Developed/Published by LucasArts
Released for Xbox (2/2005)
Also on PC
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One/Xbox 360
There were a total of 14 Star Wars titles released on the original Xbox, making it hard not to overlook at least a few of them. I'm always a bit skeptical coming into any Star Wars game, as the license has a bit of a checkered past when it comes to quality, but I was pleasantly surprised by Republic Commando. The game was released for both the Xbox and PC in 2005, and is a squad based first-person shooter.
Developed and published by LucasArts, Republic Commando delivers some nice visuals for a 2005 release which are powered by the popular Unreal Engine 2. The menus are simple, easy to use and the game allows you to save at any point in addition to autosaving at designated checkpoints. The on-screen HUD does a good job keeping you aware of your squad's health status and ammunition is displayed on each weapon. All of the text used is easy to read and while the presentation is nothing special, you'd have a hard time finding much to complain about. The voice acting and sound effects are solid. The game does feature music, but a good majority of the time you'll only have the ambience. While the music is used sparsely, what is present here is similar to the stuff you would hear in the Star Wars prequel films of the time.
Republic Commando places a large emphasis on its squad mechanic. Throughout each stage, you'll frequently come across hotspots where you can order a squadmate to provide sniper fire cover, blow up doors or operate various consoles. Though at times it can be a bit of a hassle to line your cursor up when commanding a squad member to do something, overall the system works well and helps the game stand out a bit from your ordinary first-person shooter of the time.
The single-player campaign is solid and makes Republic Commando still worth a look all these years later. You should get a good 8-10 hours of playtime out of it and the game offers three difficulties if you feel like playing again with added challenge. Other than the third mission dragging on just a bit too long, the game was well-paced and the action was engaging enough to keep the experience enjoyable throughout.
In addition to the single player campaign, Republic Commando also featured support for online multiplayer. This feature is inaccessible these days since the shutdown of Xbox Live on the original Xbox, but back in its day you were able to play in competitive online matches with other players. In addition to playing online using your Xbox Live account, the game also supported system link. The game offered matches with up to 10 players. There were several modes to choose from including standard team/regular deathmatch, capture the flag and an "instagib" mode where weapons score one-hit kills similar to the golden gun in Goldeneye 007. Running on the same engine that powered the campaign mode, I could see the online action being an enjoyable time back in the day. While it is nice that the developers added a competitive multiplayer mode, it's a bit baffling that there is no cooperative feature for the campaign mode. The game's four-player squad would have lent itself well to coop play.
While Republic Commando is a fun game, there are a few things that hold it back a bit. There are only a handful of enemy types and at times you'll grow a bit bored shooting the same couple of droids over and over. With the vast selection of interesting characters that are contained within the Star Wars universe, they could have done a better job providing a bit more variety. The health system isn't the best either as you have no regenerating health and are forced to replenish your health with dispensers located on the walls. This was common with games of this era though it feels a bit more annoying than usual in this game. You'll also have to command your squadmates to use them when low on health which gets a bit tedious as well.
Star Wars: Republic Commando was made compatible for the Xbox 360 in 2007 and the Xbox One in 2018. As is the case with all of the original Xbox games I've played via backwards compatibility, the game is best played on the One on newer TVs and the original hardware if you have an older TV. Republic Commando on the Xbox 360 is playable but suffers from several issues due to the software emulation, the worst of which is random freezing. After playing through the entire single-player campaign via the Xbox One, I ran into no freezing or crashing at all. The only real knock I have against the game's performance is the way it stutters when you reach a checkpoint and the game autosaves, which I'm almost certain is also a problem when played on the original hardware. Unfortunately there is no option to disable the autosave, so it's just something you'll have to play through. The game doesn't autosave frequently enough that it really becomes nothing more than a minor annoyance.
Republic Commando isn't your typical Star Wars game
featuring Jedi and lightsabers. Outside of the music score, a few enemy types and sound effects it hardly feels like a Star Wars product, which isn't
necessarily a bad thing. While the game is a somewhat basic first-person
shooter, it's polished, controls well and has a fun single-player campaign.
This would have definitely been an awesome title to own on the Xbox back in 2005 and, despite the multiplayer being shut down, is still worth visiting today. Recommended if you like a good old-fashioned single-player campaign FPS. A sequel was planned by LucasArts called Star Wars: Imperial Commando, but unfortunately never made it past the concept stages before being cancelled.
Final Verdict: Star Wars: Republic Commando is a solid first-person shooter delivering squad-based action. Though the multiplayer portion of the game has been shut down, the campaign is still fun enough to warrant a playthrough for those who enjoy either Star Wars or FPS games.
Purchase Links:
Buy Republic Commando - Xbox Marketplace
Buy Republic Commando (Disc) - eBay
Related Links:
Star Wars: Republic Commando - GameFAQs
Star Wars: Republic Commando - Wikipedia
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