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Star Wars is one of the most recognisable franchises in popular culture. An empire that spans from blockbuster movies to toys to books, there are hundreds of stories set in this universe. One such tale focuses on a squad of elite clone troopers sent on dangerous missions during the Clone Wars. Released in 2004, Republic Commando is a dark, uncompromising game that challenges you at every turn.
Yet, despite having an overwhelming number of positive reviews on Steam, the game has completely faded from public consciousness. What went wrong? And how did a game with so much promise become a hidden gem in the Star Wars enterprise?
Star Wars Republic Commando is in our list of the best Star Wars games on PC, and it’s in good company.
For the unfamiliar, Star Wars: Republic Commando is a squad-based, first-person shooter that puts you in the role of Delta Squad leader, RC-1138, aka “Boss.” Broken up across three core locations, the game’s journey tasks you with disrupting manufacturing on Geonosis, investigating a derelict spaceship, and freeing Wookies on Kashyyyk. The additional three clone troopers act independently, but can be given direct orders to follow, such as taking up sniping positions, regrouping, hacking terminals, and planting explosives. This creates a unique blend of fast-paced shooting and tactical gameplay that few Star Wars games have been able to replicate.
These mechanics are wrapped up in dark, mature themes that wipe away the surface veneer other Star Wars games exhibit. There is no opening crawl, the Jedi are simply an afterthought, and familiar iconography we associate with the series is pushed to the background.
“The game was always intended to be a grittier look at the Star Wars universe; we were inspired by the high-lethality of games like Rogue Spear and other Rainbow Six games, particularly in their multiplayer, which pitted teams of players against AI enemies (or against other players, I suppose),” Republic Commando’s lead developer Brett Douville explains. “We wanted to find a way to bring that sense of camaraderie and danger to Star Wars, and focusing on the day-to-day grind of a soldier seemed like a good way to do it.”
That ethos was reflected in Republic Commando’s difficult gestation. As development entered its final phase the team worked under the constant threat of redundancy due to internal restructuring brought about after the appointment of new LucasArts president Jim Ward. The ailing division was to be rebooted, and so Douville’s team began to shrink as tasks were completed and roles removed.
“Many of the folks on that team I had worked with throughout my LucasArts career, including EP Daron Stinnett, creative director Tim Longo, and level designers Greg Land, Harley Baldwin, and Troy Mashburn, artist Patrick Sirk.” Douville says. “But all of the team were really excellent at what they did.
“You work with people for years and especially as a lead you feel a lot of responsibility and pride in the way people change and grow over the time you know them. It felt like we were firing on all cylinders and had a team cohesion where the next game would have been something even more special. So looking back on that time is a bit bittersweet from that standpoint, but it was really something to see the degree to which the team pulled together under adverse conditions to make a game of which we’re all enormously proud.”
While these stresses were among the primary factors as to why Republic Commando never received a sequel, there was always the looming shadow of other Star Wars games. During the same release year, both Star Wars: Battlefront II and Lego Star Wars: The Video Game came out. While the latter was a vastly different take on this universe, Battlefront II posed some serious issues for the team making Republic Commando. Both games focus on the soldiers during The Galactic War, however, Battlefront II took players to iconic locations from the films. This was one of its prime selling points, as the idea of stepping into the shoes of a soldier during the battle of Hoth was, for many fans, irresistible. Additionally, the Battlefront series had already built a name for itself that was shaping up to be one of the defining games set in this universe.
Douville and his team were well aware of the problems that Battlefront II posed for their game: “We knew the most about it and particularly as the new management came in they seemed to believe the most in it. Battlefront II got the significant marketing push whereas Republic Commando got almost nothing in that vein – it was a surprise dark horse sort of hit, building from word of mouth and strong reviews. And I think the new management also had concerns that Republic Commando would cannibalize sales from Battlefront II, particularly when we had to support multiplayer competitive modes due to market forces.”
The multiplayer component of Republic Commando that Douville describes is simply a collection of traditional competitive staples like Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. It lacks the tactical gameplay that the single-player delivers and fails to bring anything new to the table. All of the unique qualities that make this game standout are washed away once the battle is taken online – Republic Commando is no longer about reflecting upon the horrors of war and the people involved.
Be it no surprise, then, that the multiplayer component was one of the main problems many reviewers cited when Republic Commando released. The tragedy is that the game should not have had multiplayer in the first place – the pressures of keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of the game industry forced it into the game. It was a time when multiplayer was hotting up, and publishers were pushing for it in all their titles – a situation that is still around today. “It being late in the original Xbox cycle, retailers were only buying product that had Xbox Live support,” Douville explains. “I wish we either had been able to cut it or to find a way to get co-op done, but that was just beyond what we could do with the time and resources we had.”
All of this created a perfect storm that helped push Republic Commando into the realms of obscurity. With little marketing, a forced multiplayer component, and troublesome development, Republic Commando never managed to gain a proper foothold. It is a shame, since Douville is confident that a sequel would have been produced if all of these damning elements did not perfectly align. “Had the team not been broken up by the restructuring I feel certain we would have rolled right into whatever the sequel would have turned out to be,” he says. “The team might have shrunk a bit at the beginning because we would have been going into pre-production on a game which would have been on a new generation of console hardware when it shipped, but we had built a lot of tools and technology and a really capable team. It’s a shame that investment was thrown away.”
There has never been a true sequel to Republic Commando and fans have only heard small rumours of a follow-up coming down the line. Yet, there is still a glimmer of hope that the game’s outstanding single-player could eventually surface. Even though much of the Star Wars Expanded Universes’ stories are no longer considered canon, it turns out Delta Squad still is. They briefly appear during an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars television show, titled “Witches of the Mist.” Despite everything Douville and his team have gone through, then, there is still a small chance this squad will make a return in videogame form. All we can do is hope.
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There have been several spinoffs from the computer game Star Wars: Republic Commando, known as the Republic Commando series. Although there is a degree of intertextuality between these stories, they can be split into several defined story arcs that can be read individually from each other. Although clone commandos appear in many stories, such as Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader and Jedi Trial, this list only deals with direct spinoffs from the Republic Commando franchise. The Science Fiction Book Club released two hardcover omnibuses of novels in this series, each containing two previously-published volumes.
BibliographyEdit
Star Wars Republic Commando Servers Free
NovelsEdit
- Imperial Commando 2(Cancelled)
OmnibusesEdit
Short StoriesEdit
ComicsEdit
- 'Honor Bound'--Star Wars Tales 22
GamesEdit
- Star Wars: Imperial Commando(Cancelled)
OtherEdit
Timeline of the seriesEdit
- Omega Squad: Targets (Collected in the back of Triple Zero)
- Odds (Collected in the back of True Colors)
Story arcs within the seriesEdit
The Delta Squad storiesEdit
This story arc follows the adventures of Delta Squad, the commando unit introduced in the original video game. It spans the entire war, from the Battle of Geonosis to the Battle of Kashyyyk, three years later.
- Republic Commando: Order 66 video game (Non-canon)
The Omega Squad storiesEdit
Written by Karen Traviss, this series of novels and short stories primarily features Omega Squad, along with other recurring characters such as Etain Tur-Mukan, Kal Skirata, Captain Ordo and Jinart the Gurlanin.
The Sarge storiesEdit
Written by Ryan Kaufman for the Clone Wars Adventures Images of guitar chords for beginners. anthologies, this short series of two comics follows Republic CommandoRC-1013 'Sarge' through various missions during the Clone Wars.
Other storiesEdit
These tales are standalone stories, which have yet to be referenced by any other text in the series.
- 'Honor Bound'--Star Wars Tales 22
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Star Wars: Republic Commando | |
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Developer(s) | LucasArts |
Publisher(s) | LucasArts |
Director(s) | Tim Longo |
Producer(s) | Christopher Williams Steve Matulac |
Composer(s) | Jesse Harlin |
Engine | Unreal Engine 2 |
Platform(s) | Xbox, Microsoft Windows |
Release | Xbox Windows
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Genre(s) | Tactical shooter, first-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Star Wars: Republic Commando is a tactical first-person shootervideo game, set in the Star Wars universe, released in 2005. It was developed and published by LucasArts for the Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The game uses Unreal Engine.[1] As of April 19, 2007, this game is backward compatible for the Xbox 360 with a downloadable patch.[2] It was also made backwards compatible on the Xbox One on April 26, 2018.[3]
The game received positive reviews at release. Many critics praised the story and combat, but criticized the short length and average multiplayer.
Gameplay
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 also order the squad to move to secure any position (wherever the crosshair is pointed), or perform search-and-destroy. Also, 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 his 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-1162 (Scorch), a talkative explosives expert; RC-1140 (Fixer), a skilled hacker and a dedicated soldier, and RC-1107 (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.
Plot
The game is set during the events of the Clone Wars that started at the climax of the movie Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. In the game, the player takes command of a Clone commando team, made up of elite Clone troopers. These Clone commandos have been specially bred at the clone factories on Kamino. The commando team travels to various locations in the Star Wars universe, including Kashyyyk, Geonosis, and the derelict spacecraft Prosecutor. About two years pass from Delta Squad's first mission to the end of the game.
At the beginning of the game, Delta Squad is deployed from the RAS Prosecutor individually into the front lines of the Battle of Geonosis. There, Delta-38 ('Boss', the player character) meets up with squad mates 62, 40, and 07 ('Scorch', 'Fixer' and 'Sev' respectively). Delta-38 has been selected to lead this unit and guides them on their mission to assassinate the Geonosian leader Sun Fac, chief lieutenant to Geonosian Archduke Poggle the Lesser, one of the members of the Separatist Council. After accomplishing this objective, Delta Squad sabotage the droid factory underneath Sun Fac's headquarters, disable an anti-aircraft bunker that is wreaking havoc on the Republic Army's air forces, and then sneak onto a disabled Separatist Trade Federation Lucrehulk-class Core Ship and steal important launch codes to prevent the Separatist fleet from retreating, escaping seconds before the ship is destroyed.
A year into the war, the now-veteran Delta Squad is sent to investigate the derelict Acclamator-class Republic Assault Ship (RAS) Prosecutor, their former home before being deployed to active duty. The team splits up to investigate, when they begin to lose contact with each other one by one aboard the ship. After entering the ship, Delta-38 ponders why the interior of the Prosecutor remains deserted and eerily quiet, when he is suddenly ambushed by Scavenger Droids, which are responsible for the communications disruptions between the squad members. Delta-38 continues fighting off Scavenger Droids and comes across Trandoshan Slavers and Mercenaries. 38 singlehandedly fights his way through the ship, collecting information from the ship and rescuing his squadmates. Once Delta Squad is together again, they destroy a jamming device in order to restore ship-wide communication. Delta Squad then destroys a Trandoshan dropship in a hangar, accidentally blowing up the hangar's shield regulator in the process. Immediately afterwards, a Lucrehulk-class Trade Federation Battleship drops out of hyperspace nearby, as the Trandoshans were about to sell the vessel to the Separatists in exchange for droid support. As Republic reinforcements are en route, Delta Squad defends the vessel against hordes of battle droids, destroying the docking shield regulators, allowing nothing to pass through. They then proceed to the gunnery deck to activate the fire control computers, a lengthy process that they have to perform while under heavy droid attack. Successfully activating the computers enables the Prosecutor's turbolaser cannon batteries to open fire on the Trade Federation Battleship, saving the Prosecutor and working in conjunction with the timely arrival of a second Republic ship, the RAS Arrestor, to ultimately destroy the Trade Federation Battleship, shutting down all remaining battle droids on board the Prosecutor.
As the war drags on, Delta Squad participates in increasingly dangerous missions. A plea for help is heard by the Republic from the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Delta Squad is sent to rescue General Tarfful from Trandoshan slavers and mercenaries. After encountering General Grievous himself in one of the compounds and fighting off his MagnaGuards, they learn of the full ramifications of a Separatist/Trandoshan alliance. Delta Squad sabotages a vital Trandoshan supply depot and proceeds to the key city of Kachirho, setting in motion the Battle of Kashyyyk. There, they move through the Wookiee tree city, securing important objectives and battling against hordes of advanced battle droids. They destroy a bridge center-span at Kachirho, strategically splitting the droid army and cutting a large part off from its reinforcements, and proceed to secure the Citadel. Soldiering through the most elite Separatist forces, Delta Squad once again splits up to man four heavy anti-aircraft turrets in order to assist in the destruction of a Separatist destroyer hovering over Kachirho. Once the ship is destroyed, Clone Advisor CC-01/425 orders Delta Squad to regroup at 38's position. However, Sev reports that he's under heavy attack before all communication with him is lost. Delta Squad prepares to rescue Sev, but Advisor orders them to evacuate immediately. As they head out on the gunship, devastated by the apparent death of Sev, they are debriefed by Jedi Master Yoda. A huge Republic fleet is seen deploying outside the gunship, as the now three-man Delta Squad prepares for another assignment in the battle.
Soundtrack
Republic Commando features a darker and more militaristic soundtrack composed of music by Jesse Harlin, breaking from previous Star Wars games that relied upon John Williams' film soundtracks | |
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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.'[4] 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'.[5]
Reception
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Republic Commando received generally positive reviews with mostly minor complaints. It has been praised by some critics for giving players one of the most enjoyable Star Wars experiences, despite its lack of Jedi. Complaints mostly refer to its short campaign and average multiplayer experience. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 80.35% and 78 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[6][9] 79.11% and 78 out of 100 for the PC version;[7][10] and 74.67% for the mobile version.[8]
In the United Kingdom, sales of Republic Commando's Xbox version surpassed 60,000 copies by the end of 2005.[32]
Cancelled sequel
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.[33]
See also
References
- ^'Star Wars Republic Commando - PC'. IGN. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^'Original Xbox Games on Xbox 360'. Archived from the original on April 21, 2007.
- ^Bill Stillwell (April 10, 2018). 'More Original Xbox Games Coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility'. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^Bielawa, Justin (March 8, 2006). 'Commando Composer: An Interview with Jesse Harlin'. Music On Film. Archived from the original on July 20, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^Proctor, Aaron (August 5, 2006). 'Exclusive Interview with Karen Traviss, The Clone Gal'. The Boba Fett Fan Club. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ ab'Star Wars: Republic Commando for Xbox'. GameRankings. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ ab'Star Wars: Republic Commando for PC'. GameRankings. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ ab'Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66 for Mobile'. GameRankings. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ ab'Star Wars Republic Commando for Xbox Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ ab'Star Wars: Republic Commando for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^'[Star Wars] Republic Commando review'. Edge (148): 101. April 2005. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^'Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)'. Electronic Gaming Monthly (191): 134. May 2005.
- ^Reed, Kristan (February 23, 2005). 'Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)'. Eurogamer. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^'Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)'. Famitsu. 845. February 25, 2005.
- ^Reiner, Andrew (March 2005). 'Star Wars Republic Commando (Xbox)'. Game Informer (143): 136. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007.
- ^DJ Dinobot (March 28, 2005). 'Star Wars Republic Commando Review for PC on GamePro.com'. GamePro. Archived from the original on January 12, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^The Enforcer (March 1, 2005). 'Star Wars: Republic Commando Review for Xbox on GamePro.com'. GamePro. Archived from the original on November 16, 2005. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Gee, Brian (March 15, 2005). 'Star Wars Republic Commando Review (Xbox)'. Game Revolution. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Colayco, Bob (February 25, 2005). 'Star Wars: Republic Commando Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^Score, Avery (September 1, 2005). 'Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66 Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^Tuttle, Will (February 21, 2005). 'GameSpy: Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)'. GameSpy. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Madigan, Jamie (March 7, 2005). 'GameSpy: Star Wars Republic Commando (PC)'. GameSpy. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Bedigian, Louis (March 15, 2005). 'Star Wars Republic Commando - XB - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Hopper, Steven (March 17, 2005). 'Star Wars Republic Commando - PC - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Buchanan, Levi (November 7, 2005). 'Star Wars Republic Commando: Order 66'. IGN. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^Adams, Dan; Perry, Douglass C. (February 18, 2005). 'Star Wars: Republic Commando (Xbox)'. IGN. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^Adams, Dan (February 18, 2005). 'Star Wars: Republic Commando (PC)'. IGN. Archived from the original on September 11, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^'Star Wars: Republic Commando'. Official Xbox Magazine: 80. April 2005.
- ^'Star Wars: Republic Commando'. PC Gamer: 76. April 2005.
- ^Schaefer, Jim (March 13, 2005). 'A winning team: Your squad mates are the best in 'Star Wars: Republic Commando''. Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on March 13, 2005. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Wilcox, Mike (March 25, 2005). 'A break from formula'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^Reed, Kristan (May 3, 2005). '2005 UK Sales Review'. Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 10, 2007.
- ^Smith, Rob (2008). Rogue Leaders: The Story of Lucas Arts. Chronicle Books. p. 183. ISBN978-0-8118-6184-7.
External links
- Star Wars: Republic Commando on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- Star Wars: Republic Commando at MobyGames
- An Oral History of Republic Commando by lead programmer Brett Douvile: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4
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