Republic commando

This is a rough first draft. If I decide that I care, I might edit, or rewrite
this.

Republic commando

-Videogame review

I just finished Republic Commando on the PC. I played the demo and fell in love with the game play, so I had to pick this one up. Obviously I took my own sweet time doing so, and it actually took Steven dropping it in my lap, but I finally got it. For those of you unfamiliar with title, or more likely, don't give a
crap about video games in general, Republic Commando is an 8-10 hour long, mixed-difficulty, squad based 1st person shooter title that revolves around a squad of elite clone troopers in days between Star Wars Episodes 2 and 3.
You are the squad leader and can command your team. There are only 4 commands that you can give your squad from the keyboard, and some others that are contextual. You can point at a turret and tell the next clone up in the order to man it. This contextual command system really pissed me off at times. For example, I would want the trooper that I just opened up on with a grenade launcher to go get some help, but to do so, I would have to run to wherever I can see the Bacta
dispenser and point at it, to make it happen. I am sure that the need for this
limited command system is due directly to the limitations of the console gamepads.
PC gamers are really spoiled by the mouse and keyboard gaming setup. You have a control interface with 108 or more different buttons and a mouse to look around. As nice as some of the 3d control methods are on the consoles, it is very difficult to match keyboard and mouse gaming on gamepad. Still somehow manufacturers and game publishers keep forgetting this. Has any console system since the Dreamcast enabled us to use a keyboard and mouse for our FPS? I guess the Xbox has, but I haven't seen many games that list support for this type of gameplay.
If I am wrong about this, please let me know, I hope it is really there and I am just not observant enough.
Since I got this as a hand me down, I didn't have to pay anything for it. If I
had bought this as a new title, sometime near it's launch, I would would be pissed off that I paid fifty-some bucks for an approximately 8 hour long game (including retries for some of the very difficult levels). The difficulty of this game really seems to vary. It might just be that I am more of a run and gun type player when it comes to FPS games, but some of these levels are pretty tough. There are some well designed bottlenecks, where you have to work smart and fast to clear a room of droids and then blow up the droid dispensers, a multi-level attack that is impossible to accomplish alone, you have to use your squad, but not
let giving them orders keep you from helping out in the fight.
As you play through, and complete “levels,” you will be awarded “bonus content.” As nice as the it sounds to earn bonus content, it is just the special edition stuff that I love to see on a Special Edition DVD, but in a video game? Not so much...
This game looks good, plays fast, and sounds like a Star Wars game. Star Wars as a genre has some excellent titles, like the X-wing and KOTOR series and the classic stand up arcade game. On the other hand, it also has to claim some real stinkers, like any of the direct movie tie-in games for episodes 1-3. Luckily for us who love Star Wars games, this is a good one. I would recommend it to anyone who likes squad based FPS games, most general FPS gamers and anyone who loves Star Wars and Gaming like others love the moon and stars.

I give this game a 7/10. I give this Star Wars game 9/10
PROS:
Star Wars done well
fast paced action.
Squad commands done to about 90% of perfect. (I would just like to be able to tell my team to do something without having to point at it.)

CONS:
Short gameplay with limited replay potential.
Rule 66 in Episode 3