Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Rogue Ops

Written by Andrew Fitch on September 12, 2003

First Impressions: More feminine than Snake, more masculine than Raiden...

One of the complaints Metal Gear producer Hideo Kojima reportedly heard while testing the original Metal Gear Solid was that the hero, Solid Snake, was just too gruff and masculine. While most people would conclude that this meant people wanted a female option in the game, Kojima's response was to put players in the role of a feminine guy in the sequel! Somehow, I don't think that's what people wanted...!

The other big player in the stealth-action genre, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, gave players an even more masculine lead with the disturbingly deep-baritoned Sam Fisher. However, gamers who desire a female stealth-action hero will finally get their wish this November, with the release of Kemco's Rogue Ops.

Rogue Ops puts players in the role of Nicola Connors, an attractive young lass who just happens to have a rather ample chest...oh yeah, and she's also a tough-as-nails ex-Green Beret! Nikki is ready to move on from military life, but a terrible incident pulls her back in: Her family is killed in a horrible terrorist explosion. Nikki is hell-bent on personal vengeance -- she hooks up with a black-ops organization known as Phoenix, and spends two years in training waiting for the right opportunity. It's a two-way street: Nikki wants revenge, and Phoenix needs someone to infiltrate Omega 19, the very terrorist group that destroyed her life.

And like in Metal Gear and Splinter Cell, Nikki's opponents are ex-Soviets who have turned to terrorism to pay the bills after the fall of Communism. (I will personally present my own handmade trophy to the designers of the first stealth-action title that does not feature ex-Soviets as enemies!) One of the more intriguing aspects of the plot will be in seeing how truly loyal Nikki is to Phoenix. They need her to be perhaps a bit more tactful than she'd like to be -- after all, she's only doing this to mete out her own brand of justice.

While Nikki's infiltration will certainly be similar to stuff we've seen before, Kemco is offering a few tweaks to the tried-and-true formula. For example, the way she tackles enemies is entirely different than Snake or Fisher. She'll have to use a bit more strategy than players may be used to -- the longer she stands behind her unsuspecting prey, the easier it will be to pull off a takedown move, so she can't just waltz behind someone and immediately twist his neck.

In fact, the stealth aspect seems even more magnified in this game than in other titles. Everyone knows that a good (albeit cheap) strategy in Metal Gear Solid is to simply leave the room when an enemy is alerted, as the baddies will then be oblivious to your existence. That won't be the case in Rogue Ops -- once an enemy goes Уalert,Ф they won't go back to Уdrone mode,Ф so you'll have to figure out a way around that. The game will also differ from other titles in that there will usually be multiple ways to solve traps and puzzles.

Nikki will have various high-tech tools to help her stay covert. One of the most important are her special goggles, known as a V.I.S.E.R. These look a bit like normal sunglasses, but they have far greater powers than even the legendary Blu Blockers did. With them, Nikki will be able to see x-ray and infrared light, in order to avoid traps and detect oncoming enemies. Nikki will also use things like a grappling hook in order to climb, and a Уfly camФ (a camera that literally looks like a fly) in order to scout out areas ahead of her. The use of items will be a bit like Splinter Cell -- when an item is useable, the game will let you know, so you won't have to constantly cycle through your equipment on a sub-screen.

Nikki won't rely on gadgets alone, though -- she'll also have access to a rather large arsenal of weapons. Some are what you'd expect any good stealth-action hero to have: Sniper rifle, pistol, grenades and mines. Some are not -- Nikki will get use things like a crossbow, and even shuriken blades! As cool as Solid Snake is, I don't think he's ever used any ninja weapons!

Nikki will have to traverse the world in her search for vengeance, from Siberia to San Diego. There are eight levels in all -- that doesn't sound like all that many, but these will be Splinter Cell-type endeavors (i.e. rather long) split into multiple parts.

From the demos I've seen, the graphics look good, albeit a bit blurry, and the framerate is not up to the level of Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell. That may be fixed with the final product, though. The overall gameplay looks a bit like Lara Croft meets Sam Fisher -- that may not sound original, but Rogue Ops seems like it'll pull it off well. The music sounds similar to the orchestrated stuff in other stealth-action titles, but it's definitely above-average, and should add tension to the gameplay, something that's definitely needed in this sort of game.

Speaking of sound, the game is supposed to have lots of dialogue to help advance the story -- but from the samples I heard, it simply can't hold a candle to Metal Gear Solid's stellar work. That's probably a bit unfair, since Metal Gear's voice acting has become an industry standard. Still, what I heard sounded rather amateurish -- but again, the finished product may indeed improve.