no longer just a film: it's a mythology. Enter Star Wars Republic Commando, LucasArts' entry in the squad-based FPS genre, and a surprisingly good action experience. While the multiplayer experience is nondescript and the campaign is short, the action itself is often intense and inspired, and the fantastic artificial intelligence makes the camaraderie of team shooting stand out. The same action occasionally falls flat, however, since much of the action seems to be happening around you, rather than to you ' and series fans may feel it needs a shot of 'Star-Warsiness,' since the relative lack of references makes it easy to forget that RC takes place in the Star Wars universe and not one of its own. Even with these limitations, however, the game supplies great action and enough little touches to make it a worthy purchase and a unique experience in its own right.

Players of Republic Commando take the role of an unnamed (but impersonally numbered) elite clone during the infamous Clone Wars. The single-player campaign consists of three separate missions in which you fend off Geonisians, Trandoshans, and Federation separatists with your three comrades, guns a-blazing. The mission structure is nothing terribly exciting in and of itself, and there isn't anything remarkable about the story, which is somewhat disappointing, considering the rich pseudo-history contained in the famous far-away galaxy. But really, it's fine: in the tradition of several other shooters this year, including LucasArts' own Mercenaries, it's all about the action, and cutscenes and voice-overs are so polished, you may never notice the lack of a substantial plot.

What you will notice is the squad dynamic that makes the gunplay stand out, for without it, Republic Commando would have been just another shooter. Your three mates act on their own with considerable aplomb, but even better, you can give them context-specific orders based on the environment and the actions at your disposal. The game gives you obvious clues about the possibilities by placing a transparent Commando figure in these spots when you are close enough and giving you the opportunity to assign a squad mate to the task. In a prime sniping location' A single button press will order your buddy to take potshots from that locale. Need to blow through a rocky obstacle' Blow it up yourself, or get a colleague to place the explosives for you. You can even order them to heal-up at an available station if you don't want to wait for them to do it themselves. While you can also assign a few different general commands, such as to take an aggressive stance or to team up, most commands are only available when the situation and surroundings demand it. It's limiting, but it also allows the action to stay fresh and fast, giving the game more in common with Freedom Fighters than with Ghost Recon or Operation Flashpoint.

The standout AI exhibits itself in the behavior of both your friends and foes. Your fellow commandos will never really get in your way, and duck if in the line of fire, although if you are not careful, they will take damage from your weapons. The chatter between them and their reactions to your movement also lend a lot of personality to the proceedings: 'What are you shooting at'' one may grumble if your bullets are flying aimlessly in the air. Each commando ostensibly has an area of expertise, but this seems to be for show, since any of the squad can perform any assigned action, with no noticeable difference in behavior from one man to the next. Your enemies, too, feature a wide range of intelligence, from standard attack drones that flow out en masse to the flittering Geonosian bugs that make Doom 3's imps look positively motionless. Most of your enemies are a significant challenge, and your health can diminish pretty quickly. Easing the challenge quite a bit, though, are the many health stations littered across the levels ' and the fact that if you are felled in combat, your squad mates can revive you, provided they don't die while they try. You can also revive your own teammates if the need arises.

Shooters need guns, although there are no true standouts in Republic Commando's arsenal. You'll find yourself using a standard-issue blaster most of the time, although it has sniper and anti-armor attachments should you need them, and you can also grab weapons off of your enemies. Your built-in melee blade provides the most satisfying kills, though, and is highly effective, offering up plenty of one-swipe kills. A few grenades are also at your disposal, but if you were hoping for some cool sci-fi weapons, like those in Unreal 2 or Half-Life 2, you will be disappointed. In fact, the game's relatively mediocre multiplayer could have been charged up a notch with some better weapons from which to choose, since sparsely populated servers and the standard deathmatch, capture-the-flag, and assault game types are barely worth mentioning when there's nothing to really make them stand out. Multiplayer is actually RC's greatest reminder at how good the AI and pacing of the single-player game really are, for without them, there isn't much left over.

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