Want insider info on Star Wars Republic Commando™? Producer Chris Williams dished to the dirt to Xbox.com … so we could share it with you!
Xbox.com: Let's pretend no one has ever heard of Star Wars. What's your 25-words-or-less "movie pitch" descriptionof Star Wars Republic Commando?
Williams:Star Wars Republic Commandoputs you deep behind enemy lines as the leader of the elite fighting force Delta Squad. It is Star Wars special-forces military action like you’ve never experienced before.
Xbox.com: Very nice! Now, you've been given an auspicious task to fill in the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. How critical are the events of those movies to the game and vice versa? Will we see characters, worlds, and plot elements that play a part in Episode III?
Williams:Star Wars Republic Commandoprovides a sneak peak at some of the characters, vehicles, and locations from the upcoming Episode III movie. The most exciting of these is the presence of General Grievous in the game, and the fact that the squad will get to fight his fierce bodyguards.
Xbox.com: What makes the commandoes featured in the game distinct and different from the clone troopers introduced at the end of Episode II? Why are they special?
Williams: Republic Commandos are the “best of the best” in the Republic Army. At birth, the Commandos were separated from the herd and grouped into “pods,” in a reflection of the native aiwha hunting pods of the watery world of Kamino. These pods worked together, trained together, and fought together, sometimes under brutal circumstances. Their Mandalorian sergeants instilled in them an above-average sense of pride, honor, and bravery.
The Kaminoans soon found they had a number of small squads, each highly trained and fiercely cohesive, yet divisible into smaller units for varied mission profiles. Ultimately, neither the regular army clones nor the ARC troopers could match them when it came to organization and teamwork.
Within Delta squad, “Fixer” is the by-the-book computer expert. He pays close attention to the Advisor and follows orders from Boss without complaint. When it comes to slicing a computer panel to download enemy battle plans, nobody enjoys it more than Fixer. “Scorch” is the wise-cracking explosives expert who is full of laugh-out-loud one liners. He’s quick to pull out the powerful anti-armor attachment for his DC-17 because he simply loves blowing stuff up. “Sev” is silent, but deadly accurate with his sniper rifle. He says very little, but when he does, it’s usually after he has fired another few blaster bolts into an already dead enemy.
Xbox.com: Star Wars games have almost universally focused on Jedi characters and stories. Star Wars Republic Commando seems to be a return to the days of Dark Forces, featuring non-Force-using heroes. What was it like to work "outside of the Force" with this game?
Williams: By making a lightsaber-free Star Wars game, the team was able to really focus on presenting a dark and gritty military experience, since we weren’t limited by the inclusion of a Jedi-based story line. The rugged battlefields of the Clone Wars influenced everything in the game and established a much more brutal presentation of the conflicts than Star Wars fans might be used to.
Xbox.com: Could you describe a few of the worlds we'll see in the game.
Williams: The game starts on the planet of Geonosis. (People will remember it from Episode II as the location where the Separatists are creating their droid army.) Delta Squad is sent deep into the depths of the planets to disable the droid factories and cripple the Separatist forces. Your squad is also sent to a Republic Assault ship that has issued a distress call, only to cease communication. Toward the end of the game, the action moves to the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk, where your squad will fight alongside huge Wookiees in their jungles and the tree cities, as they defend their planet from the Separatist invasion.
Xbox.com: What new and surprising corners of the Star Wars universe are revealed in this game? Can you spill anything that's going to floor Star Wars fans?
Williams: I know the fans are really going to love being on Kashyyyk and interacting with the Wookiees. These huge Wookiee warriors make Chewbacca look tiny—and literally rip droids apart!
Xbox.com: Other than Star Wars, what games or movies influenced the development of this title?
Williams: This game was heavily influenced by military films like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, and the Band of Brothers series. Even though the game is set in the Star Wars universe, we wanted it to have an authentic military feel and style. We even brought in a Special Forces instructor to train our team in how elite military squads move and operate, so that Delta Squad would be believable as an elite military unit.
Xbox.com: What unique gameplay elements separateStar Wars Republic Commando from other shooters and squad-based combat titles?
Williams: We’ve taken the micromanagement and tedious planning out of the squad experience—and replaced it with non-stop action! As a squad leader, you have the ability to quickly identify tactical opportunities for your squad within the environment, and with the touch of a single button, you can order your squad to take action. Although the squad is extremely smart and will target enemies and seek cover on its own, when the going gets tough, it’s up to you, the Delta Squad leader, to find the right strategy for accomplishing the mission objective.
Xbox.com: What elements will have broad appeal outside the Star Wars fan base? In other words, how do you present the game to people who have never heard of the Clone Wars, and how do you keep them engaged?
Williams: The game is extremely appealing to anyone who likes a great action game that features non-stop combat. You don’t have to be a Star Wars fan to get hooked by the heart-pounding action. I’ve seen plenty of people who know nothing about the Clone Wars pick up the controller and be totally sucked in to the immersive and accessible squad-combat experience created by Star Wars Republic Commando.
Xbox.com: Could you share any combat tips and strategies for our readers?
Williams: After a long battle in which your squad has taken damage, you’ll want to make sure they all get healed at a Bacta dispenser. You can assign them all one-by-one to heal themselves by pointing and clicking on the dispenser—but an even faster way to do it is to simply issue a “Secure Area” command near the dispenser. Once the squad is positioned nearby, they will automatically take turns healing themselves, and you won’t even have to worry about them!
Xbox.com: Great tip! That should save people a lot of time and hassle. So, we're dying to know: What are your personal favorite aspects of this game?
Williams: I think some of the coolest actions inStar Wars Republic Commando are the squad’s “finishing moves,” which they periodically perform against enemies. These are special custom animations in which the squad kills enemies in a very cool and custom way. I won’t spoil them by describing them here, but keep an eye on your squad during combat to see one of my personal favorite moments in the game …
Xbox.com: Aw, you just had to leaving us hangin, didn't ya? On behalf of our readers, thanks for the info and tips, Chris!
