'Republic Commando' blasts players into epic battle
By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service
Combine a military action shooter such as "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon" with the most coveted sci-fi universe this side of Tatooine and you'll end up with LucasArts "Star Wars: Republic Commando," a new squad-based adventure that drops you into the middle of an intergalactic conflict of good versus evil.
You climb into the suit of No. 38, nicknamed "Boss," the leader of the Delta squad in the republic's Clone Army.
Because the emphasis of this game is on team play, you must complete missions by assigning commands to your three teammates: No. 40 ("Four-oh," aka "Fixer"), a computer whiz who can crack codes and descramble security systems; No. 07 ("Oh-seven," nicknamed "Sev"), a brutal warrior with a sense of humor; and No. 62 ("Six-two,") who is aptly referred to as "Scorch" as he is the explosives expert.
Recall, retrieve, revive
The transparent HUD, or Heads-Up Display, lets you easily assign orders to your squad members, be it for reconnaissance, assassination, sabotage, hostage rescue, planting a bomb or to retrieve "bacta" (health) from a dispenser.
Arguably the most important command to learn is to "recall and retrieve" your body once you're near-dead and lying on the ground. Once revived, you can rejoin firefights against 10 brutal enemy species; blast an insect-like creature close enough and its green bug juice will splash on your visor.
The game features more than a dozen interchangeable combat weapons such as the DC-17m blaster rifle, Geonosian elite beam weapon and Trandoshan slaver shotgun.
Set in a time in the "Star Wars" universe between Episode II and Episode III, the action takes place in both familiar and unfamiliar environments, including the jungle cities of Chewbacca's home world of Kashyyyk, ravaged areas of the rocky planet Geonosis and the mechanical catacombs of a huge Separatist Core Ship.
"Star Wars" geeks also will enjoy getting a sneak peek at the locations, vehicles and enemies (including Gen. Grievious) that will appear in "Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," due out in theaters this May.
Multiplayer game options
The Xbox version of the game offers as many as four-player head-to-head or cooperative play on the same television (via split-screen) while the Xbox Live service supports as many as 16 players over the Internet.
Multiplayer game modes include Deathmatch (the person with the most kills wins), Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and a variation dubbed Assault. Similarly, the PC version also supports as many as 16 players via the Internet through the GameSpy service (software included on CD).
Gamers in search of an intense but accessible action game will have fun in this somewhat violent sci-fi shooter. It's not quite on par with the incredibly deep 2003 role-playing game "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic," but it should easily satiate "Star Wars" fans until the next -- and perhaps, final -- film set in this popular fantasy universe.
