Review: Renegade Ops
The PlayStation Network and Xbox Marketplace are in for a real treat as Avalanche Studios (makers behind Just Cause 2) brings you an all new digital game called Renegade Ops. It takes the top down twin-stick-shooter genre and combines it with the Just Cause 2 engine to deliver a whole new experience unlike any other top down twin-stick-shooter game available today.
Now Renegade Ops is an absolute beauty for a a top-down shooter. Textures are highly detailed when moving around the maps, and the game has a variety of different locations such as: Jungles, Forest, Towns, Deserts, and much more. Now whether your driving through the tropical jungle, or flying through canyons, everything looks absolutely stunning (for a PSN/XBLA game). This of course is probably due to the fact that the game is being powered by the very same engine used in Just Cause 2. This would also explain how well the game performs with all the stuff going on at once. Even when there are swarms of vehicles, multiple explosions, and buildings collapsing, Renegade Ops still manages to keep a nice clean and stable frame-rate.
The gameplay is quite simple and easy for anyone to jump right into without any huge difficulties. You accelerate and move with the left joystick and the right stick is used for aiming and shooting. Additionally each characters (four in total) have a special vehicle ability. Some are simple like stronger armor, while others are a bit more destructive like an EMP blackout or an airstrike; and like most top down shooters we have our standard pick-up upgrades. These stretch from your simple health and score pickups to upgraded guns like machine or rocket launchers.
As for game difficulty (normal), well that’s not as forgiving. Playing the game alone on medium can be quite challenging. The A.I. seems to trap you in-between gun fights, causing you to take loads of damage. At most times it’s nearly impossible to not die at all. Eventually when you do get that game over screen you are forced to start all over with that level and watch the cut-scenes all over again (no skipping option). Adjusting the difficulty say to casual will mean no upgrades or leveling up, which is kind of a downer if your looking into doing that. Luckily the game does come packed with 2 players offline or 4 players online co-op; to help with higher difficulty levels. This is what I really enjoyed most about the game. It’s a great way to waste time roaming around the maps or helping each other through level progression. The frame rate here does drop a bit, but it’s not gonna detract from the overall experience.
If you’re wondering, Renegade Ops does have a campaign mode. The story for the campaign is about a man named Inferno, who is threatening the world with nuclear annihilation. This is where a group of Renegade Ops comes in and begins their mission to stop Inferno.This is all told through comic book style cut-scenes along with some in level dialogue. This story is told over the course of 9 chapters, giving players plenty of game time. It’s not really a huge or complex story, but hey it does keep you entertained and this is a downloadable game so I’m not complaining.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGQLP0PZpR8&feature=player_embedded
Side missions can also be played during story. These can be quite helpful in upgrading your character and earning big points for both experience and score points. These points can be used for upgrading special abilities. More health, less cool down times, more damage, and much more. It’s implemented really well and can prove to be quite useful in tight situations.
Overall I thought this game was an absolute blast to play and well worth the price. I would definitely suggest anyone who is interested in the game to buy it, as it will pack a long single player and a great amount of fun with online co-op.
Pros:
• Easy Controls
• Beautiful Graphics
• 4 Player Online Co-op (2 Offline)
• Stable frame-rate
• Good amount of Multiplayer Game Modes
•Variety of weapons
• Single player is very long
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Cons:
• No way to skip cut-scenes (it gets very annoying when you game over and have to re-watch)
• Ran into a few glitches where I could not advance in a level
• No 4 Player Offline
Renegade Ops is now available on XBLA and PSN. A PC version is set to release soon with additional characters as a bonus.