Star Wars Republic Commando’s place within the pantheon of Star Wars games is underappreciated. Its lack of playable Jedi and Sith characters, coupled with the competitors of Star Wars Battlefront II popping out in the identical yr, imply that it’s typically neglected when in comparison with its friends.
Initially launched in February 2005, Republic Commando’s growth and subsequent launch have been marred by studio layoffs on the now defunct gaming division of LucasArts, dismissive attitudes from some LucasArts’ executives, and fixed setbacks all through its evolution. The growth workforce wasn’t capable of realise its full imaginative and prescient for the game. And but it’s the ensuing simplicity that makes Republic Commando such a enjoyable, tactical first-person shooter.
You tackle the position of RC-1138 – aka Boss – who leads a workforce of clone trooper commandos often known as Delta Squad in the course of the Clone Wars interval. You’re tasked with finishing up varied missions throughout three key places within the battle in opposition to the Separatists. Your AI squadmates – RC-1162 (Scorch), RC-1140 (Fixer), and RC-1107 (Sev) – are free to behave nevertheless they like, however your means to direct every commando, or all three concurrently, is a big a part of Republic Commando’s brilliance.
The order system may have had the potential to be overly sophisticated. This isn’t the case as a single key push enables you to instruct them to hold out your orders. Telling them to take up sniping or grenadier positions at particular places, refilling their well being bars at bacta stations, and conducting door breaches are just some of the instructions you’ll be able to problem. An easy key press and your order is executed instantly. It makes the NPC co-op mechanic really feel seamless, and the firefights that come out of it are easy but satisfying in a method few different games are.
Speaking of firefights, the event workforce’s choice to provide you a modifiable assault rifle permits you to be fight prepared for any state of affairs. The DC-17 blaster comes outfitted with a normal rifle attachment, however this may be swapped out for a sniper rifle barrel or a grenade launcher accent.
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There’s no have to spend 15 to 20 minutes standing at a workbench as you resolve modify your weapons right here. Instead, a few seconds is all it takes to alternate between your attachments. It’s a characteristic that retains Republic Commando’s fight flowing and, with every enemy kind requiring a distinct strategy, ensures a fluid taking part in expertise it doesn’t matter what the game throws at you.
To preserve its simplistic strategy, Republic Commando additionally forgoes the addition of talent bushes. At the time, these have been usually reserved for RPGs – MMO or in any other case – however have since discovered their method into nearly each single-player game, as everyone knows. Without the necessity to improve your arsenal, well being, or defend bar, or give your self different boosts, you and your commandos don’t develop into overpowered at any level. This helps Republic Commando to stay a good problem, significantly within the later chapters when, at instances, you’ll be able to really feel overwhelmed by the variety of enemies making an attempt to cease your progress.
While its extra expansive brother – Battlefront II – elected for huge maps that allowed as much as 40 gamers to participate in a single match, Republic Commando caught to the linear degree strategy that had been a characteristic of games for generations. It was a call that wasn’t revolutionary, however it was the proper match for this squad-based title. In an period earlier than achievements and trophies have been the norm, there wasn’t a have to develop open-world or sandbox environments for gamers to discover. Instead, the linear ranges saved you on the straight and slim, and ensured that you simply targeted on the game’s plot.
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Not that the story itself is tough to comply with – it doesn’t have to be. Delta Squad’s missions are the precedence for them and, in flip, you. As lengthy as you’ve gotten a directive out of your superiors, you at all times have one other task to finish. In maintaining with the linear degree aesthetic, these are at all times straightforward to comply with and also you by no means end up having to backtrack after taking a flawed flip. Ammo, secondary weapons, and enemies are at all times current as you progress by way of every mission too. You by no means must enterprise off exploring to refill your weapons, or monitor down that elusive ultimate opponent that stopped you from being given the subsequent task.
Star Wars Republic Commando isn’t an ideal game. Its barely restrictive ranges and, at instances, repetitive gameplay imply that later missions can really feel a bit samey. Its simplicity and ease of use, ensuing from the event workforce’s lack of funding and time, is what helps to set it aside from its rivals within the Star Wars game library.
At a time when single-player games have develop into bloated with loot, microtransactions, levelling mechanics, and post-launch content material, it’s refreshing to return to a game that does with out that. Not all games have to be grandiose titles that take over 50 hours to finish. Sometimes, primary is greatest, and Republic Commando is proof of that.
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