Commando and Conquer

By Hardcore

You've made a minor miscalculation in your hyperspace coordinates and wound up once again on the Hardcorner, where we know you don't need any crazy old hermits to kick ass—but a big gun and lots of explosives really help. This time out, Hardcore is strapping on the battle armor and loading up the blaster rifles for the Star Wars Republic Commando™ single-player campaign.

This Star Wars game leaves the Force to the generals and puts the freedom of the galaxy in the hands of four clone supersoldiers. These specialized and highly skilled copies of the original Jango Fett are to regular clone troopers what Master Chief is to normal space marines.

You are "38" of the Delta Squad, the Republic's answer to the eternal question: Who needs the Jedi anyway? (Bet you thought the eternal question was going to be, "If they're all clones, why are their voices all different?" But that's not an eternal question … just a stupid one. You have to tell them apart, and um … look, just play the game, Booby-Wan.)

Stealth is good … explosions are better.

Republic Commando, Hardcore-Style
Star Wars: Republic Commandogives Xbox® gamers a grim and gritty war-torn take on the Star Wars-shooter genre. It takes place between Episodes II and III, when the Clone Wars rage across the galaxy and the Republic that stood for 20,000 years stands on the brink of becoming an Empire.

In giving us (well, selling us, or at least selling you—Hardcore gets games for free because he's Hardcore) a game without the Force and the Jedi, LucasArts has also made a truly hardcore challenge for Star Wars fans and non-fans alike. Believe your old pal Hardcore, the galaxy far, far away is a nasty place when you can't throw people into walls with your mind. However, that certainly doesn't mean you're defenseless.

Here are some of Hardcore's favorite ways to even the odds and, as always, up both the challenge and the kabooms. It may not be thesafest way to play, but Hardcore doesn't play safe.

Slicers? You don't need no slicers—usually.

Always Breach
You often have two choices when you come to a sealed door. You can use Fixer (your tech specialist commando) to slice the computer on the door and pop it open quietly, possibly keeping your enemy unaware. Or, you can do it the old-fashioned way, with an explosion that announces your whereabouts to the Confederacy and throws you into the firefight immediately.

Stab 'Em
Vibroblades, pistol whips, and other Republic Commandomelee attacks are oh so very sweet, but if you want to see your enemy splattered all over your visor, melee your way to success. It also saves ammo, which can be harder to find than the early levels lead you to believe.

Lay Off the Bacta
For a more challenging Republic Commando experience, skip the bacta treatments until you're almost in the red. (Even then, you'd better have a good excuse like, "My whole team is dead.") Every second your commandos are putting bandages on their boo-boos is a second you could be blasting droids, so if it's a choice between getting bacta and getting through the map, get through the map.

If you lose a commando, leave him be.

Let the Clones Fall Where They May
In the same vein as the "skip the bacta" rule, if you lose a commando, that's just tough. Don't worry, though. You can find him back at the start of the next mission. This also keeps you from getting ambushed while you're zapping Sev with your Republic-issued clone defibrillator, if that sort of thing concerns you.

Two Snipers Are Better Than One
In Republic Commando, enemies like to come at you from every conceivable direction—especially up. This makes it easy to get taken unawares while in sniper mode, especially with fast-moving airborne foes like Geonosians. (Remember those Covenant bug dudes fromHalo® 2? They're like that, only faster, smarter, bigger, and at times, seemingly infinite.) But what do you care, hardcore gamer? Go ahead and let your commandos snipe when they can. As 38, you can pick off enemies with headshots even more efficiently, but just remember to look up now and then.

Hmmm … couldn't be a trap, could it?

Treat Every New Area Like It's a Trap
In all likelihood, it is. LucasArts has gone hog-wild with some absolutely nasty traps, and since you're playing by my rules, those traps are meant to be sprung! Just be ready for a simple ambush to turn into a major battle at the drop of a restraining bolt. When that happens …

Get to Grenade Positions
In my book, these positions are even better than sniper positions. Things go BOOM a lot more, and the flying explosives make friendly fire damage a real threat. And, of course, it's an added challenge.

Try Not to Make a "Going Commando" Reference
That, friends, is just tacky. Everybody has already made that joke. Just get to your grenade-chucking position and make with the kaboom, clone boy.

Why do droids make Wookiees so mad? Guess.

That's all the clones we have available for this week, but we have a new batch in the hopper. Check back next time when Hardcore finds out exactly what happens when you don't let the Wookiee win.