Retro Review: Star Wars: Republic Commando

It's been a while since I've done a retro review and I've been having some difficulties with running Baldur's Gate. In the meantime I've been replaying quite a few old Star Wars games on my PC. I actually downloaded all five of the Jedi Knight saga. I may get to those later as well as Knights of the Old Republic, but I want to review one that has never really gotten the respect it deserves, Star Wars: Republic Commando.

Among those who have played it, Republic Commando is often considered to be arguably the best game revolving entirely around the Clone Wars. Others have been average to just good. Republic Commando, while a little on the short-side, is awesome due to exciting gameplay, good squad mechanics and likable characters. It may not have sold well enough to get a sequel and, when it comes to Star Wars games, it may not be quite on the same level as Knights of the Old Republic or Jedi Outcast but it's really worth playing.

This game came out in 2005 and was released on the PC and the original Xbox. It was released on a last gen system so while it definitely comes close to breaking my criteria for retro games, it makes the cut. So let's begin the review of the often overlooked and under-appreciated Republic Commando.

STORY

During the creation of the Clone Army in between Episodes I and II, the Kaminoans and Jango decided to create an elite special forces unit that would be trained separately from the rank and file to handle advanced missions. These became the Republic Commandos and the game revolves around the unit Delta Squad, a four-man squad which the leads. You play as Delta RC-1138 or Boss, the commander of Delta Squad.

RC-1138, aka Boss; the leader of Delta Squad

So what makes this game unique in the Star Wars gaming universe? Well, it has NO Jedi and NO Force Powers. The game revolves around a squad of just four clone commandos and makes it so that they'll be the characters that you focus on and remember when the end credits are rolling. The game really makes you feel like a cog in a machine (a high-functioning cog), rather than a godly one (wo)man army.

The game's overall story is kind of disjointed and in the grand scheme of things, there really isn't much of a main arc as it just goes through a few battles of the Clone Wars. For me though, if the characters are strong, that can overcome the lack of much of an arc. This is a perfect example of this as the game does a great job of giving each of the four characters different personalities and skillsets which make them likable and fun to be with.

First, there's RC-1162, aka Scorch. A demolitions expert and smartass known for his ability to find humor no matter the situation and crack a joke about it. You might recognize the voice as Carth Onasi from Knights of the Old Republic and Kaiden Alenko from Mass Effect.

RC-1162, aka Scorch; demolitions expert and snark knight of Delta Squad

Next, there's RC-1140, aka Fixer. Second-in-command of Delta Squad and a by-the-book soldier, he was serious situations and was also a hacking and tech expert.

RC-1140, aka Fixer; hacking/tech expert and second-in-command of Delta Squad

Finally, there's RC-1207, aka Sev. The team sniper with a VERY dark sense of humor who seems a little too eager for violence, and his kickass voice sells it perfectly.

RC-1207, aka Sev. Bloodthirsty sniper of Delta Squad

Their personalities are distinct and easy to identify which makes the characters easy to identify with. It really makes you care about the troopers and feel like the leader of a badass squad that's out of bubblegum but has plenty of asses to kick. In other words, the game does exactly what it was supposed to do.

GAMEPLAY AND DESIGN

Republic Commando is a squad-based tactical shooter, where you lead the squad into a series of skirmishes. If you've played Brothers in Arms, think of it like that only set in the Star Wars universe rather than World War II. You can also liken it to the Rainbow Six games, as long as we're talking about newer iterations as Republic Commando never gets anywhere NEAR as complex as the earlier Rainbow Six games. While the squad controls may be a little simple they work well enough.

Shooting is just as you'd expect with all the basic controls and maneuvers that you expect to find in a shooter. It's the squad commands that set it apart from traditional shooters and turn it into a more tactical game. You can order them to fall in, put the pressure on the enemy, or defend certain areas and therefore provide covering fire for another one of your troopers.

There are also more specific commands, like ordering one or more of your troops to set up a sniping position for either anti-infantry or anti-armor, setting up an explosive device, hacking a terminal, or breaching a door using a breaching charge and grenade. Also you can order them to heal themselves when a bacta healing station is nearby.

Soldiers don't die when they run out of health. They can be revived though you might want to make sure the reviver has good cover fire. You also don't die when your character runs out of health as you can either order your men to continue their duties or order them back to revive you. If you go down when all of your other soldiers are down, then you're dead. Unfortunately this can make the game a little too easy, because while the friendly AI may not be Einstein, they're smart enough that they can keep themselves alive pretty well. I'm not complaining about decent friendly AI, but in conjunction with the death system, it can take away a lot of the challenge.

While this game received a lot of praise when it came out, it was also heavily criticized for its length, and for good reason. The game is only about 8-10 hours long, and the rest of the game is so solid that it makes you wish for more. This the primary thing that keeps it from really competing with games like Knights of the Old Republic and Jedi Outcast.

There are only three missions in the game, though they are split up enough that they feel pretty damn long. But it still feels like it's over WAY too soon. It's even worse that it ends on a cliffhanger, and in that regard it kind of reminds me of Bulletstorm, another excellent game with strong characters that ended too soon that we're unlikely to see a sequel to. There is a multiplayer, but I never really got into it. The game felt like it was made for single-player.

Despite it's short length, the time you'll spend with Republic Commando is a fun and satisfying experience with good controls, both shooter and squad-command, that will make you want to continuing pushing forward to its conclusion.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

Soundwise, the game is excellent. However, that is to be expected from a Star Wars game. I don't think I've ever played a GOOD Star Wars game with lackluster sound. The music is strong and the voice acting is also great. Voice acting for Sev and Scorch is particularly memorable given their constant snark fights. They really sell the characters with the voice acting.

Graphics wise, textures are kind of lacking. This game did come out in 2005 but they still don't feel remarkable for that year even on the PC. However, the game has some nice color schemes mixed with some good attention to detail, like when an enemy's body fluids fly onto your helmet, requiring some built in windshield wipers to clean it off.

At the end of the day though, this is not a game built with incredible graphics in mind, it's about the squad-based gameplay and the squad itself.

CONCLUSION

An often unrecognized squad-based shooter that delivers where it counts despite its short length. It has functional shooting controls and squad commands, memorable and identifiable characters that goes further in humanizing the foot soldiers of the Star Wars universe than almost any Star Wars media in my memory, and is just a blast to play.

The game is currently $9.99 on Steam if you want it on your PC which is definitely a good price for an 8-10 hour game. I can't imagine that it would be worth too much more on your Xbox, so if you can find a good copy of this game, definitely pick it up because it is really worth playing.