As nobody else (that i can find) has posted this here yet, I might as well: The Star Wars: Republic Commando demo has gone public.

Its available from the following mirrors:

* 3D Gamers
* 4Players.de
* ActionTrip
* AusGamers
* Gameguru Mania
* FileFront
* Filerush (Bit-torrent)
* JustGamers
* Gamer's Hell
* JASA Clan
* Worthplaying

(mirror list courtesy of Planet Unreal)

As for the demo itself, i found it to be much better than any of the gameplay from JO/JA. The squad control system really is flawless (though the AI on the squad could use some improvement), and the game takes some cues from Halo (you can use different melee attacks depending on what weapon you're using at the time) and Metroid Prime (if something hits your visor, a laser cleans it off. if a drone attacks you, it starts to burrow a hole in your visor. if you're incapacitated, holes will appear in the visor).

The weapons are good, though the bowcaster lacks the ability to fire shots in a full spread (charged shot for JK/JO/JA).

All in all, it was a great taste of the game, and really whets my appetite for the full version next month.

What say the rest of you?

It was posted a few days ago

Yeah, it's quite fun. I'll probably buy it at some point.

http://forums.massassi.net/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29204
Still haven't tried it, though. I'll wait till I have some free time before I do, I wanna devote some actual time to the demo and make a decision

I've heard some good things, so I have hope

I suppose that this is the community's sutbtle revenge for me not hanging around the discussion forrums 24/7.

Nah, it was this thread that inspired me to DL it and not the last one. You've done me a great service!

Well, you're the first one who posted the "official" realease of the demo, if that makes you feel better.

to lazy to visit an offcial site, whats the system specs?

According to the LEC site:

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Operating System: Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP

Computer: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible computer required.

CPU: Pentium III or Athlon 1.0 GHz or faster CPU required.

Memory: 256MB RAM required.

Graphics Card: 64MB 3D Graphics card with Vertex Shader and Pixel Shader (VS/PS) capability required.

Sound Card: 100DirectX 9.0c compatible Audio Device.

CD-ROM: 8X Speed CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive required.

Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse required.

DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0c is included on this CD.

NOTE: Your system may require the "latest" drivers for your particular hardware.

Installation: 2 GB of free hard disk space required. Additional free space required after game installation for Windows swap file and save games.

RECOMMENDED CPU: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, or Athlon XP 2400 2.0 GHz or faster CPU recommended.

Memory: 512MB RAM recommended.

Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForceFX 5700 or higher.

MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT Local Area Network Play: Supports up to 16 players via Local Area Network.

Internet Play: Supports up to 16 players via 56Kps or faster connection to the Internet.

Internet Hosting: Broadband connection required.

yeah most of us jumped on the leaked demo ... anyone who didn't now have their chance to play it

Keep this thread open, it has a more specific title.

My thoughts on the demo (pasted from TACC):

It's bloody hard.

It's Star Wars on steroids. The over-the-top visual style is like nothing we've seen in any Star Wars movie or game before (e.g. wookiees the size of rancors). Purists will hate it.

The Commandos don't appear to be clones. They have different voices, one sounds like Mark Hamill, and another sounds a bit like Michael Ironside.

Squad command is very simple, which I like because tactical shooters don't appeal much to me. Some would probably argue that it's been dumbed down for consoles.

I really like the guns, they feel very meaty, but that's probably because I've been playing Pacific Assault recently (which has rubbish weapons).

General Grievous' brief appearance at the end of the level suggests the story could delve quite deeply into Episode III territory. Will players get a chance to turn against the Jedi by the end of the game?

The incapacitation recovery thing is handled well. From reading previews it seemed to make the game too easy, but it still maintains a desirable level of difficulty. Much better than Pacific Assault's flawed method, which forced me to restart a couple of levels all over again.

I really liked it, it's completely different from the rest of the Star Wars shooters, it's good to see LucasArts try something different.

It was alright.

Does anyone know whether they will release an editor? Remember, LEC has this habit of not releasing editors and even specifically prohibiting editing the game (a la Indiana Jones based on the MotS engine).

It was built on the UT 2004 engine so I'm sure some kind of editor will be out, if not Unreal's own editor.

The primary weapon is way too weak. It's like a pea shooter. Absolutely ridiculous, you have to hit enemies like 80 times to do any damage.
The weapons are way too inaccurate.
The enemy and squad AI blows. I saw an enemy get stuck on a pole, and my squad was surrounding him, but neither fired any shots.
The graphics are pretty good.
The squad tactics are ok, but I'd have to replay the demo to really get a feel. They seem a little rudimentary, and to me, leave something to desire (basic commands like "find cover", "rush the enemy", "form up behind me" etc).
I often got the feeling that there was an infinite wave of enemies.

I really love the weapons. You don't really need the primary machine gun that much. Use the sniper until you get the huge repeater

lots of knifing too, which I like. Love how the thingie cleans cracks and viscera off your viser.

Ok, playing again was a lot more fun because i finally figured out most of the maneuvers.

The only really frustrating thing left is how dumb the AI is and how incapable your team is. They don't seem to be able to do much when you die.

Yea, the AI is pretty dumb. I seen some annoying aspects of the enemies. Predictable too.

According to DSettahr, the editor will be shipped with the game.