Review of TCW: Republic Heroes

The Clone Wars has continued to be the main focus of Star Wars as of late. With a reasonably new television show, a toy line, video games, comics and tie-in novels such as Wild Space and No Prisoners ting the attention of Star Wars junkies. Not to mention the countless megabytes of online material from episode guides and web comics, to online video commentary for each episode; all of which can be found at http://www.starwars.com/.

However, there are people who are disappointed with the direction that Star Wars has taken since the prequels were released and even more so now with TCW. I for one, am not one of those people. I love Star Wars. I love every spin-off and tie-in. Therefore I love TCW. And if I couldn't have been more clear, TCW rocks!!!

Bear in mind that I purchased this game for the Nintendo Wii platform. The Clone Wars Republic Heroes is a third person shooter coming in at around $50. Available on all platforms, developed by Krome Studios and when compared to its predecessors, a major leap forward in terms of game play. When I say predecessors I'm referring to the two previous games spawned by Krome Studios, TCW: Lightsaber Duels, and The Force Unleashed, both developed for the Wii. Republic Heroes delivers what it's younger siblings lacked; a well designed engine, fun co-op playability, and in the case of Lightsaber Duels a compelling story.

The game play is solely story mode, with drop in, drop out co-op as an added bonus. Players can choose from either Jedi or clone troopers with a variety of different characters and locales. Though the backdrop changes from planet to planet, the repetitive feeling of swinging from pole to pole, however fun at first, ultimately takes away from the game's overall appeal.

The vast amount of interchangeable characters adds a bit to the fun, allowing you to choose between many of the Jedi featured in the first season of TCW and many of the clone troopers, along with a handful of newer clones such as ARF trooper Boomer, Sergeant Kano, and Private Switch, a clone trooper bred for technical duties and given the nickname 'soft shell' due to the fact that he wears no armor. Examples of this kind of clone can be found in the background of several episodes such as Children of the Force where they can be seen getting smacked by Cad Bane before he takes off in a V-19 Torrent.

With all these new clones, one must beg the question; will any of them appear in season two of TCW? After all there portraits do look like they have been created specifically for the show and the game is supposed to be set inbetween the two seasons.

Republic Heroes spans four different locations, two of which are recognizable to fans of both TCW and the larger Expanded Universe. The story begins on Ryloth, in the city of Resdin, one of the cities mentioned being made into an example by the Separatists in Liberty on Ryloth. Next we see Juma 9, a space station formerly used for mining and now converted into a Republic military outpost. Alzoc III, the home planet of the Talz species who were highlighted in a similar planet in TCW episode Trespass, is featured next. Finally we see the planet Behpour, located in the Chommell Sector, the same sector inhabited by Naboo. I really would have enjoyed seeing more diverse locations, but that can be owed to my ultimate fanboy hope that one day they'll have named all the planets seen in the original Clone Wars micro-series.

Speaking of which, nods to the original show can be found twice in Republic Heroes. The first example are the, Chameleon droids, first featured in Clone Wars Chapter 14, who are seen several times in-game. The second nod comes in the form of dialogue between Kit Fisto and Mace Windu. Upon clearing a room of battle droid foes, Fisto can be heard saying to Mace, "Perhaps the stories are true; that you managed to defeat an entire droid army by yourself". This bit of banter, which had me grinning in fanboyish glee, is a reference to Mace Windu's appearence in Clone Wars Chapter 12, where he single-handedly, and rather comically, obliterated a separatist super-weapon and army.

The dialogue, an increasing hot topic for disgruntled fans is not much different than that of the first season of TCW. You can expect snippy comebacks from Ahsoka and annoying Battle Droid banter. Though I must say that some genuine laughs came in the form of none other than Cad Bane, who makes occasional appearances later on as a rival to the main antagonist of the game, Kul Teska.

All in all The Clone Wars Republic Heroes is a decent game, not comparable to the likes of previous Star Wars titles such as KOTOR or Dark Forces II, but still a fun play for TCW fans. And certainly better than this... http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Pit_Droids

I apologize for the length of this first entry. You can look forward to shorter entries such as a reviews of the Star Wars horror novel troopers and The Clone Wars episodes.