E3 2017 – Hands on with Rogue Trooper Redux

I admit it, until the announcement of the game, I had never heard of the original or the source comic it was based on and I am sure that most people are the same. Rebellion, who created the original game, had it released to a limited audience over 10 years ago, but now, with the advent of digital distribution, Rebellion are giving the game the remaster treatment and hope to bring the game to more people around the world.

The original game Rogue Trooper is based on the comic 2000 AD, the same series that Judge Dredd came from and the game stayed faithful to the source material, or at least that is what Rebellion told me. The game tells the story of Rogue, a soldier that was genetically created to fight a battle on a planet that was bombed with all sorts of chemical weapons, in order for one side to win the war and take control of the entire planet. Rogue is part of a squad with fellow creations and after a series of orders ends up with him being the only survivor, he sets out to seek his revenge against the general that gave the wrong orders.

As Rogue was genetically created, he can withstand the harsh environment that the battles take place in, but while he can die, if shot enough, he will die. Thankfully if you have enough health in the parts, most of Rogue’s health will regenerate, if it drops to low, then you need to use a medpak, to restore it to its max level. In terms of shooting mechanics, it’s standard, at least until one of your fellow soldiers dies and you remove his implant, which is basically that soldiers’ personality, he adds it to his gun and then Rogue’s weapon will track enemies when you aim at them. In fact, the gun will start to talk to you at times and also provide a cool auto tracking function. As you find other soldiers and claim their chips you gain new abilities, which is in line with the comics.

The source material is where I can see players going for more details on this character, the game will tell the story, but as its sourced from the comics, it might be limited. The version I played, while early, did have a cutscene at the start that tried to explain just how Rogue and his group came to be and what the humans that created them, or have to work with them, think about these blue skinned fighters. The actual gameplay on offer is pretty basic, so the game is going to either survive or die, based on how well people relate to the story that is being told.

My time was limited, but I did enjoy it, will I enjoy the complete game, I honestly don’t know, the shooting is solid, the story is interesting, it will all come down to just how well it comes together, though having chatted with someone from the original game, who is not working on the Redux version, they seem to like where the project is going, so that is a good thing.

I played the E3 build on a PlayStation 4, but the game is coming to Nintendo Switch, no exact release date has been announced yet.