Review: Star Wars: Republic Commando (XBX)

A funny thing happened on the way to Halo 2's launch night. A clutch of retailers marked the occasion by running Point Of Sale competitions, and in the lead-up to midnight, some specialist outlets even resorted to Xbox-linked sessions outside the store. Among the titles seen to be swaying punters at Gamestyle's location were Project Gotham 2, Madden NFL 2004 and Star Wars Battlefront. Hey, it's Bungie's big night - so why no customary Halo?, we argued. Because it's a 15-rated game; not for 'public' consumption. Ah, factoid noted (and filed away).

A funny thing happened on the way to Star Wars: Republic Commando's end credits. We stayed for the rolling demo. It was only then, after ten lukewarm hours of play, that Gamestyle twigged to the designers' intent. It's Halo with training wheels; a 12-rated vehicle that positively spins on a 'public' axis.

And, for the sake of argument, where Halo's rolling demo teases the onlooker with developer-savvy precision, Republic Commando's low-grade FMV simply patronises; it's developer showboating with one hand on the rudder and the other one reaching for flares. Unfortunately for LucasArts, outside of the nondescript appearance of its Master Chief lookalikes, thereafter all comparisons to Halo will end.

Because Star Wars: Republic Commando has other aspirations too; it wants to 'be' a Rainbow Six sharpshooter. However, where Ubisoft's teams have exponentially raised the bar for squad-based titles, the LucasArts kowtowers have inconsolably brought the entry level down. Troops: step forward and press 'A' at my command. [Sir, yes sir!]

But the uniformity of stock responses isn't coincidental; life for your Clone Commandos (aka Delta Squad) begins in a birthing chamber, under the paternal direction of Jango Fett (as portrayed in Star Wars Episode II by Temuera Morrison, who again reprises a speaking role in Republic Commando). Prior to insertion, Delta Squad receives standing orders from a ludicrously-sounding holocube: again, the intonations aren't coincidental because the 'Antipodean' drawl is umbilically connected to squad leader Delta 38 (ie, Morrison) whose peculiar grasp of Mangled English - or 'Manglish', to his mates - will no doubt appeal to some.

However, we digress. The idiosyncrasies of Star Wars: Republic Commando aren't limited to its vocal direction. Upon taking the reins of Delta 38, the player must then adapt to 'slippery' orientation (ie, when looking up or down on the Y axis). It's evidence yet again of a fudged attempt to mimic Halo.

As your team lumbers forward through the five levels which comprise Geonosis, it soon becomes apparent that your tour of duty has been orchestrated; there are far too many flashing chevrons (aka directional arrows), too much walled-in architecture (aka corridors) and too little room for thought. In fact, via utilisation of the Search and Destroy command (ie, press and hold 'A', push left on D-pad), your squad will willingly clear a path for you. That is, until the next 'vector' requires an arbitrary breaching.

Opportunities present themselves in the Assault Ship levels (cough, all four of 'em). Your introduction to the Trandoshans and their pump-action Array Guns (aka shotties) provides many Doom-inspired moments. But it's hardly a lynchpin in the Star Wars universe. In fact, any meaningful correlation to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith has been saved for the Kashyyyk campaign, the final (six) levels of concentrated assault. Wookiees and MagnaGuards accordingly trade blows, but the biggest blow of all comes to the player's esteem. Delta 38 may indeed be a squad leader, but he's irrevocably a clone. A nondescript hero fighting in league towards a faceless destiny.

Which begs the question: has LucasArts succeeded in wooing the imagination of its target market; a nameless, faceless generation of 12-year-old Clone Commandos? In a word: unquestionably. It's Star Wars fodder by any other name. A licence to 'imprint' identity. And, if you're averse to taking Gamestyle's word for it, try logging on to Republic Commando's servers (via Xbox Live). It's a nameless, faceless motivation to be bitch-slapped by the product of excess.

Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to Star Wars: Republic Commando's end credits. Arbitrarily snacking upon the (cough) 15 levels will unlock Extra content in the menu section. Each is uniformly presented in low-grade compression: there's an Ash music video for the young 'uns, Concept Art montage, Foley and Spec Ops featurettes for their dads, and last but not least, the pièce de résistance - a 1 min 50 sec interview with the 'Manglish' himself, Temuera Morrison. It's a rib-tickler folks. He forcefully spits into microphone, grimaces for the camera and even confesses that his (cough) 13-year-old son might want to "latch onto" Republic Commando. What goes around comes around...

Rating: 4 / 10

Words by Steven Wrangell