Republic Commando - PC

Platform: PC, Xbox
Company: Lucasarts
Current status: Full game out in America and Europe
Where to obtain: Your locale game shop.

The second I saw the trailers I was interested in this game, but I heard it hadn't recieved that much publicity, people feared it would be living in the shadow of games like Halo 2 and the like, but I was pleased to find out otherwise. Read on...

Graphics[hr]The graphics are pretty great in the game, alright so for some reason it plays windowed for me and I can't yet find out how to stop it but it's still good, the graphics are sharp and some of the effects are very nice, such as killing an enemy too close will spray your visor with their blood, a few seconds later it will be wiped off by a small electric surge that runs across your visor.

The attention to detail is very good as well, especially when looking into the background, if in a war zone then the war is happening around you, outside the windows you'll see explosions and the like. The laser blasts have been given some nice detail, like small bits of lighting as they fly through darkness.

From darkness we come to the special low-light visor, now this mode is just AWESOME. Forget infra-red vision, night-vision and looking through heat spectrums, this makes everything go a different kind of black but distinctly lit up with white items like enemies and obstacles, it's truely amazing to behold.

Sound[hr]Music, well I don't know if it's because I'm too involved in the game or not but I didn't hear music, I'd assume there was some though, classic Star Wars music from Episode 2 if I know Lucasarts and their ways well.

The sound effects are lovingly restored from the film, from the laser blasts to the sounds your enemies make ranging from dying or talking, but by far the best example of sound effects are the Clone Troopers, they sound just like they do in the film but your squad sounds different, each member, including you (yes, you get to hear your character's voice) has a totally unique voice all to themselves.

Unfortunatly they didn't get the actors from the film to do the voices in the game, so no Frank Oz playing Yoda, bit of a downside for Star Wars fans but nonetheless the sound is brilliant. Including the small bits of recognition you get from your squad-mates, like throwing a Thermal Detonator round a corner and taking out a mass of enemies "Good shot, sir!" Excellent!

Gameplay[hr]Now, here is where it falls a little I'm afraid, if you've played CoD then you'll be almost totally familiar with the control system here, just this has added function keys to tell your squad to do something. It really is just another FPS game when it comes down to basics, there aren't alternate routes in the game, just make your way through a level being helped by your squad and finish it without dying.

But the squad commands are fantastically done, aim at a Bacta Dispenser (read: Health Recharger with infinite charge) and press use without being close to it and you'll order your squad members to heal themselves. Likewise with cover, aim at it, and you can command your sniper to take up a position there or for your demolition man to provide grenade support.

Find a door you can't open? No problem, get your hacker to slice the security panel or your demolitions man to blow it off its hinges. All in all, the gameplay is good but it's still got the feel of an FPS game with only a few things new.

Storyline[hr]Now I haven't played enough to properly get into the storyline but the intro to the game is very well done, starting you off as a baby (yes, you see through your own eyes all this time), then putting you into training like you see the Clones do in the movie, picking up and putting on your armour, getting training, all so amazingly done.

Let's hope the story can stay excellent through the whole game.

Conclusion[hr]In conclusion, get this game if you are a fan of the Star Wars series or you like a good tactical FPS game, but avoid if you're looking for multiplayer, while I haven't tried it I've heard from a friend that it's lacking in quite a lot, but the Single Player campaign should be enough to suffice players.

Graphics 8/10
Sound 9/10
Gameplay 7/10
Storyline 9/10

Total 8/10