Rogue Ops

The Good
Gameplay is a bit peculiar and takes time to cope with it but it's really not all that bad, and close-combat effects are rather neat if not for the first time seen in a game.

The Bad
The story starts as bad as it gets, on par with ever boring Nikita series or movie, whatever. You can clearly see that you're not the good guy and are not working for good guys, and yet you continue playing by their rules. One thing about Deus Ex which made it so great is that JC Denton did face his superiors and taught them a lesson not to play with him, but Nikki, she's a slow learner as it appears. I mean, she doesn't even question the motives, she's just doing the assignment as if without a will of her own.

Characters are quite annoying and the whole game can start to get on your nerves very easily, especially with all those bugs about never-ending red alert with infinite enemies coming out of nowhere. Even when there are just a few of them, there are still some inconsistencies that don't play well. For example, two guards are patrolling and checking over radio about each other, and if you kill one of them the other will notice and call for backup. However, if you kill them both, hide their bodies, move away from that very area, they will reappear as if nothing happened, and the bodies of the first two will still be where you left them. Sometimes it's just better to let yourself be killed and start from the checkpoint without any alarm at loose.

Slightly more fun than Mission: Impossible, this game still feels like bunch of developers wanted to add some terrorists-like story and make a MGS out of it. Alas, nor Rogue Ops, nor M:I, nor Splinter Cell live up to their expectations and I just can't seem to realise that it's me who's losing this battle by getting such games. And them being at very low discount doesn't mean I just have to buy them. Maybe one of these days I'll be taught a lesson, but for now, I can't say I didn't like playing this game at moments, but was this a good game or not, I'd vote for not without second thoughts.

The game was on par with Splinter Cell story-wise, but adding robot fights in the end just ruined it all. The fights were great because they required some outwitting, but just because it's a Japanese company doesn't mean robots are welcome in every game, in this one it just seems plain ridiculous.

The Bottom Line
NAMCO, TECMO, KEMCO,... it may all sound similar but it's nowhere near that. This is somewhat original 3rd-person action-stealth game especially in its gameplay, but it doesn't stand out from the mediocre bunch. Mission: Impossible and Splinter Cell are closest match to this game in its boredom and slow pace, so if you didn't like those two and are not fan of this particular genre, keep away from it.