For one thing, there's no planning in Republic Commando. You jump directly into a mission with three other commandos at your side. If you want, you can run through the level shooting at things, while your squad mates keep up and help take out targets. Since friendly fire inflicts damage, the AI knows to duck when it passes in front of you. It also knows to use cover. Williams demonstrated a battle down a long corridor with alcoves along its length; AI commandos ducked into alcoves as they advanced under fire.

If you want some input on what your team does, the broadest level of control is to simply set modes like "search and destroy" for aggressive advances or "form up" for cautious play. You can also take more direct control of your squad simply by pointing and clicking -- your reticle doubles as a context-sensitive command interface. Point it at the floor and click a button to order your team to secure that location. Point it at an interactive level element, and you'll set a detonator charge, hack into a computer, or man a turret.