"RC-1138
reporting in Mission Control. I am on the ground behind enemy lines. Moving
forward." I am RC-1138 or "Boss" as the squad calls me. I am in
command of an elite team of Republic soldiers. I am the cool head and
clear mind of Delta Squad. My team and I don't mess around when on duty, we are fast, silent,
and extremely deadly. At the moment we are on Kashyyyk, the home planet of the
Wookiee race. We are here to infiltrate a Trandoshan camp at night and rescue the
Wookiee leader, Tarfful, whose reconnaissance squad was overrun a few weeks ago.
"Form up and move out commandos. Sev, set up a sniper position behind that
boulder and cover our backs."
"Roger sir,
just point me at the enemy and stay out of my way." RC-1107 moves forward,
"We have lizards sir" he says as he takes off a Trando's head with a
sniper round. "Hey, this looks more like a fortress. Should be fun."
"Move up squad! Give me an explosive solution to that door, Scorch.
Sev, relocate your
sniper position to those Med-Stations. Fixer, I want you on that missile turret
in case they come over that wall. Scorch, I'll cover you as you set that
breaching charge. Okay squad, lock and load." The breaching charge bursts
and the doors slides open, revealing the two enemies inside. "Take down those
lizards! Sev and Fixer watch our backs. Scorch get back here and help me clear
the door."
Scorch skips
towards me, humming a song to himself. "You know, I wonder what the
weather's like on Camino right now. I heard that the suns are usually high in
the sky this time of year," says Scorch as he reaches my position. The
oxygen pack on the back of a Trando explodes, throwing him into the air.
"Hey, I didn't know that Trandoshans could fly."
"Form up squad, the attack is over. Let get through that
door and into the fortress." The doors separate as we approach, "Okay
squad, up ahead, that's the only way through." Suddenly an explosion sends a
cloud of rubble in front of the doorway, blocking it completely. "They're on the
catwalks. Hold this position while I find a way out. Mission Control, a little help would be
nice."
"There should be an access panel on the right of this
hallway, if you blow a hole in it you should be able to make your way past the
rubble."
"Thank you Mission Control, I see the panel. Scorch, you heard the
man, I want some ordinance on that hole. Squad I want you to cover him while he
places the explosives, hold this position." A Trandoshan Mercenary, throws a
thermal detonator down into our squad, exploding right under Sev. "Fixer,
give him some vectors now, I'll cover you. Scorch, how is that panel coming
along, is it set yet?
"Roger. Detonate, sir?"
I give him a nod, "Okay, stay clear squad, fire in the hole!" The bomb
goes off, sending shrapnel into the wall. "Well, do you think we used
enough?"
Scorch says with a small chuckle. We move into the tunnel, leaving the
Trandos behind us.
"Okay team, is everyone alright. Sev, is your head okay,
those electric charges take a little getting used to. Okay commandos, it turns out
that this is not a surprise attack as we thought, so let's do this hard and
loud. Move out squad!"
Star Wars: Republic Commando is a video-game that uses the First Person
Shooter console as its fighting platform. It was released for Xbox on Febuary
28, 2005 and released for PC three days later on March 2, 2005. It is one of
many more Star Wars games that are based on the movies and books of the Star
Wars Series, however this game is one of the first to use the FPS style fighting system. Republic Commando, like all the other
games, was produced and published by LucasArts, a company set up by George
Lucas to "provide an interactive element to his vision of a
state-of-the-art, multi-faceted entertainment company."
Storyline
As soon as the Republic Assaults Ships started landing on
Geonosis, there
was bound to be trouble. Each ship carried millions of the Republic Clone Army
(stored just like the onions from Kansas, very very tightly) to aid the overwhelmed
Jedi Knights. You are one of these soldiers, except that
you are in command of three other elite warriors, who make up the squad that you
will be dealing with for the rest of the game. You, one of the genetically
enhanced clones, will be ordering this squad
to perform squad-based tactics in all battle situations, following clues from
the intelligence items you gather from the dark catacombs of Geonosis, to a
rogue Republic Assault Ship, to the forested turf of Kashyyk, in order to
eliminate the major threats to the (so-called)
Republic.
Characters
The Squad - Although all the clones are identical,
there are those that are trained specially for certain tasks. A section of the
Republic's Army is trained for missions that are covert and behind enemy lines,
very much like the Special Ops Forces in our military. These
SF Commandos are
the best the Republic can offer, they are well trained, well equipped, and
have a sincere grudge against any enemy of the Republic, dishing out severe
judgment with out hesitation. Your squad is made up of four, including you, of
these elite Republic Commandos (RC), each of which has a call sign beginning with
RC and then a four digit number. To make calling to your squad easier, you
only have to say the last
two numbers, called the batch designations, or the commando's call name in order to get his attention.
RC-1138 "Boss"- This is the
character you will be playing in the game, he's quick on his feet, intelligent, and has a very cool
head in all battle situations. The reason he is
called "Boss" by his squad is because he is the undisputed squad
leader and he makes the executive decisions about what the squad will do in
every combat situation. He has been through many battles before you took
command, I hope that you will be able to live up to his exalted reputation and
get all your men home safe.
RC-1140 "Fixer"- Fixer is considered
the Second-in-command by the entire squad, because he is very by-the-book type
of commando. For example, he calls the squad members by their batch designations
("Three-Eight," "Oh-Seven," "Six-Two") and he
regularly will order the squad to keep the com clear of excess chatter. He also
has quite an obsession with technology and team tactics, which earned him his
nickname, "Fixer." He has a tendency to fix broken devices; giving him the job of computer-slicer and code-breaker.
RC-1107 "Sev"- Sev, short for Seven, is the most
cold-hearted and ruthless killer of all the clones and has a passion for killing
things. He doesn't need to be asked to rush into battle situations and decimate
enemy forces, he is the designated sniper of the team and earned that position
through a long record of murderous precision. He packs a grim sense of humor
towards death and war, taking in the defeat of his enemies with a maniacal joy
and pleasure. The squad generally believes that someone put an extra aggression gene into his
DNA.
RC-1162 "Scorch"- Although an effective
commando, Scorch always has an ironic, outsiders humor towards every situation
that the squad comes up against, never failing to keep the squad from getting too
serious about the mission, and forcing them to step back once in a while and take
a look at the darkly humorous side of war. He is the squad's demolition expert and will
gladly set ordnance on anything that needs to be removed. His obsession
with explosives earned him his nickname, "Scorch," when a bomb was set
off too early and left both him and his Drill Sergeant with singed eyebrows.
Enemies
"Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate."
- Thomas Jones
Trandoshans - A parasitic race that conquers planets and
places all the inhabitants into slavery. Their latest victory has been over the
great Wookiee race (they make very good slave boys). They are called "lizards" by
the RCs because of their scaly skin, narrow, direct eyes, and
long, claw-like toenails.
Droids - Although a reputation about the Droids is that they
depend more on the quantity of their army rather than the fighting capabilities,
overwhelming their enemies with the mass produced droids, the Federation has
advanced the technology of the Droids, creating upgraded versions with more
power weapons, thicker armor, and smarter instincts. Do not under estimate the
Federation's power, if you do, you will surely fail.
Geonosians - Both Geonosian society and military are completely
segregated, between the castes of society. In the military there are three
castes, Drones, Warriors, and Elites. There are also commanders such as generals
and captains, but those are usually occupied by the exceptional Geonosians. By
appearance the Geonosians vary widely in colors and shapes, but they are all
based on the look of a greatly enlarged insect.
Grevious' MagnaGuard - The IG-100 series MagnaGuard, created
by MangaGuard Manufactures, is an incredibly difficult opponent to eliminate. It
carries the MangaGuard ElectroStaff and the capability of firing two guided
missiles from its back. Also, it has the ability to jump and appears to be
flying over long distances and unbelievable heights, making it very hard to hit
and take down. Although they usually fight in pairs, a MangaGuard on its own can
still be a major threat to any group of enemies.
Weapons
"It's not enough to be able to pick up a sword. You have to know which end to poke into the enemy."
- Terry Pratchett
Note: Not all of the weapons in the game
are listed here, only the ones that you will be able to use in combat.
Republic Weapons - These are the weapons that you start out carrying and you will use, for
the most part, during the
entire game. However, you can pick up an accessory weapon from a dead enemy,
in case you run out of ammunition for any of your main weapons.
Trandoshan Weapons - The firearms used by the Trandoshans are manufactured by Arakyd Industries except for the Concussion Rifle,
which is made by Blastech Industries, the same company that makes the Republic
Weapons (those backstabbing gunsmiths).
Geonosian Weapons - The weapons used by
Geonosian warriors are created by Gordarl Weaponsmiths
Wookiee Weapons - Each Wookiee firearm is
individually made by Wookiee crafters with extreme care and attention. Being
made individually leads to the fact that every weapons is different in some
way from all others, not to mention that each of them effectively combine
beauty with firepower.
Detonators - Known as "grenades" in our time, these
portable explosives each have a different effect and should be used differently
for different situations.
Turrets - Turrets are large, powerful, stationary weapons that
are capable of releasing large amount of fire in a short while. In the game,
these turrets will all have basically unlimited ammunition.
Missions
"Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't."
- Richard Bach
Geonosis - Hour Zero - Clone Wars - Geonosis
You are flying into enemy territory in a Republic Gunship. Your
commanding officer is back at HQ, but is transmitting a message to you through a
hologram. According to him, you are being inserted into the Geonosian
Gladitorial Arena, where the other members of your squad have already landed.
You are to regroup with each of them and fight your way through the Geonosian
Catacombs to kill the Geonosian leader, Sun Fac. After that you continue onto
the Federation's robot factory and disable it with some well placed explosives.
Finally, you are to fight your way across the canyons to the core ship, where
all the launch codes for the Geonosian Fleet are stored. You must keep the other ships from
getting off the ground.
Assault Ship - Day 367 - Clone Wars - Chaykin Cluster
Far away from Geonosis a missing Republic Assault Ship reappears. The Delta squad should recognize the Prosecutor, they were first
stationed and trained on it, under the supervision of its commander, Captain
Martz. It was supposed to be protecting some trade vessels
near Corellia, but command lost contact with it about two weeks ago. It might have
gone rogue or may be a trap to lure the already thinly spread Republic troops for an ambush. So the Republic
is sending in Delta Squad to check out
the ship to make sure that it's safe. However, in order to complete that
objective, they must split up and each take a separate sector. Then, after
having endured many troubles and overcome many obstacles, you must find your way
through the ship and reconnect with the rest of your team. The
Federation does not surrender their prize so easily, so Delta Squad must ward off
the endless Federation Droid Army and secure the ship for the Republic.
Kashyyyk - Day 785 - Clone Wars - Kashyyyk
As the battle rages in many other parts of the Galaxy, the Wookiees, on their
home world of Kashyyyk, have been overthrown by the cruel Trandoshans, who have
launched a horrible slave-trade. The Wookiee Resistance have called to the
Republic for aid. According to reports from the Wookiees, their leader, Tarfful,
and his squad were overwhelmed by the Trandoshan Slavers and they were taken
prisoner. Delta squad is called in to infiltrate the Trandoshan fortress and
rescue as many warriors as possible. However, while rescuing Tarfful, you
discover that General Grevious has landed on Kashyyyk as well and this evidence
solidifies the possible alliance between the Trandoshan and Separatist forces.
Command now asks you to go deep into the Kashhyyyk jungle and obliterate the Separatist
presence, but it turns out that this outpost is just the beginning of
a Separatist invasion of Kashyyyyk. You must help the Wookiees ward off the
first Separatist wave of troops in order to allow the Republic forces to arrive
and aid Delta Squad and the Wookies. The Battle of Kashyyyk has begun.
Closing Notes
As a review of the game, Star Wars: Republic Commando has both pros and cons,
as all games do. Its main problem is the length; if you played constantly, you
could finish the game in about 10-11 hours, while most games on the market
today require about 20 hours or so. However, many good things make up for the
game's length. Republic Commando has amazing graphics and sound and the best
squad AI and tactics I have ever seen. Each of the squad characters have a
personality of their own and carry on a constant chatter amongst themselves. The
story has a very compelling plot and mission setup.
As a final note, the write-up above is not the whole story and if you are interested in the game and want to read more, then go to my homenode or to http://www.lucasarts.com/games/swrepubliccommando/hud.html,
which was my main source of information.