Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes Preview

by Travis Moses
July 30, 2009 00:00 AM PST

LEGO Star Wars gets an attitude readjustment.

Based on the popular Cartoon Network animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Republic Heroes is an action-adventure game that little brothers can enjoy with their big brothers. The gameplay is simple and easy to play, with a focus on two-player cooperative play. You and your partner will bounce back and forth between controlling Jedi Knight and Clone Trooper characters, with a plot that bridges the gap between seasons one and two of the show. Fan-favorite villain Cad Bane is the chief baddie here, and you and your partner will pursue him all across the galaxy.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes Preview

Force Feedback

Like LEGO Star Wars, Republic Heroes is simple to play. As a Jedi Knight, you can slash your lightsaber, charge up an epic Force Push, and leap onto an enemy droid in order to control its movement and blaster fire. As a Clone Trooper, your primary weapons are blasters and grenades. You can shoot with the right trigger, or use the right thumbstick to control your aim a la Geometry Wars. I found that using the right thumbstick to shoot gave me more control and better strafing ability, but your mileage may vary.

Overall, Republic Heroes is far more action-heavy than the popular LEGO games, keeping the platform-jumping to a minimum. And rather than collect coins, you'll earn experience points for wiping out enemies. In particular, "Droid Jaking" a enemy droid as a Jedi will net you a ton of experience points, which will enable new Force powers, such as lightsaber chucking and bigger Force pushes. The RPG elements are kept light and simple, so don't expect World of Warcraft-style depth here. Still, it adds a bit more depth and replayability.

Collector Case

In another nod to the LEGO games, you can also cash in your experience points in order to customize your character's look. You can adorn your character with a face mask themed from popular Star Wars characters (Vader, Maul, Admiral Ackbar, even a baby Jabba the Hutt). We even spotted Indiana Jones's trademark fedora!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes may not be as technically impressive as last year's cult favorite The Force Unleashed, but it's still a fun romp through the cartoony world The Clone Wars television series. Between battling robots, platforming up the sides of buildings, and fighting for experience points in co-op mini-challenges, Republic Heroes is looking more and more like the bigger brother to the LEGO games. No, it's not a trap.