Star Wars: Republic Commando First Look

Leaving excellent Star Wars titles like Jedi Academy and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic behind, LucasArts slowly starts to unwrap its next project - a brand new squad-based first-person shooter, entitled Star Wars: Republic Commando. Unlike any other Star Wars game, Republic Commando actually broaches a bit on what goes on between the movie Attack of the Clones and Episode III. It will be cool to ponder that one for a while, until George Lucas finally brings his illustrious space saga to an end. An interesting twist in this game is that it allows players to experience what when on during the Clone Wars from the perspective of a single soldier. So, put aside your lightsaber and force-powers and step into the full-bodied armor of a true-hearted clone warrior, or to be more precise, a Republic commando. Okay, hold your horses. The game won't be arriving until Q3 2004. But for the time being, we invite you to take a gander at some of the game's traits recently revealed by the crew at LucasArts. This time around the developers decided to move away from all the conventional stuff already conveyed through countless Star Wars titles.

A portion of the game was coordinated with certain events that transpired in the second movie - i.e. the campaign following the battle on Geonosis. Here, you'll get a chance to fight away from the massive conflict. As the entire Clone army, led by the Jedi, makes its way towards the defense perimeter of the Trade Federation, a team of specially trained commando units was ordered to creep through the nearby catacombs. These units are a serious bunch. They are more skilled and a lot more dangerous than ordinary clone troopers. Being part of this outfit, you're duty will be to secretly break into the very heart of the enemy base, away from the raging epic battle. This rather intriguing plot introduces players to a whole new Star Wars experience. Playing as a tough operative was never included in any Star Wars game, so it should be a real treat for fans of the undying saga as well as your average FPS devotee.

At the outset, we'd like to get a few crucial facts out of the way. Star Wars: Republic Commando was designed strictly as a first-person shooter. In other words, don't expect any third-person action a la Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy. But, there will be a lot to do in the game. Also, you are lucky enough to receive the aid of your valiant commando teammates as you march off into the fray. Recently, the developers revealed that they are working on an intuitive control system which will allow players to effectively issue commands to their comrades during battle... more on that later on.

The game features a specific style of switching weapons throughout gameplay, similarly to what we've experienced in titles like Halo: Combat Evolved. The thing is players are permitted to pack only two weapons at a time, swapping them with other weapons lying on the ground whenever they like. We also have to point out that the development team fitted in an admirable assortment of Star Wars-flavored firearms. Your character will be able to advance through the game wielding weapons like the DC-17m, DC-15s Blaster Pistol, Wookie bowcaster, and a whole bunch of enemy weaponry to boot, such as the Trandoshan Slaver Shotgun, Geonosian Elite Beam Weapon, and more. Commando units are also equipped with handy switchblade slotted on their left wrist, allowing them to perform deadly melee attacks should they run out of ammo. Other environment based weapons also stand ready and can be used to fire upon oncoming foes. These are mostly turrets and similar things.

Although your primary concern is to control you own character, a great portion of the game also revolves around carefully coordinated team-based combat maneuvers. Essentially, the team oriented gameplay and command system are analogous to what we've seen in games like Rainbow Six 3. The idea is to help you organize attacks by choosing one of the possible context-sensitive commands; like form up, secure position, recall, search and destroy, disarm a mine, etc. This RS3 standard sees a slight revision in Republic Commando. Your targeting reticle has two important functions. The primary function is aiming while the secondary function allows you to issue commands, determining where each squad member should be placed. Helpful greenish silhouettes (hologram-like images) will also appear to recommend where you ought to be positioning certain units. With the whole system in action, players won't have much trouble setting up ambushes and forming various strategic maneuvers during combat. Whenever you come up with a specific tactic and want to issue a command, you'll be able to see exactly how your team will act it out before the order is given. Now I must admit, this makes for a nice change instead of worrying about how and where things will go wrong with your line of attack. Eventually, when the order is given, the friendly AI will start doing its job.

Players are required to be on their toes practically every second during gameplay. Apart from ordering your teammates around and making up diverse battle tactics, you must also monitor their health. Medipacs will help you out in that department, but they should be carefully rationed or you'll soon wind up with no teammates.

Further info and media on the game is quite scarce for the time being. Still, judging from what was shown of the game up to know, it's safe to say that the developers made the right choice to power the game with the Unreal technology. Character models look splendid and the backdrops appear to be stacked with enough textures and polys to make the game appealing and visually up-to-date. On top of that, LucsaArts also unveiled that they're perfecting the physics system. The game also includes numerous multiplayer options for all of you who wish to participate in intense Deathmatches, Team Deathmatches, and CTF matches. As you'd expect it, the game supports 16 players online via Xbox Live and Internet and LAN play on the PC.