Apart from the rag-doll physics, the characters were all very well animated. Albeit, the animations weren’t entirely complimented by the graphics. To put it bluntly, Rogue Trooper doesn’t break any boundaries for the Xbox when it comes to graphics. However, it does retain an appealing visual look which works well for the game’s setting. The vehicles, objects, and characters blend in well with the beautifully designed maps, too. The only real downside graphically would be the stationary water effects. They looked quite awful at the beginning of the game, but Rebellion saved face with an amazing waterfall display later in the game.
The visual effects for the weapons are also quite nice, providing players with various smoke, muzzle and spark effects for each weapon. The explosions are exceptionally well-done, and when they happen too close to the player it causes the screen to blur and the sound to fade. There’s even a minor “ringing” in the ears caused from the disorientation. Most of the weapons have well-sampled audio effects--especially the pistol. The one gun I was sorely disappointed with--whether silenced or upgraded--was the machine gun. This gun sounds unbelievably weak in this game, and I have no idea why the sound editors didn’t give the machine gun the sort of audible-kick the pistol had. The turret guns, “Hell Cannons” and flak cannons were also pretty cool, both visually and audibly. The “Hell Cannons” along with the “Blast Tanks” really gave the visual aspects of Rogue Trooper a very close resemblance to the comic book.
"Fire doesn't bother me"
In one neat scene, Rogue had to use the flak cannons, turret guns and every other means available during a rail-shooting segment. While it was the sort of intensity that could never be captured in the pages of a comic book, it was definitely one of the finest moments of the game. There were several rail shooting segments, most of which is standard fare in the video game world. However, the train chase was simply remarkable; players can use whatever means possible to stop bandits from boarding the train on bi-pedal creatures. Players will also find themselves tangling with and fending off waves of bombers, stationary mortars, attack ships, mercenaries and several outpost full of Norts. The entire stage is frantic, fast and massive! If I had to give any single reason to play Rogue Trooper, that stage alone would be enough.
Rogue Trooper also boasts a multiplayer feature. However, one shouldn’t hold their breath for anything spectacular. As expected, a two-player co-op mode can be played on the same system. Much to the likes of EA’s James Bond: Everything or Nothing’s coop mode, it’s entirely separate from the single-player campaign. One or two players can pick from Bagman, Gunnar, Rogue or Helm. While the co-op is cool and mirrors the single-player’s gameplay elements, I can’t help but wonder why there wasn’t a four-player deathmatch mode included. There is a four-player co-op mode available via system link and Xbox Live, though, so all is not lost. More players will probably find the four-player co-op more fun, mainly because the maps were setup for four-players, the intensity is great and the layouts are perfect. The only problem is that the maps seem a bit empty and very hard to beat with just two people.
Beware of the Hell Cannons
Overall, Rogue Trooper’s single player action is on at best decent due to the fluctuations of some stages being intense and others being boring. The multiplayer mode was a good addition, even if it is limited compared to other titles in the genre. Gaining score/salvage allows for unlockable cheats and other goodies (including biographies of characters, story descriptions, concept art, and comic pages) which adds to the replay value (which is very important in today’s age of gaming). This game could have been better had it been more like a comic-book rather than a cross between Brother in Arms and Killswitch. Even with the musical score being intense and very moody, it didn’t stop some segments from being somewhat dull. Maybe on the next installment there will be more comic book gaming elements. Something a bit more like THQ’s rendition of The Punisher, for example. Nevertheless, Rogue Trooper is still a very solid shooter most action fans should at least check out.
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| The Core Score |
Overall
8.1 |
| Fun |
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7.8 |
| Gameplay |
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9.5 |
| Graphics |
|
6 |
| Audio |
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8.8 |
| Replay |
|
7.9 |
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| Kid Safe Score |
| 5 Questionable |
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Lots of guns and violence, but not as bad as some games. |
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