Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes review

Game Info

Genre: Action
Available: 10/06/2009
Video: 16:9/480p
Audio: Dolby Pro Logic II
Players: 1-2 Co-op
Nintendo Wiifi: None
ESRB: Teen

Based off of the popular T.V. show of the same name, Republic Heroes is meant to bridge the first two seasons of the series and place players in control of some of their favorite characters from the show. The game is a 3-D action title featuring most all of the characters from the show, complete with upgradable attacks and offers a drop-in/out Co-op mode available throughout the entire game.

So how strong is the force with this one? Does ‘Republic Heroes’ manage to measure up to the quality of its t.v. counterpart? Let’s take a look…

Likes

Visual style: The visual style of the game matches that of the t.v. series, making for a visually cohesive experience.

Sound: Presented in DPLII; the titles use of all the original voice cast helps make the game feel like a more official entry into the Clone Wars universe.

Presentation: The game’s story and plot points are explained through cut scenes of character dialogue and the “commercial-like” introductions that the show is known for.

Animation: The ways in which your characters light saber cuts through battle droids leaving the look of freshly cut molten metal is a nice touch.

Dislikes

Graphics: The visuals of this game while consistent with the style of the series, are nowhere near the quality of the show. The game really looks like an ugly up-port from the PSP version of the title.

Voices: Yes, the original cast is here, but many of the lines fall flat and lack the enthusiasm from the t.v. series.

Control: The jumping mechanic feels a bit unfinished as it does make it easy to point out to players where it is they’ll be landing; it can give them a false sense of security which will lead them to their deaths most of the time.

A good analogy would be a parent that tells their child to jump into their arms and them pulls away their arms while the child is in mid-air. Incredibly frustrating.

Level Design: This game’s level design makes the title feel as though it was made sometime in the 90’s, in a word; dated. It becomes obvious to the player that this game is most likely directed towards it’s younger audience, but I think even they will see through its design flaws quite quickly.

The game does nothing to point out where the player should go next which in many cases will just cause the player to contemplate continuing on.

Frame Rate: Looks and plays and though it’s somewhere in the 20’s most of the time. The cut- scenes suffer some stutter as well.

Animation and Programming: Players will quickly take notice of the quirky defects in the games sometimes stiff animations and the very abruptly timed presentation of the level-end screens are a bit off-putting as well.

Camera: Not always providing the best possible angle or view of the action which can lead to a lot of point-loss during the jumping/platforming sequences in the game.

Friendly A.I.: I found the A.I. of my fellow Jedi’s and Padawan’s to be more of a hinderance than a help more times than not. I would say that this game would be better served by playing co-op with a friend if it was worth playing to begin with.

Developers Notes

Better Gameplay: Republic Heroes does offers some cool battle mechanics, but they loose their novelty so quickly that it just becomes ho-hum. Making the game play more intriguing and addictive would really be the shot-in-the-arm (No offense Major League Baseball) that this title could’ve used to at least put it in “Worth Playing” status.

More Of The Force: After coming off of “The Force Unleashed”, one would’ve expected Lucas Arts to perhaps have accentuated the force powers a little bit; this title’s use of the force doesn’t even meet the standard of the show. Force = Fun, no matter the age or the target audience; this really should’ve been a no brainer.

Unfortunately Republic Heroes spends its total play time failing to deliver the same sense of action and excitement that the show provides for fans on a weekly basis. Hardcore fans of the show may be drawn to this game initially until they start to feel the “Force Push” of the titles flaws.

The game really feels like it used a cookie-cutter, action game template, and then pasted the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Story and characters on top. Nothing that it does is above mediocre or average in any way, which tends to make it’s flaws a bit more glaring .

Republic Heroes is obviously aimed at the younger player, but it won’t be long until they discover that while it may almost live up to the show in story telling, the gameplay makes it one tough episode to watch.

The Verdict: Not Worth It

About the Author: Jason Tanner is life-long video game enthusiast and a new contributor here at Nintendo Everything. He also writes for his own Wii game review site at: Wiivolution Now.