Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre

Company: Nintendo

Publisher: Eidos Interactive

Developer: Rebellion Developments

Genre: Third Person Shooter

Platform: Wii

ERSB Rating:T for Teen

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Premise:

The premise of the game is to take control of Rogue as he battles the Norts on Nu Earth.
Play:

The games pacing is set by the player. The world is not fully open, but it is big enough where the player can choose how he wants to tackle certain battles. So the player can sneak and take out enemies without alerting any one, or he can go and knock on their front door. Since this game is on the wii the control scheme is unique to the system: wii mote aims the gun, "A" button rolls the character, "B" button shoots the gun, "C" button makes the character crouch, "Z" button to zoom in with certain weapons, nun-chuck to throw grenades, D-pad to switch weapons and grenades, "+" button to bring up the quick menu, and "-" to cancel.
Engagement:
This game took a great idea and followed through on it. Play how you want. Even though the game is linear, the levels are open to be explored at the players pace. When the player spots an enemy base he can decided how he wants to proceed: sneak in and kill them without alerting every one, set up traps and lure the enemies into them, or walk in guns abalzing. The player can choose, a walking one man army. The story is great! Taken from the pages of the British graphic novel "2000 A.D", and it very accurately represents it. However, if the player is not a fan or has no idea what "2000 A.D" the story can still be enjoyed.
Story:

The story of Rogue Trooper is about an all out war between the Norths and Southers on Nu Earth. Nu Earth is located between two black holes, being a great strategic importance for either side(Black Holes can transport an army anywhere in the galaxy). The war has been going on for so long Nu Earth's atmosphere is inhospitable for any kind of organic life due to repeated nuclear bombings. So both sides were reduced to fighting in bio-hazard suits. However, late into the war the Southers created a bio-human that was the perfect soldier in every way. They were trained from birth to be killers, and they can breathe the poisonous atmosphere of Nu Earth. During one skirmish Rogue and his friends were sent to battle the Norts in the Quartz zone. The battle went bad, it was an ambush. Every one was killed but Rogue. From here Rogue abandons the Souther army and goes “rogue”. His mission was to take control of the quartz zone, now it’s a vendetta against the man that plotted the ambush and to revenge his friends death.

Resources:

There are only 2 resources in the game health and ammo. In order to find more health rogue needs to create it from scrap metal he finds, or he can take med packs off of dead enemies. Ammo is the same thing. If Rogue can find scrap metal he can manufacture ammo and sometimes gun upgrades.

Challenge:

The challenge in this game varies. The enemy A.I ranges from incredibly stupid to downright hard. This throws the challenge aspect off a little bit, however it does not ruin the game. Another challenge comes from the player. He has to asses the situation he is in: “Storm the base or sneak in”. Both of which has its advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the wrong approach can make the game much more difficult. The most difficult challenge however is maintaining your resources. Although ammo can be manufactured deciding what type of ammo is important: “frag grenade or stun grenade?”