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Rogue Ops

One of the biggest games to hit the industry was Metal Gear Solid, ushering in the “military stealth” genre. Since that game, the genre has had many imitators and refinements. Kemco throws its hat into the ring with Rogue Ops, starring Nikki Connors, avenging her family’s death through the secret organization her husband used to work for, Operation Phoenix.

The story is engaging enough, even if the characters seem pretty one dimensional, especially the ones aiding Nikki. Omega 19, an international terrorist organization, responsible for the death of Nikki’s husband and daughter is the target of Operation Phoenix.

Players will be taken through “one last training mission” before hitting the field, really, it’s just to become familiar with the controls. Then Nikki starts off to make the world a safer place, but at times begrudgingly so.

Missions will span the globe and while often times players can go in guns blazing, discretion is often the better part of valor (and a smarter solution as well). Nikki will have various tools and weapons to sneak around, eliminate the enemy and complete objectives.

The equipment for the most part is standard issue for this type of game, but there are a couple of items that help set Rogue Ops apart. The shuriken are useful in quietly conserving ammo, and can sometimes be used again. Nikki’s night vision goggles also trace electrical energy, allowing for hidden switches to be discovered.

Puzzles in the game are fairly simple, find the right key, stealthily observe the correct access code being used, that sort of thing. There’s also a unique take on the silent kill. As Nikki approaches from behind, depending on how stealthily she is and aware her target is, there is a sequence of buttons to press. This is a very cool innovation and I can see this being co-opted in other games.

Visually, the game doesn’t disappoint, but doesn’t max out the console either. It looks like a very well done cross platform game, which it is. The same goes for the audio – solid, but not outstanding.

Technically, the game isn’t going to win any awards. It’s not about that anyway, it’s about the gameplay. There are definitely items that help to keep the genre fresh here, not the same old hide behind a crate and take each guard out one by one (though there is a bit of that).

It’s almost as if the game was made to slip into the release calendar between major games of the genre. With a Splinter Cell and Metal Gear game not on the horizon, Nikki has the field all to herself, and this poses a few problems. Getting from one place to another is both brilliant and frustrating. The AI in the game is uneven, and Nikki doesn’t always move as gracefully as a curvy yet lethal blonde hottie should.

There are certain things that Nikki can’t do, such as jump, which can provide for some frustrating gameplay moments. While the number of moves Nikki can perform is somewhat limited, there is the seed here for a franchise that could, with a little more time and attention, give the Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell series a run for their money.

Stealth action fans should definitely look into picking this up, if just to try out the new items that are brought to the table. While Rogue Ops won’t set the gaming world on fire, the stealth action genre could be better off for having Nikki Connors.

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Tags: Rogue Ops

Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 25th, 2003 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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