Rogue Trooper

"Rogue Trooper shows that not every game has to be innovative to be good."

Innovation is always welcome in games, especially in a genre such as shooters. Many games fail to do anything innovative and a lot of times those games fail themselves. Rogue Trooper doesn't exactly innovate but more so borrows from similar games while keeping the gameplay fresh.

Story

The story of Rogue Trooper is fairly generic. You're a bio-engineered soldier known as the Genetic Infantrymen (GI). Complete with protective blue skin and the ability to breathe the venomous atmosphere. The mind and soul of the GI could be downloaded onto a silicone chip in case of a mortal wound on the battlefield. If the soldier was downed in battle then the chip can be removed and placed into a special piece of equipment to preserve the soldier until it could grace a newly grown body.

You're betrayed by a general in your own high command and almost the entire regiment of GI's were wiped out in the betrayal known as the Quartz Zone Massacre. You managed to save just three bio-chips from your former comrades and slot them into your equipment. You then set off on a road for revenge.

Gameplay

The gameplay is where Rogue Trooper truly excels. Rogue Trooper is a third person shooter that feels very similar to Star Wars Battlefront control wise. The controls are customizable and will please any fan of the genre. The game implements a cover system similar to the one found in kill.switch. You have the ability to hug against an object while being able to pull off numerous maneuvers such as lobbing a grenade over your head, peaking out from behind the cover for accurate shots, or blind fire to force enemies into a defensive position.

The cover system is a huge part of the enjoyment of the game but there are also more elements that really kick the game into gear. The game blends stealth and action gameplay seamlessly. You can tackle missions and enemies however you like, whether it be going in unseen with a silenced rifle, pulling off a couple silent kills, and using a hologram to distract enemies or halling balls through the level with guns blazing.

To help you succeed in your quest for revenge you're given various different weapons. You're main weapon is the GI Rifle with a scope. This gun has machine gun rounds and sniper rounds. As you play on in the game four other attachments will become available (Shotgun, Fragment Mortar, Sammy Launcher, and Beam Rifle). You also have access to grenades and explosives as well. The grenades offered in the game are frag, sticky, scrambler, and incendiary. The explosive at your disposal is known as the micro-mine. These are mines that you scatter across across a small area and detonate when enemies step by them. All of these weapons are purchased through your bag man by using Salvage points that you picked up off of dead soldiers along the way. You're able to purchase new weapons, more ammo, upgrades, and medi-paks through the bag man at any time during gameplay. You never collect ammo, weapons, or medi-paks off the ground or enemies in the singleplayer campaign. In addition to the hand held weapons there are also emplacement and heavy duty weapons. These include the Machine Gun, Flak Cannon, Hell Cannon, and Lazooka which all become controllable during certain parts in the game.

The enemies you'll be facing off against are known as the Norts which are highly skilled teams, each with a sergeant and a small number of deadly infantry. The Nort vehicles that you will encounter and face off against are the Hoppa and Drill Probe. These will not only drop off infantry but will also attack you on site. The other enemies you will encounter are mech like soldiers that can only be defeated by the Sammy Launcher or by getting up behind them and pressing the silent kill button. The last type of enemies are the Decapitators, which are small flying mechanical enemies that hit, shoot, and explode when you're in range, and auto turrets that can only be destroyed by shooting the small red light on the top of them.

The missions you'll be doing range from taking out enemy equipment, rescuing other soldiers, infiltrating enemy bases, and various others. There are about two missions where you're aboard a transport vehicle that you must protect from oncoming enemies. These missions are on rails and were my least favorite missions to do. Aside from those two missions and the final showdown, I enjoyed the singleplayer campaign very much. There is also split-screen co-op, Xbox Live, and system link but this review is strictly for the singleplayer experience so I will not be going over any of the multiplayer modes in this review.

Graphics

Rogue Trooper isn't the best looking game around, it's also not that bad looking either. The environments are the biggest draw graphically. There are many things going on in some levels that really add to the graphical detail of the game. Textures are plain for the most part and character models all look very similar. It's just the small details in the levels that make Rogue Trooper appealing to look at. Not bad by any means. The explosions are satisfying, especially when using the Fragment Mortar and Sammy Launcher. Cutscenes flow nicely and move the game and story along at a good pace. They also help show the more bad ass side of the main character (Rogue).

Sound

Sound has never been a problem for me in games. I never once had a problem with the way Rogue Trooper sounded. The voice acting is just about average even if it is a bit cheesy sometimes. There is always chatter since you're three chip companions are constantly letting you know the status of what's going on. The sound effects are also pretty good, especially the explosions. My only complaint would be that the regular GI Rifle sounds a little weak and your companion chips talk a little to much sometimes.

Closing Comments

Rogue Trooper is a wild wide from start to finish. Shooter fans should feel right at home when they're first dropped into the game. The lack of innovation is over turned by something we call fun. The biggest draw back of the game though is that the singleplayer campaign doesn't last very long. The ending battle reared it's ugly face far earlier than I would've liked.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/06