Product Description

Star Wars: Republic Commando is a dark and intense first-person shooter. Utilising an enhanced version of the acclaimed Unreal engine technology, the game will present a dramatic military-style action experience from the point-of-view of an elite squad member of a Republic Special Operations unit. Players will step into the role of a Commando performing precision operations deep behind enemy lines in this brutally realistic Star Wars combat experience

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5422 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2005-03-04
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although there have been plenty of decent Star Wars games in the past, LucasArts have had a lot of trouble producing a top quality game based on the new prequels--but Republic Commando looks like it could change all that.

Republic Commando puts you in a four man squad of elite clonetroopers, that act as a sort of SAS version of the standard stormtrooper-alikes seen in Episode II. It’s your job to order the squad about while engaging in a spot of first person shooting action as you go. In other words it’s Star Wars does Rainbow Six--the squad-based shooter being just about the only genre of game that hasn’t been Star Warsified up until now.

Surprisingly things seem to be turning out rather well with some decent graphics and an easy to use, if slightly perfunctory, squad control interface. The game also takes much inspiration from the GameCube’s Metroid Prime with an excellent helmet view that does a lot to immerse you in the game and convince you that you really are the sci-fi version of Andy McNab.

Perhaps the only problem evident at this stage is that the battles are noticeably smaller scale than the ones from the movie with rarely more than half a dozen enemies attacking at any one time, rather than the hundreds seen in the film. An online multiplayer mode should help to shore things up somewhat, although the artificial intelligence of the bad guys is good enough to ensure you can still have plenty of fun on your own. --David Jenkins

Manufacturer's Description
Star Wars Republic Commando is a squad-based first person shooter that lets you explore the elite world of the Star Wars military. Leading a 3-man squad of Republic Commandos, your missions take you deep behind enemy lines on over 14 intense and challenging levels through three different campaigns where you will face more than ten brutal enemies. You’ll have more than a dozen deadly weapons at your disposal, but none more lethal than your squad. What makes the squad in Star Wars Republic Commando so unique is the game’s innovative ‘One Touch Squad Control’ system that allows you to engage your squad with just one button.

Customer Reviews

What? A Star Wars game with no Jedi?
Say it isn't so. 'Fraid it is. And all the better for it.

I've been waiting for something like this after the Dark Forces games - I wanted an opposite game that made you play as a stormtrooper, helping the Empire take over the galaxy (evil laugh inserted here). This game is set during SW: Episodes 2 and 3 and you don't even see a hint of Jedi - only other troopers on the ground. The best thing about this is that you feel that if you're on a covert operation, then you're on a covert operation. If there's a large battle going on and you're in the centre, then you see ships flying around in the background shooting stuff. Music and sound is top notch (as is seen in the extras). But mainly it's when "a plan comes together" that makes this fun.

The team control system is easy to use - you don't ask your comrades to walk here, then there, then crouch over there. No, you get to command sniper positions, breaching doors, slicing systems using Wookie bodies as cover and killing stuff that explodes vital fluids onto your visor if you get too close. I cheered when that first happened. And I still don't feel guilty now.

But. It's not always easy to aim your rifle (there's no "centre" to your reticle); a couple of the later situations you're put in require you to run under a hail of gunfire and try to stick it out - not good as then it's a matter of luck. And it does feel repititive after you've played over an hour.

At the time of this review, this costed under a tenner. It's a great blast and you'll want more after you've finished - if only just to see something explode again.

better than I expected
I was worried this game would be a repackaging of Jedi Knight 1/2/3 - IT ISN'T!! The keyboard controls are the same, but that just lets you get into the game so much quicker. Artistically, the story/plot and graphics/artwork are far better than before (and it was never that bad on JK). Technically the squad controls are great, the graphics are really smooth, and overall the game setup is neither too easy nor too hard.

It doesn't get 5 for the same reason as Battlefront - i bought the game at 2pm yesterday and finished it an hour ago, it's just too short. I look forward to playing the multiplayer on line though, and hope there will be mission discs in the future, coz the game ends on a real cliffhanger (hope we see Sev alive and well again).

One in the bag for Lucasarts, here's looking forward to "Empire at War", and if we're allowed to wish, a new X-Wing simulator???

Enjoyable
I want to start off by saying I didn't experience any technical problems with this game. Perhaps I was just lucky because from what I see, a lot of other reviewers had problems with sudden crashes. At any rate, I'm gonna judge the game based on what I experienced. The game's storyline is set during the Clone Wars, ie between Episode 2 and 3. You are the squad leader of a group of 4 clone troopers who are sent on behind enemy lines missions and must work together in order to achieve victory. You will "visit" planets like Geonosis and Kashyyk, but you shouldn't expect a warm welcome(I can assure you, fighting those bugs on Geonosis won't be easy). Blaster fire is almost everywhere and there's hardly a time to rest. Stay still and you'll soon ask your comrades for revival. Which brings me to perhaps the most innovative feature of the game. Whenever you "die", you are actually incapacitated, which means that a member of your squad can revive you. The same applies for the rest of the squad(you can revive them). Of course this can be risky at times, especially when you have fallen in the middle of a huge battle, perhaps near 2 or 3 super battle droids. Sometimes it's better to just wait for your squad to eliminate the enemies nearby before issuing an order for revival. Needless to say that if the rest of squad members die, the game is over and you have to reload. What I liked about this, is that it can save you from many "save/load"'s which tend to become tiring in other FPSs. Giving orders to your squad is as easy as pressing the use button. Let's just say that you want them to place a bomb in a door. You turn towards the door and press use. One of your squad mates will attempt to place a bomb, which you can detonate at any time again by pressing the use button. Or you can order them to hide behind specific places and cause sniper or grenade damage from there. The F1-4 buttons are to issue general orders like "stay here", "attack" etc. giving you full control of your squad. The AI of the rest of the squad is so good, that you'll hardly ever need to give them orders concerning their stance. They'll protect themselves and will never become easy targets. Most of the times, it will be you who will end up dead first. As with any self respecting clone trooper, you are trained to use every weapon that you come across in the game...and there more than a few. Simple blasters, repeating blasters, sniper rifles, shotguns, even the legendary wookie bowcaster. You'll also find stationary turrets which can prove vital to your efforts. Overall the weapons are satisfying, and each one has its use.
As far as the graphics are concerned, they are great and don't demand a super duper wow computer.(The game runs quite smoothly on my AMD 2400+, 1gb Ram and Gefore TI 4200 card). The environments are so nicely done that you'll truly think you are on Geonosis. But what really stands out is the music. Simply excellent. Starting from the menu theme, every tune adds up to creating a starwars-y atmosphere and give you the impression that you are in the middle of something so important as the Clone Wars. But as with any game, this too has its drawbacks. The most important one being its almost inexistent replayability. If you have finished it once, I doubt you'll play it again(unless of course you are into multiplaying). It's so linear that the only reason to play it again would be to try and beat it at a higher level. Also, the game lacks any kind of riddle. It is basically a "slice the door-enter and kill everything moving unless it's a wookie or a comrade of yours" routine. This isn't necessarily bad, but it all depends on what you are asking from a game.
A nice game overall which gives you an idea about how the Clone Wars were. Must have for any starwars fan.