Preview: Renegade Ops

12 Sep, 2011

The HMS Belfast – hulking on the Thames and lying in the shadows of Tower Bridge – is about as dramatic a venue as you can get. Launched in 1938 and once home to 950 serving men, this gargantuan warship has borne witness to countless wartime assignments, including the infamous D-Day landings in Normandy. It now rests, retired but glorious, as a floating museum in the very heart of our nation’s capital city.

And today, it’s entertaining video game journalists. Video game journalists donning perky faux-berets and plastic dog-tags. No, really. You couldn’t make it up, could you?

In fairness, it’s a stroke of genius. Whilst it’s true that the Belfast probably didn’t envisage such an event upon its retirement, there’s no denying that – as a venue to launch military shooter Regenade Ops – SEGA have hit gold. Crammed into the surprisingly lavish space (once the cream and gold opulence of the Officers’ Mess), and admittedly a little in awe of our surroundings, we congregate around the Xbox stands to see if Avalanche’s last title can live up to the venue.

Before I get into the technicalities, here’s a little about the story itself …

In order to flex his maniacal muscles and show off his latest mental invention L.V.A. (Liquid Volatile Amonsecence), “Madman” Inferno has blown up a chunk of Europe. Terrified into submission by the weapon, the entire world promptly dropped to its knees in surrender, essentially gifting Inferno and his cronies the run of the planet. Cue: evil laughter.

Amazed at the lack of forcible global retaliation, General Bryant – an ex-special operative with a long and decorated US military career – decides to take matters into his own hands and pulls together his own crack team of military specialists. United as special ops team Renegade Ops, together they wage war and vow to take that mofo down. This time, cue mayhem.

The game itself? The official word would probably be that it’s a top-down twin-stick shooter, but I think “carnage from a bird’s eye view” suits just as well. Developed by the same team that brought us Just Cause 2, Renegade Ops is simple but effective, with an intuitive pick-up-and-play combat system that makes it a fantastically undemanding experience. Which is just as well. The on-screen activity is manic at best and utterly outrageous at worse, but whilst it can occasionally be difficult to keep on top of the frantic combat, on-screen prompts and timers guide you seamlessly through the chapters. It’s a gentle and supportive transition that, while seemingly at odds with the frenetic fighting, rarely jars the on-screen battle or yanks you out of the action.

Until you hit the co-op, that is.

Whilst it’s inevitable that any narrowing of that bird’s-eye view will restrict the player’s perspective, on some occasions the limitations of the split-screen view felt nothing short of claustrophobic. Without being able to properly see the environment surrounding you, opportunities for bonus items and secondary objectives may well be lost, and the dizzying action on the other side of the cut isn’t easy to ignore. So while the co-op (available for two local players via splitscreen, and four players connected online) is a thoroughly entertaining addition to gameplay, an addition might well be all it is – it certainly didn’t define Renegade Ops as the Next Big Thing in co-operative play.

Thankfully, the single player campaign does make up for it. Whilst I only got to sample a small section of the game, what was demonstrated and subsequently experienced firsthand was intriguing if not quite wholly irresistible. The hand-drawn qualities of the cut-scene artwork are surprisingly immersive, with the gameplay – if a little repetitive – paced well enough to move you on before you bore of the environment. Set both primary and secondary objectives in each level, your mission is to progress through the chapter, completing your tasks and eradicating Inferno’s henchmen in the process by way of the plethora of vehicles and armaments at your disposal. And there’s a lot of them to eradicate, believe me.

All in all, a positive experience. Well, aside from one small detail (or, more accurately, two) outside of Avalanche’s immediate control …

In recent years the gaming industry has made commendable efforts to readdress its misogynistic undertones and be more mindful of its unisex audience. Sometimes these efforts are successful: sometimes they are not. In the case of Renegade Ops, the perfectly balanced playable cast is a welcomed change to similar titles, not least because the female characters are chiefly clad appropriately and, refreshingly, as equally skilled as their male counterparts. Therefore, it was a travesty that the evening itself was utterly unraveled by the bewildering addition of topless model.

And sure, I’ve no doubt that there were raised eyebrows and snickering from some of the attendees, but the model – naked but for a g-string and streaks of camo body-paint – brought no credibility to the event … a huge shame, given the game’s seemingly lack of gender bias. A tactical schoolboy error, SEGA – with an emphasis on schoolboy … sigh.

Edit: SEGA have kindly surmised the evening in this brief video – enjoy! (Nope, there’s no boobs).