Star Wars Republic Commando comfortably lands in the group of games that feels well-deserving of a remake. It's got some fun moments in there but is let down both by misguided choices and the limitations of nearly two decades ago.
I want to kick things off with the good though, mainly in how the game perfectly nails that Star Wars vibe. It's to be expected from a LucasArts game, but praise especially needs to go to the core squad and the dynamic between the four of them. They're mostly serious, but the few joke lines they did send out managed to get a chuckle out of me. Even weapon sounds feel authentic, albeit some do not sound satisfying (something age hasn't been kind to).
Level design was also surprisingly solid for a game of its time. There was some repetition as was expected of a game back then, but it makes good use of laying out cover and giving you clear places to move up and slowly secure ground in various arenas. It helps reinforce a risk/reward playstyle that felt satisfying all the way through.
However, I can't say the same about the game's squad management systems. At their best, they're incredibly basic with the ability to direct them to move to a specific spot or take cover. However, the beginning of the game makes this big deal out of each of them having their own role while not properly reinforcing their strengths. The sniper isn't better at damage, the demolitions expert can't save time on bomb objectives, and the hacker doesn't save time when slicing terminals. They might take priority, but one is just as good as another. It relies entirely on their personalities and looks to form their identities which again, it nails. However, I can't help but wonder how that could've played more heavily. It often feels like so much more could be done with them which partly can be blamed on the time, but not entirely.
The difficulty scaling is also way off balance. It's mostly easy for the first two acts barring a slightly annoying final timed level. However, that third act sends the difficulty flying for a good handful of the levels. I eventually had to resort to cheesing some sections to get through them without losing my sanity. Running monster closets or forcing you to push a chokepoint with infinite enemy spawns isn't fun difficulty, it's just infuriating.
To top things off, the game can be quite buggy. I can forgive crashes since I'm trying to play a two-decade-old game on Windows 11. However, characters getting stuck on terrain and enemy/friendly AI collapsing occasionally is a little less forgiving. I even had a bug save me from more headache during the final level of Act 2 where the timed part of it seemingly stopped functioning.
I still had fun with Republic Commando at the end of the day, since good Star Wars FPS games are few and far between. I understand why people have a thing for this game, even if my feelings aren't quite as positive. I just hope someone gets the greenlight to give this game a makeover. With modern-day techniques and the right team, this could easily jump from good to excellent.
I want to kick things off with the good though, mainly in how the game perfectly nails that Star Wars vibe. It's to be expected from a LucasArts game, but praise especially needs to go to the core squad and the dynamic between the four of them. They're mostly serious, but the few joke lines they did send out managed to get a chuckle out of me. Even weapon sounds feel authentic, albeit some do not sound satisfying (something age hasn't been kind to).
Level design was also surprisingly solid for a game of its time. There was some repetition as was expected of a game back then, but it makes good use of laying out cover and giving you clear places to move up and slowly secure ground in various arenas. It helps reinforce a risk/reward playstyle that felt satisfying all the way through.
However, I can't say the same about the game's squad management systems. At their best, they're incredibly basic with the ability to direct them to move to a specific spot or take cover. However, the beginning of the game makes this big deal out of each of them having their own role while not properly reinforcing their strengths. The sniper isn't better at damage, the demolitions expert can't save time on bomb objectives, and the hacker doesn't save time when slicing terminals. They might take priority, but one is just as good as another. It relies entirely on their personalities and looks to form their identities which again, it nails. However, I can't help but wonder how that could've played more heavily. It often feels like so much more could be done with them which partly can be blamed on the time, but not entirely.
The difficulty scaling is also way off balance. It's mostly easy for the first two acts barring a slightly annoying final timed level. However, that third act sends the difficulty flying for a good handful of the levels. I eventually had to resort to cheesing some sections to get through them without losing my sanity. Running monster closets or forcing you to push a chokepoint with infinite enemy spawns isn't fun difficulty, it's just infuriating.
To top things off, the game can be quite buggy. I can forgive crashes since I'm trying to play a two-decade-old game on Windows 11. However, characters getting stuck on terrain and enemy/friendly AI collapsing occasionally is a little less forgiving. I even had a bug save me from more headache during the final level of Act 2 where the timed part of it seemingly stopped functioning.
I still had fun with Republic Commando at the end of the day, since good Star Wars FPS games are few and far between. I understand why people have a thing for this game, even if my feelings aren't quite as positive. I just hope someone gets the greenlight to give this game a makeover. With modern-day techniques and the right team, this could easily jump from good to excellent.