Strontium Dog

Developer: Rebellion Publisher: Eidos Formats: PC DVD , PS2 and Xbox.
As you are no doubt aware, Rogue Trooper is based on the classic 2000AD strip of the same name. For those of you who are late to class, here’s the deal:
Rogue is the last of the Genetic Infantrymen, bred for battle and able to survive in the harshest of environments. As the sole survivor of the Quartz Zone Massacre, it’s his mission to hunt down and kill the Traitor General who sold out his brothers in arms to the treacherous Norts. His desire for revenge will lead him across the battle-ravaged landscape of Nu Earth.
The game follows the classic "Traitor General" story arc reasonably closely, although some elements of the story have been adapted for the game. For example, while Gunnar and Bagman’s deaths are handled more or less as seen in the comic, Helm’s demise has been expanded to form one of the early missions.
So how does the game perform? Visually, Rogue Trooper is impressive. Rebellion’s Asura engine is capable of handling both wide-open battlefields and more claustrophobic interior environments and realises the devastated Nu-Earth landscape perfectly. The graphics are solid enough, and the character animation is excellent. In terms of AI, Rebellion have made significant improvements since Dredd vs Death (no problems with NPC pathfinding this time out). The cutscenes are, by and large, excellent, serving to drive the narrative forwards and provide plenty of comic-book atmosphere. The opening sequence depicting the Quartz Zone drop is a work of art in itself.
As mentioned earlier, the death of Rogue’s comrades in the opening level sets up an important aspect of the game. When a GI is killed in combat, his personality is digitised & stored on a bio-chip implanted in his skull. After death, the bio-chip can be extracted and slotted into another GI’s equipment. Rogue's equipment plays a massive role in the game, and Rebellion have gone to great lengths to ensure that not only is Rogue's kit all present and correct, but that it serves a practical purpose and contributes some interesting and original gameplay elements. For example, Helm is able to hack computer terminals and override electronic locks, as well as providing a holographic decoy to draw enemy fire. Gunnar can be deployed as an automatic gun turret, providing Rogue with covering fire. Bagman can use scavenged resources to manufacture ammo, and upgrade Rogue’s armoury.
	Rogue himself is equipped with an impressive array of combat skills. On top of the basic running-around-shooting-things, he is able to dive for cover, and press himself flat against walls, enabling him to peek and fire around corners or, if there’s a little too much lead flying his way, blind-fire around corners/over obstacles. While crouched, Rogue can sneak up behind unwary Norts and cut their air-lines, causing them to suffocate in Nu-Earth’s toxic atmosphere.
As the game progresses and Rogue gains access to more hardware and upgrades, new ways to perforate the enemy become available, including a sniper scope, silencer, underslung shotgun attachment, sammy (surface to air missile) launcher and beam rifle to name but a few. Bagman’s micro mines can provide some serious entertainment, too! Another nice touch is the ability to commandeer gun emplacements and turn them against the enemy. There’s a fair variety of emplacement types, including lazookas, flak cannons and hell cannons.
Any negatives? Well, the game is a little on the short side (I played right through over one weekend), although the higher difficulty levels, unlockable cheats and multiplayer content serve to bulk the experience out somewhat. Also, without wanting to give too much away, one of the Nort characters, Kaptain Natashov seems a wasted opportunity. Her input into proceedings is limited entirely to cutscenes, and her plot thread just doesn’t seem to go anywhere. These small niggles aside, I enjoyed Rogue Trooper immensely. Rebellion have done a fine job of bringing this classic comic character to life..
PC version specs: Minimum CPU: P4 1.5 GHz or equivalent. RAM: 256MB. Graphics: 100% DirectX 9.0c-compatible 64MB 3D Accelerated Card supporting v1.1 pixel and vertex shaders. 3GB hard drive space. Recommended CPU: P4 2.0 GHz or equivalent. RAM: 512MB. Graphics: 100% DirectX 9.0c-compatible 128MB 3D Accelerated Card supporting v1.1 pixel and vertex shaders. 3GB hard drive space.