Stealth is big business in today’s gaming arena, and the latest entrant into the melting pot is Kemco’s Rogue Op’s, finding itself being pitched in against industry giants such as Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell that have set the benchmark that others must strive for.
This in itself sounds like a tall order and the first thing you will notice is that the main character is a Lara(esque) female operative with similar anatomical proportions. Things were looking up for this particular reviewer and when the obligatory final training mission was completed, it was time to proceed onto the familiar mission-based scenarios. The missions are standard fare, ranging from your basic assassination to planting explosives and do not appear to offer anything innovative that we haven’t seen before.
Nikki has a variety of moves at her disposal, all initiated by interacting with her environment and signalled by a flashing green box. By using this technique, she can climb pipes, hang from ledges, pull switches and most importantly, initiate attacks on the enemies. The problem however, lies in the implementation of these “targets” in that you have to be looking in the right direction for them to be activated and it is very easy to miss something vital with the ultimate outcome being that you can wander aimlessly through the game for long periods of time.
Graphically, the game is adequate without being particularly groundbreaking. Backgrounds are vibrant and the main character is subtly textured in all the right areas. Sound is headlined by some extremely dodgy vocal talent and whilst the sound of silenced gunfire is perfectly acceptable, it is not necessary to hear a gate creak every time you come within two feet of it. A notable example of this occurs within the first mission with some fruit machines that spring into action everytime you breathe on them the wrong way.
Despite these flaws, Rogue Ops does not have any major weaknesses but conversely it does not have any major strengths. The game as a whole is a playable if uninspiring title but you can’t help feel that you have seen it all before, most probably executed in a more polished fashion.
Unfortunately it will take more than a female lead to claim the stealth mantle – perhaps Nikki will return with some breast augmentation….we can only hope.
