Droid Rage

Star Wars: Republic Commando
LucasArts—Xbox, PC

Before the 1997 re-release of the Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas made a few alterations, mostly to preserve continuity with other episodes. One change, though, was made entirely on ethical grounds: In the original Episode IV, Han Solo blows away the bounty hunter Greedo without warning. In Lucas’s new version, Greedo draws first.

Trigger-happy Jedi dorks will be pleased to learn they’re under no such moral imperative in this chaotic shoot-’em-up. In Republic Commando, which fits in the storyline between Episode II and Episode III, you lead a unit of Navy SEAL–like clone troopers creatively named Delta Squad. Your mission is to wipe out insurgent groups corrupted by the Dark Side, and while any jingoistic undertones are probably coincidental — this game was put into development more than a year ago, and the planet Kashyyyk is many light-years from Fallujah — it’s a plot Donald Rumsfeld could get behind.

The game’s chief innovation is the ease with which you can send A.I. teammates on independent tasks (clearing a room of homicidal droids, obliterating obstacles, reviving fallen friends) and the cunning with which they carry them out. As you progress, you can retrieve enemy weapons and switch your assault rifle to “sniper” or “armor-piercing” settings. Along the way, you’re assisted by hulking Wookiees that make Chewbacca look like a drowned rat. There’s also a “death match” mode, in which you can hunt your own friends, and an online function in which you can team up with pals. This team-leading function should be good training for the game’s challenging story mode, or at least a night-manager position at Staples.