Rogue Ops

"Not the best but definitely worth checking out..."

Rogue Ops impressions

First of all let me say that I'm not expecting everyone to rush out and buy Rogue Ops. There is an over abundance of games out there, games with bigger names, more marketting push and games that are no doubt better. But if you're looking for a new game to play and nothing out there looks inviting, are on a budget and want a decent game for around $20, or you generally like stealth games along the lines of Splinter Cell, this game might be something to look into.

You play the role of Nikki, a hot blonde who watched her husband and children die in an explosion, later to find out he was an assassin for the government. Now she goes to work for the same government agency to find out exactly what happened to her family. After many years of training, she finally gets the chance to prove herself in the field. This is where the game begins and sends you on a number of missions, all which involve the use of stealth and some form of puzzle solving, the puzzle involving how to get from point A to point B. Usually there is more than one way to proceed, so that gives the player some freedom.

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics get the job done. The environments are definitely interesting but don't expect something like Splinter Cell. After all, this is a multi console release. Among some of the things I didn't like were a few broken animations. Like when you climb a rope, the animation where your character goes from being on the ground to being on the rope seems very broken up. Besides these transition animations, the rest is well done. One thing I REALLY liked were the close combat graphics. As you hit the enemy, they show that body part as an X-Ray and you can see the bones break. Kind of makes you cringe sometimes.

Gameplay: 8/10

At first I found the controls to be a little hard to get used to. You basically use the left stick to move around and the right one to look. So what's so bad about that? Well moving left and right with the left stick makes you strafe. But the movement is rather slow. I guess this was done on purpose to create a more realistic game, since normal people can't move sideways or backwards as fast as they can forward. Because of this the controls don't feel as smooth as in Splinter Cell. But after the tutorial mission I got used to them fairly well.

Besides shooting, the actions are context sensitive. Get close to a ladder or other climbable surface and an icon appears indicating you can use the action button there. Get close to a dead body and an icon appears indicating you can pick it up. Crouch next to a body and an icon appears indicating you can search the body. You get the idea.

One thing I really liked was the close combat. If you sneak up behind a bad guy and push the action button, you get a closeup of a wheel showing different directional button combinations. If you do these within a certain ammount of time, you perform a combo. As you progress in the game you learn new combos. This is a very nice change from the usual stealth game and the animations are very nice as I mentioned in my graphics summary.

The missions themselves are fairly challenging and diverse. In one mission you might have to follow an enemy without shooting him to see where he hid an item. Or find an enemy within a certain time limit. Not to worry, the game has checkpoints before any sensitive part so if you die or run out of time, you never go back too far. There's even a mission where you can't kill anyone and can't be seen.

Otherwise the gameplay is the typical stealth thing but with some cool gadgets. Shoot cameras, avoid laser beams or explosives. This is done by using a speacial set of glasses which show electric pulses. So you can see which areas to avoid as to not trigger the explosives. One part I liked was in a room where the floor had a detection laser field. If you stepped on it a gun turret would cut you down in no time. For a while I was kinda stumped here but then I saw these bodies hanging from the ceiling. I shot the ropes, the bodies fell down and blocked the laser beams, making the floor safe to walk on. My other choice would have been to find the security card but I hadn't found it and couldn't backtrack out of this area.

Overall the gameplay is pretty interesting and should definitely appeal to fans of this genre.

Sound/Music: 8/10

The music is nothing special but the voices are well done and are used throughout the game. Like the updates you get in the field are not just some written text. You actually hear the instructions like you would through an ear piece. Sound effects are good as far as gun fire and they really do a great job in the close combat portions.

Camera Controls: 8/10

The camera is very good. Can't really think of any time where the camera moved in an awkward positon. In fact I'd say it's better than Splinter Cell. On top of its automatic movement, you can also control it with the right stick. Except when you enter tight places like air ducts, where the camera switches to a first person perspective. It also does a great job when you're hanging on ledges or beams and need to drop down to an exact spot. Here you can move the camera right on top of the character to see your shadow below and the exact spot where you'd land if you dropped down.

Controls like I mentioned feel a little awkward at first, mostly due to the left right straffing being a little slow. Otherwise they're very good.

Overall: 8/10

That's right, this is a straight 8/10 game. It's a good game that doesn't manage to break into the ''great'' category. But it does manage to entertain and add some cool new gameplay elements to the stealth/spy genre. Not tomention the game sells for around $20 now, which is why I bought it. So for that price it's definitely worth picking up. Like I said, if nothing out there really interests you, are looking for something to play and don't want to spend a lot of money, Rogue Ops might be the thing to try.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/09/04