Geekscape Games Reviews Renegade Ops
Back in the 90’s, there was a little series of games titled “Strike” that were all the rage. Anyone who’s played games on the PC or good ol’ PS1 like Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike remember how fun it was to take control of a military vehicle and spread havok across enemy lands for hours on end. Obviously, someone at Avalanche Studios remembered, if Renegade Ops is any proof. This ode to these classic games reminds us how fun, over the top, and at times, how cheesy these games could be while being good enough to establish its own legacy.
Renegade Ops stars a group of mercenaries who are tasked with stopping an international terrorist organization from taking over the world. Primarily in a heavily armored truck, either one or two players, (online or split screen,) drive around on huge, detailed levels from a top down perspective, using the left stick to drive and the right stick to shoot your mounted gun. In addition to the secondary weapons that can be picked up such as rockets and flamethrowers, each of the four playable characters have their own special abilities. Ranging from shields, air strikes, power increases or the ability to disable enemy weapons, your character greatly alters how you decide to take on each mission.
It helps when each mission is so much fun to play. Tasks are seperated into primary and secondary missions that range from destroying particular enemies, rescuing hostages and delivering supplies. Each kill, mission completed and the larger multiplier built up by landing consecutive shots earns experience points that increase each character’s capabilities even more. Even though over a dozen upgrades are available to choose from, a maximum of four can be equipped at any one time. So then it comes down to whether or not you want to focus on offense, defense or improving your special abilities, giving the strategy even more versatility.
On the subject, Renegade Ops could have used some of that versatility in the game play department. By the time your each about the fourth out of nine levels, you’ve seen all the missions in the game, and it becomes a rinse and repeat affair. The first level teases you with flying a helicopter, but after that… nothing. I came across the helicopter one more time towards the end of the game, but aside from that, the truck is all you get. If the game had more helicopter areas or even a third vehicle thrown in, it would have done wonders for the repetition issues.
The story also borderlines on being ridiculous to the point of annoyance. At its best, the comic book inspired scenes are pretty funny, with tongue in cheek writing that’s fully aware of how silly it is. But when the writing falls flat, it falls hard. At certain points, I thought it would be better to hit the mute button, but it was just good enough overall to get through it, but just barely.
Renegade Ops was a hell of a lot of fun. Despite its variety and story issues, sometimes you just want to sit down and blow stuff up. The renegades provide this in spades in an easy to pick up and play arcade style action game that provides enough depth to accommodate different play styles without being complicated. Did I mention it looks incredible? So if you want to blow off some steam and cause a little mayhem, I say you should walk over to your Xbox or Playstation and hit the download button.
