GAME PLAY
At its core,
Republic Commando is pretty much like every other first-person
shooter. You pick up various guns and shoot down bad guys, but it
does have several unique features that help to differentiate it from
most other games. The health system is interesting, most modern
shooters use a recharging health system, where your health will
recharge back to full after taking cover for a few seconds. Republic
Commando uses a hybrid of the recharging system and the classic
health bar. Your primary defense is a shield that will recharge on
its own and a health bar that must be refilled at a bacta tank.
There is a fairly wide variety of weapons you can make use of for
any given situation. You get the standard pistol, sub-machine gun,
sniper rifle and anti-armor guns, but you can get extra guns to
switch things up a bit. There's the Wookiee bow caster with bouncing
projectiles, a rocket launcher with a large blast radius, a shotgun,
a Trandoshan's sub-machine gun, a heavy merc fully automatic machine
gun and different types of mounted turrets. You are also given an
interesting variety of grenades including flash bangs, sonic
detonators and EC grenades, which will disable shields and stun
enemies.The main feature of the game is giving orders to your
squad-mates. You can order them to take cover behind various objects
and use certain weapons, to get healed at a bacta tank, plant
explosives, slice terminals and breach doors. What you tell them to
do at what time will determine whether you live or die in certain
encounters. Your task is to complete objectives the advisor outlines
for you. Missions range from simple search and destroy to
demolition, to defending objectives.
DIFFICULTY
If you've played shooters before, Republic Commando probably won't
be much of a challenge. Bacta tanks can be found in numerous areas,
ammunition is plentiful and you have three commandos covering your
back. You don't have to make an effort to conserve ammo, but if you
do run out you can always stab your way to victory. Your blade is
strong enough to take down most enemies with a single strike and the
tougher opponents can be killed by walking back when they're about
to attack, then charging back in. Although it isn't too challenging,
it doesn't make the game boring. For the most part you still feel
under pressure and the exciting combat will make you want to keep
playing.
AUDIO
The audio effects in this game are excellent. Everything has a
unique sound, the footsteps of your enemies, animals in the
distance, gunfire, falling barrels and battle cries. Coupling the
variety of sound effects with some terrific voice acting makes this
game very immersive. Some of the classic star wars musical scores
will play as you fight off waves of droids and Trandoshans, it
serves to increase the thrill you feel in the midst of combat.
GRAPHICS
Everything in Republic Commando looks great. The lighting effects,
shadows, textures and animations all look realistic. The art style
stays true to the star wars universe, the machines, architecture,
weapons and armor all fit in well. The level design and environments
have the right look and feel to them and really draw you in to
create a satisfying experience.
FINAL THOUGHTS
|
THE GOOD |
- likable
characters with good dialogue
- responsive controls
- nice visuals |
|
THE BAD |
| - repetitive
environments |
|
THE RAD |
- blood/oil
splatter on your visor
- tracked enemies can be seen through walls
- squad mechanics |
SCREENSHOTS
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