Hero or zero?
When the ever expanding Star Wars universe plunged into the previously unexplored Clone Wars period via CGI animation in 2008, it was pretty clear that it would be followed by a plethora of merchandise. Given the continuous success of the Lego Star Wars series it would not have been foolish to bet your house (or Tatooine hut-like dwelling) that it would include a video game.
And here we are, Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes. After all, what does financial success and critical acclaim breed? Further attempts at financial success and critical acclaim of course.
Padawan learner
With big blocks shoes to fill there has been a lot of scepticism surrounding Republic Heroes. As with the animated series it's obvious that it's been created with Jedi Younglings in mind rather than the hardcore market.
Jedi missions take on the form of hack & slash platforming, whilst playing as clone troopers is less 'hacky', more 'blasty'.
In general the look and feel is strong. The level design whilst not always that imaginative must be complimented on its basic yet colourful and attractive appearance. Likewise original voice casting from the series and the very similar (albeit poly-reduced) graphics ensures that the characters are instantly recognisable.
The levels tend to follow a similar structure with waves of droids to decimate, simple jump/hop platforming sections and the occasional puzzle, however this is diversified by the varying character classes. Jedi or Clone Trooper are the options, with Jedi missions taking on the form of hack & slash platforming, whilst playing as clone trooper is less 'hacky' more 'blasty'.
Starometry Wars
As a Jedi your two weapons of destruction are a scalable force-push attack and of course the lightsaber. The force attack is best used for pushing clusters of droids off platforms however it can also be used to stun the 'clunkies' in order to buy a few seconds. The lightsaber combat can become a button bashing frenzy, however if this is not your cup of tea it can be avoided by with use of the slide-attack, lightsaber-throw or droid-jacking, which involves mounting a droid, stabbing it in the head with your lightsaber and then riding it like the large mechanic pony of your dreams with full control of its arsenal for a limited period.
The left stick controls trooper movement; the right controls blaster shooting and aiming. Think Geometry Wars but third-person shooter.
With a reduced midi-chlorian count the Clone Troopers are left without lightsaber or force attacks, but instead carry a blaster and one special weapon slot. Special weapons include the likes of stun grenades and rocket launchers and can be picked up from around the environment in a finite quantity. The left stick controls trooper movement whilst the right stick controls both blaster shooting and aiming simultaneously. Think Geometry Wars but third-person shooter. It takes a little getting used to but can be quite satisfying once fully grasped.
Within the Jedi missions the on-going droid annihilation is often punctuated with brief sections of platforming. These are pretty much as you'd expect, jump, swing and run across the various obstacles until the next battlefield or puzzle.
In order to help the young Padawans with this the developers have seen fit to include a 'snap to platform' mechanic. When it works it's great. Unfortunately it can be a little temperamental resulting in a lot of needless Jedi death. Thankfully however, punishment is always light with a checkpoint every 30-ish feet and infinite respawn.
Dress-up
Puzzles range from using the force on a switch in order to activate a platform, to rewiring a locked door. They're never going to slow down Master Yoda, but they're a welcome variation to the gameplay and are relevant to the target market in terms of difficulty.
Original voice casting from the series and the very similar (albeit poly-reduced) graphics ensures the characters are instantly recognisable.
The economy is simple but effective. Walk into glowing blue orbs, get points. Kill droids, get points. These points can then be spent on hats, masks, droid dances, combat improvements or cheats in the in-game menu. Nearly all the unlockables can be accessed this way, however a few are dependent on the collection of 'artefacts' which can normally be found just off the beaten path throughout the game.
You can work your way through the surprisingly lengthy storyline either with an AI partner or friend on the sofa. Not unlike Lego Star Wars the AI partner tends to follow you round as a mechanic to facilitate the very welcome drop-in drop-out co-op rather than provide any significant help with scraping the droid army.
Force fans only
Although there's no online functionality it's not greatly missed. Online co-op could have been included, however given the likely age of the average Republic Heroes gamer it would probably have gathered dust in the menu rather than adding any worthwhile functionality.
So, all in all probably not one for any Jedi Master looking to fill the gap until The Force Unleashed 2, but definitely worth considering for any Padawans looking to spend some more time in a galaxy far far away or fans of the animated series.
GAME's Verdict
- Original voice casting from the animated series
- Lego Star Wars style drop-in drop-out co-op
- Surprisingly lengthy storyline for a game of its style
- Frustratingly temperamental 'snap-to-platform' jump mechanic.
- Repetitive level format and structure.
- No online and little encouragement for replayability.
Review by: Tom 'Padawan Learner' Marshall
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 19.01.10