Star Wars: Republic Commando

Republic Commando features a heads-up display themed as a clone trooper's tactical visor. All information is displayed to the player as though they see what the main character would see.

The game features some gameplay elements that resemble features in other first-person shooters. The heads-up display (HUD) shows the player character's helmet, with a tactical visor. The player acts as squad leader of a squad of four elite troops. The squadmate order system allows the player general tactical control over the three non-player characters (NPCs) squadmates that round out the four-man commando team. Many objects in the game environment will highlight when the crosshair is placed over them. The player can then press the "use" key to issue an order automatically associated with the object; for example, a sealed door may highlight with a synchronized team breach-and-clear command, or a computer console might have a "slice" (computer hacking) command, while a pile of cargo boxes suitable for a cover position with good vantage may provide a "take up Sniper/Anti-Armor position" command. Where possible, the squadmates will usually take their preferred roles (sniper, demolitions and technical). The player can order the squad to move to secure any position (wherever the crosshair is pointed), or perform search-and-destroy. There are orders to command the squadmates to group up or spread out according to the player's discretion for the situation.

In single-player mode, the player and squadmates do not die when they run out of health, but rather are incapacitated. If the player character is downed, the player can order the squad members to attempt to revive the player or to continue with their current orders. Therefore, the game is only truly over when the player and all members of the squad are incapacitated at once or if the player is downed in a position their squadmates cannot reach (such as chasms). Certain missions may require squad members to split up to accomplish various isolated objectives, and in such scenarios, where the player is operating alone, losing all the player's health also results in a game over. While reviving a downed commando restores a small amount of health, bacta charging stations are necessary to fully regain it.

Weapons can be acquired in both single player and multiplayer. Throughout the campaign, the player always carrys the compact DC-17 and a blaster pistol with unlimited ammo. The DC-17 can be configured into an assault rifle, sniper rifle, and grenade launcher. The player may also use weapons dropped by enemies.

Republic Commando maintains a first-person perspective throughout the game, presenting the story from the eyes of Delta Squad's squad leader, RC-1138 (Boss). His squadmates include RC-1262 (Scorch), a talkative explosives expert; RC-1140 (Fixer), a skilled hacker and a dedicated soldier, and RC-1207 (Sev), the squad's sniper who enjoys racking up kills. Information is received via radio commands from a Clone officer (referred to as "Advisor"), and a text-based objective list with a pop-up objective tracker arrow that points the player to the next objective.

Republic Commando is notable for being the first entry in the official Star Wars game series to feature licensed music. The song "Clones", performed by the band Ash, is played when the credits roll. Ash are known for their Star Wars fandom; their debut album was entitled 1977, and contained numerous Star Wars references.

The main bulk of the soundtrack is a break from convention of previous Star Wars games that use abridged versions of John Williams' original score, instead using a combination of Williams' music and new music composed by Jesse Harlin. This new music takes on a high-paced, gritty and vocal theme to the traditional Star Wars score. "The entire goal was to present a very dark and military take on the Star Wars universe from the point of view of disposable grunts – something no one had seen before," said Harlin. "Most of John Williams' material is very romantic and thematically relates to characters we weren't focusing on."[2] Of note is the "Vode An" theme, which plays in the main menu and several key points throughout the game (such as when the player's clone commandos defeats a large group of enemies). The "Vode An" theme, as well as several other key music pieces, have additional choral lyrics in the Mandalorian language. It was these lyrics that further inspired author Karen Traviss to develop the Mandalorian language into a "fully working language".[3]

Reception

Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic (PC) 78/100[4] (Xbox) 78/100[5] Review scores Publication Score Edge 5/10[6] EGM 7.33/10[7] Eurogamer 8/10[8] Famitsu 31/40[9] Game Informer 8.25/10[10] GamePro (PC) [11] (Xbox) [12] GameRevolution B[13] GameSpot 8.7/10[14] GameSpy [15][16] GameZone 8.8/10[17][18] IGN 8.2/10[19][20] OXM (US) 8.2/10[21] PC Gamer (US) 62%[22] Detroit Free Press [23] The Sydney Morning Herald [24]

Star Wars: Republic Commando received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[4][25]

In the United Kingdom, sales of Republic Commando's Xbox version surpassed 60,000 copies by the end of 2005.[26] In France, 85,000 units were shipped for the game's launch.[27]

A sequel to the game was already planned well ahead of production of Republic Commando. The game was titled Star Wars: Imperial Commando and was based on the betrayal of Republic soldiers, however the project only went as far as concept art, and was cancelled.[28] Nevertheless, Karen Traviss wrote a fifth and final novel of the Republic Commando novel series, titling it Star Wars Imperial Commando: 501st, after the cancelled sequel.

Despite having their sequel cancelled and, as of 2012, the story of the game has been placed under the Legends banner, Delta Squad and other Republic Commandos have made other Canon appearances. "Witches of the Mist," a season-three episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show gives Delta Squad their first Canon appearance, supervising director Dave Filoni saw inspiration in the game while creating the world of the Clone Wars. In the season five episode "Missing in action", we are introduced to another Clone Commando under the name of 'Gregor' who is suffering from amnesia in the planet of Abafar.

In September 2019, the Republic Commandos would return to video games in Star Wars Battlefront II (2017 video game) as part of the "Cooperation Update" in the Enforcer reinforcement class.

• Clone trooper#Delta Squad

• Star Wars: Republic Commando on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• Star Wars: Republic Commando at MobyGames