I get to try another game I haven't before thanks to a new Switch Online Game Trial! BACKGROUND:
The list of Star Wars games I've played has sadly not grown since I talked about Knights of the Old Republic, and I certainly know little of the many Star Wars games that came out in the 2000s. This is more or less new to me. PLOT: It's important to point out that the game's story is under Star Wars Legends, which means it isn't canon. I don't know if any element of this story has been reinstated into the canon at any point. You are Delta 38 (nickname: Boss), a Clone Trooper who leads the Delta Squad, an elite clone commando unit tasked with special missions. Together with squad-mates Delta 62 (nickname: Scorch), Delta 40 (nickname: Fixer), and Delta 07 (nickname: Sev), you are deployed to various locations in service of the Republic. In this game, you play through three specific missions. The first mission is set during the Battle of Geonosis (which takes place during Episode II: Attack of the Clones), where Delta Squad is sent to assassinate a high-ranking Geonosian official (who is working with the droid army) and destroy a droid factory. In the second mission (set many months after the first), Delta Squad is deployed to the Prosecutor, a Republic cruiser that was hijacked by Trandoshans, a group of slavers and mercenaries who are looking to ally with the Separatists in exchange for droid armies. Last, Delta Squad is sent to Kashyyyk to help liberate the Wookiees from an imminent Separatist invasion, leading directly into the battle we see in Revenge of the Sith. I can't say there's much else to the story apart from what you witness during each mission, though I didn't really mind. There's a lot of action, some stuff goes wrong, but Delta Squad finds a way to push through, and that's enough for me. You're not going to get a lot of deep lore apart from the prequel connections I mentioned, and most of the dialogue you hear is pertinent to the mission. The four Delta Squad members (including the player character, surprisingly) do have distinct personalities and banter with one another, but I found these moments to be less common than I would have preferred. The ending was perhaps the most interesting part, since it adds a wrinkle to Delta Squad's relationship with their superiors. I feel like the moment that leads to this would have been more impactful if they spent more time establishing the bond between the members of the squad, but I nonetheless liked what they were going for. Unfortunately, the game ends very abruptly, which tells me there were clear intentions for a sequel. PRESENTATION: Since this is a game from 2005, I didn't really expect mind-blowing graphics. This enhanced port touches up a lot of these old models and textures, but you'll still be able to notice the age if you look hard enough. Nothing looked completely hideous, and important visual elements are legible, so I have no complaints. Plus, the game has impressive attention to detail despite its age, especially when stuff gets on your character's visor. The music sounds pretty close to the movie score by the legendary John Williams, which is wonderful. There are also other tracks that don't really fit into that mold, like one dramatic track with an intense chorus of deep voices. Most notably, they play a licensed rock song during the end credits, which is very jarring (but not in a bad way). Much like a good portion of the soundtrack, many of the sound effects are taken straight from the movies, though you sadly won't hear the iconic sounds of a lightsaber at any point. The voice acting's also pretty solid, which really helps set each clone character apart from one another. GAMEPLAY: Republic Commando is a first-person shooter where you take control of Delta 38 and the rest of your squad-mates accompany you as ally NPCs. What makes this game stand out is the core mechanic of giving your squad orders, and we'll talk all about that a little later. In terms of the actual shooter action, the game is mostly standard fare. Your main weapon is an assault rifle with decent ammo capacity, but you'll also unlock a sniper attachment that lets you take out targets with powerful shots from far away, as well as an anti-armor attachment that works like a grenade launcher. All of these have limited ammo, so you'll have to pick up refills as you move through the levels. In the event that you're all out of ammo, you still have a trusty pistol that has an overheat function in place of ammunition. Plus, you have a melee attack if things get up close and personal. Certain enemies/areas have special weapons that you can pick up, which does a lot to keep the action fresh. These include SMGs, shotguns, a chaingun-like weapon, a powerful laser, a rocket launcher with lock-on, and even the iconic Wookiee bowcaster. Like your base arsenal, these have limited ammo, so you'll have to kill the specific enemies/find the weapons lying about to get refills. You also have access to an assortment of grenades to complement your guns. You have the classic thermal detonators (which are equivalent to frag grenades), EMP grenades that are highly effective against droids, sonic detonators that explode on contact with enemies, and flashbangs that briefly stun enemies. These grenades can really tip the scales with a well-placed throw depending on the situation, so they're absolutely worth using if you're in a bind. Some of the most satisfying plays I've made in this game were with grenades, like stunning an entire room of Trandoshans with a flash, disabling a horde of droids with a single EMP, and knocking enemies off turrets by throwing a sonic detonator at the turret. Most of the enemies are droids that you'll recognize from other Star Wars properties, like the standard battle droid, Super Battle Droids, droidekas, and even Magna Guards. You'll also go against Geonosians (bug things that like to hop/fly around) and Trandoshans (lizard dudes with guns), each having different types with different weapons and properties. I think the variety is fine, though things can start to feel repetitive since you can deal with a lot of enemies the same way. The challenge is often managing overwhelming numbers, as well as the occasional presence of droid dispensers and enemy-manned turrets. While you can certainly try and be a one-man army, you don't have to be. Your AI-controlled buddies are competent fighters, and you can give them orders to ensure that they don't get themselves killed or fail to cover you during important moments. You can have them spread out and take down any enemies on sight, order them to stick together, or even tell them to secure a specific area. Many of the levels have special points where you can order an ally to perform a special action. These include ordering someone to take a sniper position to cover you, assigning someone as a grenadier to bombard a specific area, or give an order to hold a position and fire anti-armor ordnance. If there's a particularly tough enemy, you can even order the team to concentrate fire on the enemy currently in your crosshairs. At certain points, you'll need to use explosives to clear paths/breach doors, slice (the Star Wars equivalent of hacking) into electronics like automatic doors, or disable/install proximity mines. You can do these tasks yourself if you want (just stand next to the designated area and hold a button), but they'll often take some time and leave you open, so you'll have to make sure your teammates are covering you. Alternatively, you can order one of your squad-mates to do these tasks for you so you can cover them. HP works like Halo where you have both regenerating shields and fixed health. If your health goes down to zero, it's not game over, as your teammates can revive you. If they succeed, you'll be back in the action with half health, but reviving is a slow process that leaves your teammate open for attack. As such, you have the option to let your teammates clear the room first before you order them to bring you back up, but that isn't foolproof. Conversely, you can also revive downed allies (or order anyone still standing to revive their buddy), but if you're not careful, the entire squad could get wiped, and if that happens, you start at your latest save point. Thankfully, the game generously places several healing stations throughout the levels, so you can keep yourself topped up if you happen to find one. Just make sure to also order your teammates to heal, because they can forget. Don't worry about being sent far back after dying, as you can quicksave whenever you want (just don't do it when you're about to die and you'll be fine). And if you want, you can adjust the difficulty to be higher or lower. I played exclusively on Normal, so I don't know what exactly the other difficulties change. You won't be exploring a whole lot in this game, as every level in the game is linear. The most you'll get are corners in rooms with ammo refills and the occasional optional entryway from which you can enter/scope out a room full of enemies. Certain missions also have Delta Squad split up and take on different tasks before meeting back up, which keeps things fresh. While the game does a decent enough job ensuring the battles are balanced depending on your number of party members, you immediately feel the absence of your squad when you're stuck having to do tasks like breaching doors yourself. This version of the game does not have multiplayer, so I can't talk about that. You'll have to play the PC version to see what that's all about. In any case, I think that this game not having co-op for the campaign could be considered a missed opportunity for many players. With that said, I love the order system of the single player just fine and personally think it's equally satisfying as playing this with friends. VERDICT: I can see why Republic Commando ended up building quite the cult following. The FPS action is solid (decent weapon and enemy variety, grenades are super useful, scenarios are challenging), and I really enjoyed the tactical aspect that rewards you for properly coordinating your squad. It's as satisfying to give your team orders and successfully take down hordes of droids with not a scratch on anybody as it is to kick ass on your own with efficient weapon usage. I do wish they spent more time fleshing out the bond of Delta Squad (perhaps the game could have done with a longer campaign with more levels), but apart from that, I had a really fun time. You're probably better off playing one of the Battlefront games if you want a multiplayer-focused Star Wars FPS, but if you're a Star Wars fan who also enjoys single player shooters, I think you'll want to try this. It's a neat (albeit not-quite-canon) look into an unseen part of the Clone Wars, and the tactical shooting action is engaging despite its limitations. Here's the Steam version of the game. If you want to also try the multiplayer, this is the one to get. STAR WARS™ Republic Commando™ on Steam (steampowered.com) - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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