Star Wars: Republic Commando [PC]

Set between Episode II and the forthcoming Episode III, Republic Commando is a tactical first-person shooter that puts players in control of a squad of four elite clone warriors. It's not without its flaws -- a lack of tactical depth and disappointing multiplayer are chief among them -- but it's gripping and spectacular to play, and certainly one of the better Star Wars games on the market.

It's been a while since Biology 101, but aren't clones supposed to be identical? You know, with the same skills, appearance, and identity? These must be, well, special clones. Different clones. Not-quite-clones. Whatever they're called, you have a team of four of them, and a mission to take on the jobs the regular clones are too incompetent to handle.

Each team member, apart from your good self, comes with his own unique (and irritatingly cliched) personality and skills. You know the types: the borderline sociopathic sniper, the unstable, wise-cracking explosive expert, and so on. Oddly, only one of them has inherited Jango Fett's dulcet New Zealand accent.

This squad is what sets Republic Commando apart from your standard first-person shooter -- rather than fighting your way around the levels on your own, you're usually backed up by three equally capable squaddies. Yes, capable! Republic Commando nails their behavior just right, making them predictable and useful.

Giving them orders is just as well implemented. When you point your crosshair at a location where you might want to issue an order -- say, a barricade that needs blowing up or a good sniping spot -- you'll see a ghostly image of a soldier performing that activity. Hit a button and one of your grunts will trot off to perform the task (annoyingly, it's not necessarily the one who's most skilled at it).

The problem with this system is, thanks to the fixed and sometimes sparse locations of these points, the tactical choices you can make are very limited. You could choose to blow open a door and storm through, or opt to hack the terminal controlling the lock -- but it doesn't really make a great deal of difference. Either way, you're going to storm through the door and go toe-to-toe with whatever awaits on the other side.

Dying is handled in an unusual manner. Tough to the end, neither you nor your squad can be killed permanently, only floored and left helpless. If any of the other members are alive, they can revive their downed companion with some kind of medical instrument, healing half their health and putting them back on their feet. Your boys can do a fairly handy job of mopping up resistance before reviving you, so the game is by no means done if you do keel over.

Save-anywhere is also included, so coupled with the generous death system, Republic Commando is one of those games that tends to reward the persistent player just as much as the skilled one. Some sections are tough, but abuse the hell out of these systems and you can steamroll your way through just about anything.

Here's where it's a shame the game is on the short side. The levels are reasonably varied, but there are only three worlds, and little in the way of scope or depth to the story. For a Star Wars game, it doesn't draw much on the backstory or conventions of Lucas' world, and at times suffers from a generic feel.

Multiplayer is... there, and not much besides. There's basic Xbox Live support, but the single-player levels cry out for a four-player coop mode, or a class-based game style. Anything to distinguish it from the clamoring masses of other multiplayer first-person action games. It's not bad -- just unimaginative.

Unimaginative isn't the word we'd choose to describe the visuals, though. Republic Commando positively oozes with polish and class, from the Metroid Prime-esque helmet heads-up display that's packed with useful information, to the neat sideways-vision death effects, and the static noise when certain enemies get too close. Microsoft is pushing to release their next console soon, but based on this game's performance, there's plenty of life in its current system.

Music-wise, the usual new-wave Star Wars tunes plink along happily, and while the game stays away from its ill-advised faux Gregorian tracks, it's likeable enough. True to LucasArts' reputation, the sound effects are wake-the-neighbors hefty and won't disappoint. In presentation terms, the game is cutting-edge.

So it's tough to be too hard on Republic Commando. While it certainly has its flaws, thanks to the excellent AI, top-flight presentation, and slick interface, it remains a strong game. Setting the tough difficulty and forgiving death system together was a smart move -- the game treads just on the fun side of frustration, and it's guaranteed to lead to some late nights. And any Star Wars game that doesn't disappoint is a major achievement.