Review: Rogue Trooper (XBX)

Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, Rebellion's first attempt to create a successful game from its much loved 2000AD franchise, was horrible. It suffered from bland environments, brain-dead enemies, boring gameplay and other negative words beginning with "b". However, it seems that the company has learned its lesson and decided, for their next game, to revive one of their older and highly revered characters, Rogue Trooper. They also decided to actually put more effort into making it, and while the end result is nothing original, the game plays well, looks good, and most importantly, is fun.

Rogue Trooper chronicles the adventures of Rogue, amazingly, one of an army of bright blue Genetic Infantrymen (G.I.) specifically created to fight on the planet of Nu Earth, which is strategically important to two warring factions: the Southers (democracy, capitalism,) and the Norts (space Nazis; they even have horrible German accents). Nu Earth has been poisoned by decades of chemical warfare, making the planet's atmosphere, wildlife and seas poisonous to all life, yet still the war wages. In an attempt to break the deadlock, the Souther army creates thousands of G.I.s that can fight on the planet without the need for cumbersome breathing apparatus. They're also stronger, faster and more resilient than regular humans, thus creating the perfect fighting force for the Nu Earth war. Unfortunately, on their first mission, a traitorous Souther general betrays them, leading to every single G.I. being massacred. All, that is, except for the titular character, who takes it upon himself to track down the traitor and avenge the death of his fellow troopers.

The first mission begins by teaching the basic controls to help you through the game; but it's not long until everything goes pear-shaped and your fellow G.I.s starting falling left right and centre, including Rogue's closest friends, Gunnar, Bagman and Helm. Fortunately, as each one dies, Rogue manages to save his comrades by removing their personality 'bio-chips' from their bodies and attaching them to his gun, backpack, and helmet (guess which goes where), allowing them to still live and talk with Rogue. An interesting part of the Rogue Trooper comics, this also becomes a great gameplay feature.

As each squad member dies and becomes part of Rogue's equipment, it unlocks related abilities. For example, once Gunnar is attached to your gun, a new targeting reticule appears, making for easier shots, as well as the ability to use him as a sentry gun, leaving Rogue free to complete other tasks. With Bagman, players gain the ability to collect and use salvage from fallen enemies, allowing for the creation of more ammunition and health packs, and, more importantly, new weapons and upgrades. Helm brings the ability to hack doors open and create holographic images of Rogue, perfect for fooling snipers as you locate them from cover. The equipment is not only useful, but you enjoy the company of your deceased buddies as they spout some rather decent one liners and give advice in tough situations.

There's plenty more to enjoy in Rogue Trooper on the whole. The graphics aren't particularly spectacular but they do an excellent job of portraying the various landscapes that Rogue must battle through on his quest for vengeance. Through cities, to canyons and the Petrified Forest, there's little that can be faulted aside from the overly dark colour scheme. That said, a planet ravage by decades of nuclear and chemical warfare is hardly going to look like something out of a Disney film.

In fact this sentiment pretty much sums up the whole game; there's nothing particularly brilliant or original about Rogue Trooper, but it all comes together to make an enjoyable game. Gameplay wise, it's not much more than just run and gun, with a little bit of room to be smart about it. Rogue is a genetically-engineered soldier bred for war, but he isn't invincible, so taking cover, while not necessary, makes your life a whole lot easier. Simply tapping the left trigger while near a wall makes Rogue take cover, and pressing the right trigger while hidden makes him pop out and start blasting until the trigger is released, minimising the damage. Other tactics can be employed, such as using Helm to create a holographic version of Rogue for the enemies to attack, while he gets to a better position, perhaps using Bagman to lay down some mines, or setting Gunnar up on sentry duty. These aren't essential tactics for finishing the game, but the ability to do such things really adds to the fun.

Sadly the fun doesn't last long; on normal difficulty the game can take between 6-8 hours on a first play to complete. But Gamestyle found itself going straight back into it at least twice and enjoying its well constructed game world again. An added bonus is the multiplayer and online modes, which are rather different from those usually found on Xbox combat games. Instead of facing off against other people, four players can join together online to fight against A.I. controlled enemies to either defend or attack a base. However, while they are fun modes, the restrictions of only four players and two modes means that not a lot of time will be spent on the multiplayer side.

Still, Rogue Trooper is a competent, solid and enjoyable game. It doesn't do anything spectacular, in fact borrowing many elements from its betters, equals and lessers (Halo, Max Payne, and Kill Switch respectively), but it all comes together to create a game that will keep you playing just for the fun of it, short-lived or otherwise.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Garry Webber