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> Results: Star Wars: Republic Commando
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Combine a military action shooter like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon with the most coveted sci-fi universe this side of Tatooine and you end up with Star Wars: Republic Commando, a new squad-based adventure that drops you into the middle of an intergalactic conflict of good versus evil.
You climb into the suit of number 38, nicknamed "Boss," the leader of the Delta squad in the Republic's Clone Army. Because the emphasis of this game is on team-play, you must complete missions by assigning commands to your three teammates: number 40 ("Four-oh," a.k.a. "Fixer"), a computer whiz who can crack codes and descramble security systems; 07 ("Oh-seven," nicknamed "Sev"), a brutal warrior with a sense of humour; and 62 ("Six-two,") who is aptly referred to as "Scorch" as he is the explosives expert.  The transparent Heads-Up Display lets you easily assign orders to your squad members, be it for reconnaissance, assassination, sabotage, hostage rescue, planting a bomb or to retrieve "Bacta" (health) from a dispenser. Arguably the most important command to learn is to "recall and retrieve" your body once you're near-dead and lying on the ground. Once revived, you can rejoin the firefight against ten brutal enemy species. Blast an insect-like creature close enough and its green bug juice will splash on your visor. The game features more than a dozen interchangeable combat weapons such as the DC-15 Blaster Pistol, Geonosian Elite Beam Weapon and Trandoshan Slaver Shotgun. Set in a time in the Star Wars universe between Episode II and Episode III, the action takes place in both familiar and unfamiliar environments including the jungle cities of Chewbacca's home world of Kashyyyk, the war torn areas of the rocky planet Geonosis and the mechanical catacombs of a huge Separatist Core Ship. In fact, Star Wars geeks will enjoy getting a sneak peak at the locations, vehicles and enemies (including General Grievous) that will appear in Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith due out in theaters this May.  The Xbox version of the game offers up to four-player head-to-head or cooperative play on the same television (via split-screen) while the Xbox Live service supports up to 16 players over the Internet. Multiplayer game modes include Deathmatch (the person with the most kills, wins), Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag (CTF) and a variation of CTF dubbed Assault. Similarly, the PC version supports up to 16 players via the Internet through the GameSpy service (software included on CD). Gamers in search of an intense but accessible action game will have fun in this somewhat violent sci-fi shooter. It's not quite on par with the incredibly deep 2003 role-playing game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, but it should easily satiate Star Wars fans until the nextﾗand perhaps, finalﾗfilm set in this popular fantasy universe. 
One good thing about Star Wars games is that they are never rated above 'T'. They are controlled to make sure the content is appropriate for their audience. Republic Commando features lots of very familiarﾗor soon to be familiarﾗcharacters and settings. It is a very 'Star Wars' experience. The pre-Episode III Clone Wars settings are darker and grittier than the previous movies and the enemies are large and dangerous looking, but there is nothing that takes this game out of a pure T rating. In fact, while it is certainly darker and more intense at times than the Jedi Knight games, the squad based action has a strategic feel of detachment, lessening the impact. You can stretch this game to kids as young as ten if they have played something like Spider-Man or the earlier Dark Forces games on PC.
Kid Factor by Michael Anderson
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