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Thursday 6 March, 2008
Gamelog Entry#1
Summary
Star Wars: Republic Commando is a science fiction themed tactical first person shooter. The player is given the role of the leader of a four clone elite commando squad. The setting is set during an era in the Star Wars universe that is mostly fought in large part by cloned humans and autonomous robots. The player must utilize weapons, terrain, and squad mates to successfully complete the mission assigned and help turn the tide of the Clone War for the Galactic Republic.
Gameplay
Given that this is a first person shooter that is played with a computer keyboard and mouse, the controls are relatively easy to pick with anyone familiar to the control scheme of FPS’s. The game did well to provide a very enjoyable and interactive gameplay experience. What set this game apart from other first person shooters was the depth of interaction I was given with my squad mates. I was given a great deal of freedom in how I wanted my squad to defend, attack, or monitor during play. For example, going down a long straight path filled with enemies, I was able to assign a squad mate to hang far behind the rest of us in order to provide sniper support in order to allow us to find cover and neutralize the enemy. Other orders could be to breach a door with explosives or software hacking, manning turrets, and taking other offensive positions. The freedom given to the player in solving battlefield conflicts is enormous. I felt I had a more intimate interaction with the game since my squad mates would listen to my orders. The freedom of choice in this game also helped with the gameplay experience by creating conflict. For every situation I had a variety of ways to approach them which led me to think where I could best make the use of 4 soldiers and limited ammunition against entire armies.
The interface of the game and weapons further added to the general positive gameplay experience. As a soldier in a technologically advanced army, I had been given an advanced interactive helmet with a H.U.D. which allowed me to communicate with squad mates, monitor health and ammunition, and navigate to waypoints. The player uses this interactive H.U.D. to view the environment, aim, and use the said features previously mentioned. This H.U.D. added an extra layer of authenticity that helps the player feel like an actual republic commando. While there are a few weapons available, I never felt bored with any. Each reflected the culture of the user that it came from. For example, the well financed Grand Army of The Republic gave their commandos weapons that were quick, adaptable, and lethal. The standard commando issue DC- 15 rifle acted provided a role as an efficient plasma rifle, long range sniper, and anti- armor fire in one sleek black package. Weapons used by greedy and violent mercenaries usually looked like it consisted of scrap metal and junk while using older technology. These weapon’s fire rates, damage, and accuracy made them very distinct from one another. The variety of weapons further added to the tactical gameplay of Republic Commando by allowing me to decide what weapon would be more suitable for each conflict.
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