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Dark, Gritty, and Challenging

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 107 / 117
Date: March 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this yesterday (3-1-05) the day it came out and have the honor it looks...to write the first real review of the game.

First, I have not yet finished the game, but after an evening of play I have enough impressions to provide some pretty solid feedback.

Republic commando takes a fresh look at the Star Wars universe and tones down the lighting and (finally!) adds some wit. Rather than describe the game again I'll give you my impressions on gameplay environment, and features I found good and bad.

Gameplay:

The controls take a little getting used to, but after about an hour or so they feel pretty natural. weapons are changed through use of the D-pad. Orders are issued to your commandos through the D-pad as well, but with the addition of the 'A' button being held. I found issuing orders to be fairly intuitive and easy to do. I found the commandos to occaisionally disregard my "undo" commands in order to get them to leave their sniping perch or the turret they were manning. This was rare though and although slightly annoying, easy to overlook.

Shooting is pretty standard. THe default look sensitivity is just about right for my style...true FPS players will probably ramp the sensitivity up a bit, but find that it's a steeper scale than say Halo 2. My only gripe with game play during the "campaign" mode is that they dump you immediately into the "geonosis" encounter (think of the end of Episode II) and with little to no time to get used to these controls you must shoot down flying (and rather agile) geonoshans. THis was a fairly steep learning curve, but not insurmountable.

Environment:

Gorgeous visuals. I can't say enough about that. The only "environmental" inconsistency that bugs me occaisionally is that the commandos are all clones...but they all have very different voices. In some respect I get WHY this is...the commandos all have very distinct personalities (except the one named FIXER...I have trouble figuring out what makes him unique) and the variety of voices helps in that distinction.

The AI responds intelligently and isn't over the top. And so far the environment has seemed dynamic enough to provide intense moments where you wonder where the next "baddie" may pop out, and then shifts into the natural FPS Chaos quite nicely. The fragility of your own health and those of the commandos requires you to keep them involved throughout the game, and that makes the game more cohesive for the feel they were going to. The "On-air" chatter that the commandos keep up is entertaining as well.

Features, Pros and Cons:

Pros: I like the use of the bacta healing stations that are interspersed through the environments. THis makes a nice departure from the "instant use" med kit. But better than this I like the ability to issue orders while on your death bed. If the bad guys kill you, the action doesn't stop. A menu pops up on your reddish blurry screen allowing you to tell the commandos 1. Keep going with current orders, 2. Stop what you're doing and revive me or 3. Load a previously saved game. In one instance I was able to allow the commandos to complete a level objective before they came to revive me...and then continue where I left off. This was cool. If your other commandos drop...you have the option of reviving them as well.

Another Pro is the dramatic difference in 'bad guy' units. Standard droids are as flimsy and weak as they are portrayed in the movie. The Droidica (rolly droids) are just as scary when they pop open and unleash a hail of gunfire. THe Super battle droids are as tough and imposing as they seemed in the movie and more than once I foundmyself wondering if perhaps a Jedi Lightsaber intervention might not be a bit more helpful in taking these guys down.

Then the genoshans who fly enter the picture...drawing a bead and successfully shooting a fast moving flying ..."stick bug" is HARD! but not harder than it has to be.

Cons:

Occaisionally I find myself managing the behavior of my commandos more than I'm actually working with them as a unit leader. My own shooting can contribute but when the commandos are not on the "same page" this can be a little frustrating. Over the course of the evening I developed an idea of when to apply a "move to waypoint and defend it" option vs. the "search the room and destroy the bad guys" option...one is more tightly controlled than the other....the search and destroy option will result in (once a room is clear of enemies) the commandos moving on when perhaps they shouldn't...instead perhaps they should heal up any health they're missing and THEN move on.

Also, one bug that I've had occur is the a commando getting "stuck". He could not move to join the unit and was simply stuck in one place. After experimenting by trying to kill and revive him and also by issuing other orders to him (or the squad) I moved on without him and fortunately made it through the level. It's only happened once, but I'm certainly leary for a second occurance.

One last 'Con': is that I didn't detect the possibility of a cooperative mode in the multiplayer options. I haven't checked in detail, but I find that playing the squad based games in co-op mode to be fairly entertaining with friends...and takes the pressure off of those who want to play but not necessarily competitively all the time.

Hope this was helpful

New Perspective on the Clone Wars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars Republic Commando picks up the ball KOTOR2 dropped. It's clear a great amount of production value was put into the game. As a Republic Commando you take lead of Delta squad, an elite ARC unit. With you are three fellow clones each with their own skills which you can employ to simplify objectives.

First of all the graphics are just amazing. RC presents the Star Wars universe through the eyes of a Jenga Fett commando tasked with tough missions that normal clones can't handle. The scale of ships, transporters, landscapes etc... are all believable. Team and enemy animations are very well done and always fluid regardless how many NPC's are on screen -the Obsidian team behind KOTOR2 should take notes. Visual effects are also interesting and keep you in the game whether its the blurring of being caught in the blast radius of a static grenade or water or oil being wipe off your visor by a laser.

The sound is amazing. The score could possible have been mastered by John Williams himself. Even music from the movies was used. Sound effects are also borrowed from the movies keeping the player in tune with the theatrical releases.

The gameplay is very fun. Although some people may complain squad commands were too simplified and dumbed down, its actually novel telling your squad where to go and not having to worry that they won't full obey the commands due to poor AI. Controls are intuitive and easy to learn.

At the end of the day, Republic Commando offers a new stunning and believable universe in the overcrowded FPS genre. The inclusion of an intuitive squad command system makes the game more enjoyable and always offers something new instead of run, gun, lather, rinse and repeat. The battlefields easily sell the idea of how large scale a Republic Capital ship is, how dense the forests of Kashyyk are and so on. Great replay value and a definite purchase worthy title.

Great GamePlay, I didn't find bugs or get bored!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: April 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Good game, better than Halo 2 and the sqaud is fun, handy, and intelligent. I have heard repotts about bugs but I didn't find any. The game is somewhat short but the good visuals and interactive envirments make up for that. The squad is very funny and keep you entertaned in the darkest places. Easy controls, and good acting, plus the missions don't get boring, even if you do them again and agian. I may have finally found the perfect game. Kinda a mixture between halo 2, Ghost Recon, and battlefront. With a variety of alien ***holes to kick and very powerful stategic requirements, this game is the best!

Close to the halos

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is almost as good as the halos. It is extremely challenging for new players but is medium for very experienced players. You can customize your character in multiplayer. There are three environments with 7 levels in it. It has some really hard enemies yet easy ones also. You have a variety of weapons also. It is worth every penny.

Great gameplay, but too many bugs

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First of all, I am a huge Star Wars fan, so it was inevitable that I would play this game. As everyone else has said, the gameplay is great, the AI is superb, and the action is intense.

I love having the ability to command a squad to perform the different jobs required to beat certain big enemies. You can command one guy to toss grenades from behind some boxes, another guy to man a turret and lay down heavy fire, and the third to snipe from far away, while you run around and keep the enemy distracted. The ability to make decisions while you're incapacitated is brilliant. I was confident enough with the AI that for several missions I would let them clean up the area before ordering them to revive me.

Anyways, onto the complaints. As others have mentioned, I ran into several situations in which one of my squadmates would get stuck. He would not respond to orders, killing him and reviving him didn't help, in fact physically pushing him where I wanted him to go didn't work. This happened on a couple of levels that I really could have used his help, but luckily when I completed that level, he would magically reappear with the squad.

The only other complaint I have is that it's too short. I was just getting into it when it abruptly starts rolling the end credits. I'm glad I just rented it. It's a good weekend worth of play.

One last thing: some of the banter between your squadmates throughout the game is hilarious. Whoever was writing this stuff needs to help Lucas with the script for Ep 3.

It's not in the league of Halo but...almost

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The game adds aspects that you want in Halo, like being able to talk to your men and have more control utilizing them on the battlefield. Also the gameplay is very consistent as well as the physics and environment. Most visual aspects are clear and not shrouded in fuzzy darkness. I consider these major pluses. (Also the action keys are nearly identical to Halo - so you don't have to reprogram your fingers! Sweet!)

However the graphics, in terms of resolution and perspective, just aren't on the level of Halo. And your enemies have not much of a personality. (Whereas your teammates do - and even incorporate humor - but their comments recycle waay too quickly). There is a great lack in variability in game sequence. While it's not a 2D sidescroller, there isn't much freedom to manipulate the battle environment or how the sequence of subtasks unfold.

The physics of body desecration after a kill are pretty cool - and obviously the programming accomdates this quite well so who am I not to play all the aspects of the game?

The game disk jacket boasts a rating from GameInformer that says "perhaps the smartest squad AI ever seen." I thought this would carry over to enemy squads. Not at all. True, the AI for you and your teammates is top notch - but is wasted on monolithic enemies that rarely seek cover, change attack style, or retreat when you start to overpower them.

It is fun to play and a cut above most of what's out there in the genre. I would suggest renting first because you get a good feel for the gameplay in the first few missions.

Lastly, as negatives - you are on foot the whole time. There are no vehicles you can drive/fly. And what's up with no cooperative play?

A Solid FPS Game.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Republic Commando is a very fun FPS.This game takes advantage of the powerful Xbox graphics capabilities.The design of the game is simular to an amped up HALO2, even the HUD is simular.With well designed aliens and star wars based enemies.The graphics are clean,but keep in mind I do have an "S" cable. .Anybody who is a veteran or semi-veteran FPS player will jump right in the control scheme almost imediately.The difficulty is just about right on ,without it being to easy or to hard.You can adjust the difficulty settings from easy,normal,to hard.I like this game Your 3 squadmates seem to take orders quickly ,and you basicly point your crosshairs on the target to give commands,such as "take sniper position" .."man that turret".."cover area with grenades"..."breach wall and clear room"etc.etc.Also you have general commands that dont require you to use the crosshairs like "form up" .."secure area".."search and destroy".."cancel manuever".. etc.etc...you can also put your crosshairs on an enemy and order a "eliminate target" and all your squadmates will concentrate more fire onto that target.Commando's 'one button command system' makes it easy to give effective commands in a hostile firefight.And your squad A.I. is pretty good,they are effective snipers and manning turrets,although my squadmates did get stuck one time I had to use melee attack to push them out of a area they got stuck in.The levels can get a little bland while doing the same objectives and seeing the same thing over and over.Also I beat this game in 2 days on medium setting ,its not a very long game but ,the movie cutscenes are nice .. detailed and cinematic.If you like FPS, definately don't miss playing this one.At the very least rent it...HINT: Order a "Cancel Maneuver" command to keep your guys from advancing prematurly.Then you can take point.I noticed some reviewers complaining about squad advancing without healing up first,but if you order a "cancel maneuver " command your squad will follow you and they wont advance without you,you become the point man.If you just order a "Form Up" command your squad members that have been asigned a turret or a snipe position or a anti-armor or a grenade position wont Form Up,you have to order a "Cancel Maneuver " command first before they will Form Up.After you have ordered a "Search and Destroy" command ,make sure you order a "Cancel Manuever" command or a " Form Up" command once they have cleared a room otherwise they will advance before healing up.I had better success being the point man and did not use the "Search & Destroy" command very often.Once you get to an area its best if you are the Point (up front) man,then when you get there first you imediatly assign your squad to all available sniper ,grenade,anti-armor,and turret positions before the firefight starts.Good Luck.

excellent singleplayer, average multiplayer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Republic Commando has an outstanding single-player campaign. It finally shows the war through the eyes of clones. A great storyline, good graphics, excellent sound = lot's of fun. It was also a very good idea to use Temuera Morrison as Delta 38's voice. However, the downside of Republic Commando is the multiplayer mode. The maps were fun but seemed just like the campaign, only harder and less fun. Still, the campaign has great replay value, and is fun to play again and again. A sequel (hopefully) could improve most of the problems, but this will be fun to play again until then.

This Game Rock's !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I got this game about 5 days ago and have found it to be a perfect game in allmost all aspects.From the graphics to gameplay.so on a scale of 1...10 the I would rate the game length, a 4 the ease of performing compilcated commands, a 10 and graphics a 110.Over all this is a great game and I recomend Buying it.

A chance to see Star Wars from a whole new perspective.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: February 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I picked this game up in May of 2005 and got exactly what I wanted. A straight-forward first person shooter with awhole lot of action. The plot keeps you sucked in, but not enough to totally detract from school or work. The controls are built to probably be some of the most user friendly ever in my opinion. The graphics are also really good especially when you're going hand-to-face with a few Trandoshans. :D Give it a try.

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