Hello Everyone! Going to E3 was an awesome experience and I got to meet quite a few excellent people including Warren Spector, Joe Maduriera and a bunch of the Star Wars Galaxies Developers. I could on and on about all the exciting things I saw there (including the Nintendo DS), but I know why you guys are here. So, as promised, I am going to give you all the inside scoop on those upcoming Star Wars titles. I have quite a bit to say about each, so I have decided to break this up into four parts, each focusing on one of the games. My hope is that it will make it easier for you all to navigate, particularly if you are really psyched about a particular title and want to jump to that one first.

Not entirely accidentally, the first game up on my report is the first that I got to take a look at. Far from the hidden, private LucasArts room sat the Republic Commando Theater. Two Imperial Stormtroopers patrolled the outside of the theater, which was covered in posters with the phrase “The Squad is Your Weapon.” They were doing a great job of setting the mood by informing those of us waiting to get in to get up against the wall and stay there (through some sort of hidden walkie-talkie type device for added effect). Finally, the doors were opened and we were allowed to enter and take our seats. After everyone was in, a member of the LucasArts staff treated us to a live demo of the Xbox version of the game. Star Wars music blared over the speakers and on screen we were shown that familiar yellow scroll. We were shown our mission briefing and we were immediately in the action, dropping out of transport ship with our three companions. We had landed on Kashyyyk and our job was to rescue the Wookiees who had been imprisoned by Trandoshan slavers.

The first thing I noticed, besides the awesome dark military feel of the game, was the dialogue between the members of the squad. They were talking amongst themselves about the situation until they were told to “cut the chatter.” The game really felt like a sober, gritty Star Wars experience, rather like the fan-favorite Empire Strikes Back. As the commander, you were in the midst of the action, with all of the pertinent details of the world (including your health, ammo and the status of your squad mates) built seamlessly into your helmet. The best part, however, was yet to come. The game utilizes something the developers like to call “One-Touch Squad Control” in which the single push of a button will direct your men into action (a wise move when the button limitations of the Xbox are kept in mind). As an example, during the attack on a Trandoshan compound, our guide looked over at a turret and saw a green ghost image of a squad mate appear behind it. He hit the activate key and our commando gave hand motions to inform his subordinates what to do. The squad member closest to it ran over, hopped in and began unloading on the attacking Trandoshan forces.

These green ghost images would appear at all the opportune places, behind crates and other strategic locations and would also enable the commander to have his subordinates complete specific objectives like taking down the shields on a generator or breaking through doorways. These happened to be my own personal favorite because all of the squad mates get in on the action. When you get to a doorway that needs to be blow open, you get a ghost image of all three of your troops. One is positioned at the door and the other two are off to the left. When they are all in place, the one at the door sets the charge and rolls off to the right. The door opens and the trooper squatting to the left tosses in a thermal detonator, which explodes and creates chaos on the other side of the door. The two standing troopers then fall in and blast anything left standing.