Great Game, but not enough replay value!
The game puts you in the shoes of Clone 1138, aka Boss, the leader of a group of clone commandos, the hardass` of them all. The other three members are well diversed for a bunch of clones: You have Fixer, the by-the-books guy, Sev, the crazy whack job sniper, and Scorch, the explosive/ guy who puts the "Fun" back in Funeral. All of them have hilarious personalitys, and it shows in the radio chatter. Example:
Scorch: Hey Sev, how many kills ya got today, ya psycho?
Sev: More than you, you wisecracking idiot.
Fixer: Keep the chatter down, you two!
Scorch: Come on Fixer, just trying to have a little fun.
Its a lot more funny in the game, trust me.
Of course, the main game point is its squad controls, and they are the heart and soul of combat. You issue orders, not by scrolling through menues, but by "Hot points". What these are, are that when you put your aiming cursor over them, you get an option to place a squad member on it. It's not random, either: You begin by finding sniper points, then anti-armor points, and so on. Telling one guy to snipe, while ordering the other two to heal and put an explosive on a target area has never been easier.
Too bad its so short. SW:RC has three basic areas to cover: Geinosis, which we all know and love, an abandoned (at first glance) Republic ship, and Kashyyyic, aka Wookie world. These have separate missions on them, but you can blaze past them in a few days, at best.
Once you`ve beaten the single player, you'll probably jump into the multiplayer, which is pretty bare, mode wise. It has the basics: Deathmatch (and Team variant), Assault, and Capture the Flag. It aint the best multiplayer ever, and it wont make you drop Halo 2 for it, but it can be fun for those of us with PC, but if you have Xbox, just stick with Halo.
Dispite a short single player, and a bland multiplayer, at its core, Star Wars: Republic Commando is a great experience for us crazy Star Wars junkies who buy most of the SW games on the market. But you dont have to be a Star Wars fan to appriciate its great squad commands, and is worth at least a rental.