Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
What has happened with LucasArts in the past few years? Star Wars: Battlefront? Great. Knights of the Old Republic? Superb. It’s an un-paralleled return to form from the company that brought us some true classics back in the good old Amiga days. It brings a nostalgic tear to this writer’s eye, especially when we consider that not so long ago LucasArts were responsible for Star Wars: Obi Wan. Fortunately, Republic Commando is far more Battlefront than Obi Wan.
With ‘realistic’ squad-based shooters becoming increasingly popular, it was only a matter of time before one was set in a more fantastic setting, and you don’t get much better than Star Wars. In the game you control a team of republic commandos, fighting various baddies around the galaxy, many that are featured in the three prequel movies. Well, somebody has to.
In the level we played, you’re infiltrating a CIS base and fighting some enemies that you will almost certainly be familiar with. That’s right, robots, and lots of ’em. However, you’ll be pleased to know the combat is still satisfying and blowing them up won’t be a chore. However, in Republic Commando you only have one weapon, though a sniper and rocket launcher attachment make it more like three. Even so, you’re equipped to deal with any situation and rarely feel like you need further weapons. The other bonus is that all your troopers are similarly equipped. Which is nice.
The only real niggle we have with the game is that although orders seem slightly more fluid that in other squad based shooters, they are restricted to certain scripted events and places, with see-through troopers representing a place to position your men. The major downside to this is that it signposts events, spoiling some potentially nice set pieces. For instance, it’s fairly easy to spot a giant robot ambush whenever you have the option to setup two troopers in heavy weapons mode at a certain door…
Though this is a minor quibble and your troops do respond very well, showing a level of intelligence lacking in other games. Graphically, the game doesn’t seem to be doing anything special, though this may be down to the repetitive nature of the demo level. The troops and enemies do look great however, and hopefully the full game will flesh out the Star Wars world a bit more with some interesting environments.
This game is certainly an intriguing experiment and it’s great to see LucasArts publishing something based in the Star Wars universe that is a bit different. Taken as a whole it’s obvious where Republic Commandos influences come from, but it seems to have adapted them in its own way and put a nice spin on the squad game genre. From what we’ve seen, there is a lot of promise, and provided LucasArts can provide a compelling story and a wider range of battlegrounds, this will be one to look out for.
