Over the weekend I had a chance to put my Padawan skills to the test as I stepped into the world of Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes for the very first time. The demo, which went live on Xbox Live Marketplace on September 10, 2009 and on the Playstation Network the following day, was developed by Australia-based Krome Studios and published by LucasArts. The game will be released on October 6 for multiple platforms including Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS and PC.
Before I get into my impressions, full disclosure: despite being a huge fan of Star Wars Episodes I-VI, I have only watched a handful of episodes of the Clone Wars animated series that airs on Teletoon. Knowing that chronologically the series takes place during the period between Star Wars Episode II and III, I was certainly curious to gain some insight on the war between the Jedi and the ruthless Separatist who seek to destroy the Galactic Republic.
Knowing that the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series was aimed squarely as a younger audience I had certain expectations going into the demo. First of all, this game was likely to contrast significantly with last year's darker and more mature oriented LucasArts game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Secondly, I envisioned a family-friendly experience that was quite simple in its design, and forgiving in its difficulty. Lastly, I assumed the my limited knowledge of the Clone Wars would detract from overall appeal of the game. The first two points I got bang on, and fortunately for us Clone Wars initiates, the developers included an in-game Databank that provides bios on every character in the game and profiles of all the starships and vehicles you'll encounter. After ten minutes of background reading I was primed and ready to go.
Featuring a brand-new storyline, SWTCW: Republic Heroes lets players fight as both the Jedi Knights and Clone Troopers in two separate campaigns that will span over 30 different missions, utilizing assets from the hit television series. For diehard fans you'll be pleased to know this game will let you control your favourite animated characters during key events that will tie-in directly into the second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will support seamless drop-in / drop-out two-player online and offline co-operative play for those who want to lightsaber slash or blaster shoot with friends.
No game is perfect and there was one area for me that didn't impress -- the graphics. It has a similar visual presentation found in Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels, which looked good for a Wii game, but on the PS3 and Xbox 360 it looked blocky. If you're a purist that demands fidelity with the animated series you'll probably enjoy the stylistic look and feel as it seems to be a faithful translation. In fact, it felt like I plugged my controller into the television and was directly controlling the animated series. Pretty cool, but for a next-gen HD console it certainly looks dated.
If you can look past the simple graphics you'll find a fun, minimalist platformer that oddly enough feels a bit like Smash TV with it's run-and-gun Clone Trooper gameplay mixed with the lightsaber Jedi acrobatics found in Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Let's take a look at each of the two campaigns separately shall we?
In the Jedi campaign, you play as either a youthful Anakin Skywalker, now a General and Jedi Knight, or Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's Padawan as assigned by the Jedi Council. As a Jedi you possess incredible swordplay skills that allow you slice and dice your way through rows of commander droids like a hot knife through butter. Of course you also have force power at your disposal for times that a lightsaber just won't cut it. By holding your force button, Anakin will channel his power into a force blast that produces a nice visual ripple effect on-screen and generally serves to dismantle whatever droids were foolish enough to stand in your way. The Jedi can also double-jump by tapping your button twice in succession, lending itself to some nifty platforming sections not seen in the Clone Trooper campaign. More interesting though is the ability of Jedi Knights to climb atop the bulkier droids, such as the Dwarf Spiders, and remote control them via a special ability known as Droid-Jaking. Nothing like turning your foes against one another to turn the tide in a frantic battle.
As a Clone Trooper, you have the choice of playing as Private Switch, a "soft-shell" clone that is more adept at technical tasks rather than combat, or Commander Cody, a close comrade of Obi-Wan and a veteran hand blaster fighter. The missions begins inside a space station that is under fire from the Separatists and it's your job to evacuate your fellow Clone Troopers before the entire ship implodes. As you blast your way through the linear corridors of the ship those pesky humanoid looking Battle Droids will attempt to halt the rescue mission at every turn. You'll also be assaulted by the tougher Destroyer Droids, which are powerful droids equipped with a pair of twin blasters, a protective energy shield, and have the ability to transform into a wheel-like configuration which enables them to roll at high speeds. I must say, playing this demo brought back fond memories of the memorable Clone Trooper battle against the droid forces at the end of Star Wars Episode II which kick-starts the Clone Wars into high gear.
What the Clone Troopers lack in force abilities they certainly make up in weapon armaments, including blaster guns, rocket launchers, thermal detonators and EMP grenades. Unlike the Jedi mission, which involves plenty of close-combat scenarios, you'll find the Clone Trooper mission often involves shooting from afar and strategically utilizing the in-game cover system. The EMP grenades are particularly effective against the droid army since they not only heavily damage them, but also disrupts their circuitry causing instant immobilization -- after which you can mock your motionless foes as you blast them to smithereens.
I left my long session with SWTCW: Republic Heroes feeling excited about getting my hands on the full version which drops in just over two weeks. The game is certainly basic in its core design. You are given unlimited lives, the largest and most feared droids can be disposed of quickly, and the puzzles were ridiculously easy to solve. Despite all this, I still had fun. Perhaps the Star Wars fan in me got hooked by nostalgia. Nevertheless, this carefree and accessible game was a nice change of pace. It's too bad they didn't include any of the starship or vehicle missions in the demo -- I was itching to jump into the cockpit of Obi Wan's Delta-7B starship. Ah well, at least I won't have to wait too long for that.
Message Edited by PaulH on 09-23-2009 05:48 PM
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