Blue Man Group in one.
I had honestly never heard of Rogue Trooper before being asked to review the remake a week ago. After some investigating, I found out that it was originally a 2006 Rebellion game that came out during the final days of the PS2 and Xbox. I also didn’t know that this is based on a comic series by 2000 AD, the same company that came up with Judge Dredd. Well, I’m willing to give anything the old college try so I booted Rogue Trooper Redux up. While not the best HD remake out there, it actually has some interesting ideas.
Rogue Trooper has players playing as GI Rogue. He, along with his genetically altered, blue skinned, carbon copy squad mates are in the middle of a war between the Norts and the Southers on Nu-Earth. It’s sci-fi all over the place, but it actually works. Rogue’s squad is eventually killed, but he installs their consciousnesses into his equipment using memory chips which, in turn, gives Rogue’s weaponry and inventory some extra advancements making him an all purpose multi-tool of destruction.
Platforms: PC, PS4, XB1, Switch
MSRP: $24.99
Price I’d pay: $20
The game itself is a 3rd person shooter with cover based mechanics. Rogue will automatically go into cover when close to anything that can be used – at least, he’s supposed to. There were a few times I would have to press against cover for a second before the animation would begin, leaving me to take hits from incoming fire. Rogue has a multitude of grenades and his gun serves as both an assault rifle and a sniper rifle, both of which can be upgraded using scrap found on fallen enemies and around the environment. Bagman (Rogue’s dead buddy that has been installed into his backpack) can generate ammo, health packs, and the upgrades I spoke of earlier. It’s a form of store system that Rogue just walks around with strapped to his back. Gunner, who’s installed to Rogue’s gun (obviously), can help with auto aim assists, and Helm (guess where he’s installed) can serve as a weak point visor. It’s interesting and fits well with the sci-fi feel of the overall game.
There is also a separate co-op mode that can be played online. I tried multiple times to get some people to play with, but I couldn’t find anyone. Granted, I can play this mode solo, but I quickly found that I need to have some other people helping me out due to the difficulty. One mode serves as a hoard mode while the other has players going from one point of the map to the other.
While the story has some interesting beats to it, it is rather bland many times. Mainly due to the main character being a standard soldier type. The upgrades to the visuals is OK, but it is easy to see this was a 2006 game redone. Certain things like animations and the look of the explosions really show the game’s age, but in the end, it didn’t bother me too much.
Rogue Trooper Redux is an ok game. It has some interesting ideas with its mechanics, and while the story was bland, I was never bored with it. I wish I could have gotten into a full co-op game, but I don’t know how many people actually have the game. Even then, the campaign can last players a decently long time, and there is some fun to be had even if it does show it is a product of its time, and for the $25 price tag, it’s not a big hit to the wallet. If you enjoy 3rd person shooters and are looking to check out some games from the past, you can most certainly do a lot worse than Rouge Trooper. Just keep in mind, it is stuck in 2006.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
