Renegade Ops Review (XBLA)

Jeep + Gatling Gun = Harsh Justice

Renegade Ops makes me feel like I’m a 7 year old again. Not with stupid afflictions such as thinking if I run through a wall fast enough I’ll break through it or if I stamp around a colony of ants they’ll return to their home and deem me some sort of ant Demi-God that must be feared by all. Rather it reminds me of the days I sat with a Mega Drive controller in hand, blasting away melodramatic malicious masterminds with their cronies and being a badass for the sake of being a badass. Very few retro replications manage to spark off that feeling, but this downloadable title manages to bring out that very sadistic flair…for the greater good. A mass murdering maniac named ‘Inferno’ is setting the world ablaze with an arsenal of WMD’s, and a bloodthirsty army who’ve joined through fear of being slayed. With political powers on their knees and willing to give in to his demands, one General Bryant knows that such madmen tear the world apart for the sheer thrill of it. Turning his back on the powers that be, he forms his own ragtag group of renegades to rid the world of the diabolical mastermind. The story isn’t breaking boundaries, but its tongue in cheek simplicity stretches onto the gameplay for an undeniably enjoyable ride. The General’s team of renegades consists of 4 skilled drivers with heavy weapons strapped onto their vehicles. The smooth handling of every car makes this twin-stick shooter ridiculously fun and fast-paced, like a malicious Micro Machines. The four drivers each come with a heavy machine gun controlled by the right analogue stick, possibly the greatest tools to tear through the psychopaths’ many fortified bases. Action is incredibly frantic, and despite never really varying from run-‘n’-gun ’em madness, still delivers a satisfyingly explosive delight. You’d expect the developers of the Just Cause titles would know how to create havoc anywhere, and Renegade Ops is certainly no different. The average mission consists of mowing down minions, blowing up tanks and driving through anything that dares stand in your way, including sniper coated buildings. Although massacring everything in sight is simple, it’s also yet incredibly fun and you’ll fire through the game in a rapidly entertaining blitz.

A sweet slice of gaming action that never lets up

Renegade Ops isn’t all mindless action though. Well…it is, but ‘Damage Streaks’ try to at least add some decorum to the competitive. Start making some severe dents in a imposing enemy, and a Damage Streak bar will appear, slowly draining every time you take a hit or act the peacemaker and not strike. Start destroying vehicles, however, and the point you rack up in fury will multiply. It isn’t necessary to stockpile points in such a way, but when you come out of a mission having only got an ‘Ok’ rating, you can’t help but want to push your luck again and strive for a better score. Though it slightly dampens the difficulty, taking the fight online with up to 4 players is still a blast and can be a massive help to degrade the bosses that can take one hell of a beating. I personally found it a lot more fun to take on the hordes by myself as part of the challenge, but when I teamed up online, there was still fun to be had in racing others to mindless minions and blow them up to gain points and credibility. Despite being miles in the air from the action, Renegade Ops still looks visually appealing. Enemies are detailed, the lighting effects across all the terrain is impressive, and should you be charitable enough to split the screen with another player there’s no signs of slowdown. The only slight hitches in design are explosions, emanating from demolished enemies like cardboard cut-outs slotting through gaps in the ground. The ridiculously OTT voice-overs will either amuse or annoy, depending on whether or not you were a regular viewer of CiTV in the early 90’s. The incredibly cliché macho tones of your General and the slithering cowardly dialect of Inferno will be enough to grate those with a barbed wire up an incredibly unfortunate place, but its comic book strip cut scenes make it clear that Renegade Ops is more a cheeky homage than a gritty action blockbuster. Although it only has 9 missions, all last an impressive amount of time, and the addictive gameplay and need for higher scores go hand in hand to create a title that’s got plenty to sink your teeth into. If racking up points is a petty distraction for you, levelling up and acquiring all the add-ons for all four individual characters will lure you into replaying missions several times over. Still, more missions or even co-op challenges would’ve been a great addition. Friends or no friends, Renegade Ops is a sweet slice of gaming action that never lets up, even on completion. If you have the slightest scent of competitiveness in you, this game sniffs it out and urges you to return for a second ride once you’ve completed it with a nice blend of unlockables killing utensils and addictive gameplay. If you’re looking for a title that requires nothing but brute force and a paranoid trigger finger, you can’t go wrong with Renegade Ops.