Rogue Trooper, released in 2006, is a third-person shooter based on the comic series from 2000 AD. Despite flying under the radar for many, it turned out to be a surprisingly decent game with some unique gimmicks that set it apart, even if it didn't revolutionize the genre. It’s a cool game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, providing a decent experience without dragging on.
One of the standout features of Rogue Trooper is its inventive use of the protagonist's bio-chips. You take control of Rogue, a genetically engineered super-soldier known as a G.I.
What makes Rogue special is that he carries the personalities and skills of his fallen comrades in the form of bio-chips implanted in his gear: Gunnar (his rifle), Bagman (his backpack), and Helm (his helmet). This gimmick isn't just for show; it significantly influences the gameplay.
-Gunnar provides advanced targeting and sniper capabilities, transforming the combat experience by allowing you to switch between different firing modes and tactics.
-Bagman enables on-the-fly ammunition and equipment crafting, adding a layer of strategy as you can adapt their arsenal to the situation at hand.
-Helm offers hacking abilities and other technological advantages, opening up new paths and providing tactical support.
The story of Rogue Trooper isn't anything special, it follows Rogue on a mission of revenge and justice across the war-torn planet of Nu-Earth. Betrayed by their superiors during the Quartz Zone Massacre, Rogue's squad is ambushed, and he becomes one of the few survivors. The narrative is driven by Rogue's quest to track down the Traitor General responsible for the massacre, with the bio-chips of his fallen comrades providing both guidance and emotional depth to his journey. Its a revenge plot that doesn't say much, its just there.
Visually, the game captures the gritty, war-torn aesthetic of the comic series. The character and enemy designs are faithful to the source material, bringing the world of Nu-Earth to life in a way that fans of the comics will appreciate (I believe).
One of the game's strengths is its pacing. Rogue Trooper doesn't overstay its welcome (thankfully), providing a concise and focused experience that respects your time.
One of the standout features of Rogue Trooper is its inventive use of the protagonist's bio-chips. You take control of Rogue, a genetically engineered super-soldier known as a G.I.
What makes Rogue special is that he carries the personalities and skills of his fallen comrades in the form of bio-chips implanted in his gear: Gunnar (his rifle), Bagman (his backpack), and Helm (his helmet). This gimmick isn't just for show; it significantly influences the gameplay.
-Gunnar provides advanced targeting and sniper capabilities, transforming the combat experience by allowing you to switch between different firing modes and tactics.
-Bagman enables on-the-fly ammunition and equipment crafting, adding a layer of strategy as you can adapt their arsenal to the situation at hand.
-Helm offers hacking abilities and other technological advantages, opening up new paths and providing tactical support.
The story of Rogue Trooper isn't anything special, it follows Rogue on a mission of revenge and justice across the war-torn planet of Nu-Earth. Betrayed by their superiors during the Quartz Zone Massacre, Rogue's squad is ambushed, and he becomes one of the few survivors. The narrative is driven by Rogue's quest to track down the Traitor General responsible for the massacre, with the bio-chips of his fallen comrades providing both guidance and emotional depth to his journey. Its a revenge plot that doesn't say much, its just there.
Visually, the game captures the gritty, war-torn aesthetic of the comic series. The character and enemy designs are faithful to the source material, bringing the world of Nu-Earth to life in a way that fans of the comics will appreciate (I believe).
One of the game's strengths is its pacing. Rogue Trooper doesn't overstay its welcome (thankfully), providing a concise and focused experience that respects your time.
This is pretty much 'what if Final Fantasy XV was good' and no, I will not elaborate.
Back before Rebellion started churning out mediocrity and plain and simple crap, they made things like this. Rogue Trooper is one of the prototypes for what the cover shooter genre would become, and it does a lot of things right, though a few crucial ones wrong that keep it from being a classic.
It's extremely cinematic and has an abundance of weapons and tools to play around with: your basic rifle can deliver automatic fire, it can zoom in to double as a sniper rifle (both of which can be suppressed via attachment), it can be deployed at will to serve as an automated turret, it can mount shotgun, homing rocket, mortar and gauss underbarrels; you have four different types of grenades, you can sneak and stealth kill enemies for bonus resources, you can place landmines to cover your back and even generate a holographic decoy to draw enemy fire away.
There is a lot in this arsenal, though not all of it useful: the most disconcreting one is the rifle itself, since its default fire barely seems to tickle your enemies, who are unflinching bullet sponges who absolutely need to be shot in the head in order to obtain any result. The same applies to the auto turret mode, which will distract the enemies, yes, but will take minutes to kill a single one, if it manages to do so at all.
In fact, the turret is so ineffectual that you will discover a powerful weapon you wouldn't expect: your basic infinite pistol. Since you have to abandon your rifle in order to set it to turret mode, you run around with just a pistol, and you will quickly realize it is far more effective at taking enemies down than your primary weapon. It's like the developers were so worried that you would be left defenseless when using the game's advanced features, that they made the pistol absolutely overpowered. So which would you rather do: waste copious amounts of your weak primary ammunition (which you have to spend collected resources to craft) or just use your infinite sidearm that can actually get the job done? Luckily the shotgun and sniper rifle are effective, so they are fun to use.
Rogue Warrior has all the right ideas, but the execution is not quite there. A little more time in the oven would have done this game a lot of good but it's still a pretty good shooter for 2006.
It's extremely cinematic and has an abundance of weapons and tools to play around with: your basic rifle can deliver automatic fire, it can zoom in to double as a sniper rifle (both of which can be suppressed via attachment), it can be deployed at will to serve as an automated turret, it can mount shotgun, homing rocket, mortar and gauss underbarrels; you have four different types of grenades, you can sneak and stealth kill enemies for bonus resources, you can place landmines to cover your back and even generate a holographic decoy to draw enemy fire away.
There is a lot in this arsenal, though not all of it useful: the most disconcreting one is the rifle itself, since its default fire barely seems to tickle your enemies, who are unflinching bullet sponges who absolutely need to be shot in the head in order to obtain any result. The same applies to the auto turret mode, which will distract the enemies, yes, but will take minutes to kill a single one, if it manages to do so at all.
In fact, the turret is so ineffectual that you will discover a powerful weapon you wouldn't expect: your basic infinite pistol. Since you have to abandon your rifle in order to set it to turret mode, you run around with just a pistol, and you will quickly realize it is far more effective at taking enemies down than your primary weapon. It's like the developers were so worried that you would be left defenseless when using the game's advanced features, that they made the pistol absolutely overpowered. So which would you rather do: waste copious amounts of your weak primary ammunition (which you have to spend collected resources to craft) or just use your infinite sidearm that can actually get the job done? Luckily the shotgun and sniper rifle are effective, so they are fun to use.
Rogue Warrior has all the right ideas, but the execution is not quite there. A little more time in the oven would have done this game a lot of good but it's still a pretty good shooter for 2006.