Rogue Trooper Redux Review

Now that the Nintendo Switch has seen massive success out of the gate, many third parties are jumping on board to support the new device. This is a good thing, as more choice and variety for a platform leads to more people buying the system. However, as we pass the Switch’s six-month anniversary, we’re starting to see questionable games make their way over. For a time it seemed like every single week we received stellar title, both from Nintendo and indie developers. Over the past month or so a huge influx of games has arrived, and sadly they’re not all good.

That brings us to Rogue Trooper Redux, a remaster of the 2006 third person shooter that really wasn’t all that great to begin with. I mean, it never really lit up the sales charts, and I would have been way more excited if a classic game like Black or TimeSplitters would get the up-res treatment, but here we are. It’s not to say that this title is unplayable or horrible, but it’s just so mediocre that I really do wonder why it was considered to see a re-release on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

If you have fond memories of the original game, then you might find something to like here. Having never played it eleven years ago, I went in fresh and what I found was basically a 2006 game with enhanced visuals, but very middling gameplay. True, we don’t have many third person cover-based shooters on the Switch, so it’s nice to see a game fit that genre. If you’ve never heard of the game before, you play as a mercenary named Rogue whom sort of looks like he belongs on Pandora from the Avatar film. This blue dude bro is outfitted with a helmet and some high tech gear, which includes a robotic arm on his backpack that can refill your health gauge if you take too much damage. Since you’re a synthetic being, you are the perfect soldier to withstand the harsh toxic weaponry being deployed to wipe out other beings. If you or your team falls in battle, they can be regenerated with their microchip in a new body. The story is pretty standard science fiction, but it works well here.

As you make your way through the various levels, one thing becomes very apparent, the game likes to take control of your camera to cutaway and show something important coming your way. This was quite off-putting; especially since most games these days tend to work everything into the campaign without taking away control from the player. The story stays somewhat entertaining throughout, but the gameplay is so generic that it’s hard to be stay focused. There’s just nothing new here and so many games have come out over the years that have had tighter controls, exciting weapons, and striking visuals. Here the game is sort of a muddy mess with lots of browns and greens and of course blues (your skin color). It’s just not that great visually, and I never once thought, “oh this is cool” during my entire playtime.

If you’re into online multiplayer, the game does offer up a few modes. This allows you to team up with your friends in Stronghold, which is basically a horde mode. The other mode, Progression, forces you and your team to take out the enemies standing between you and the safe zone. It’s nice to see a game support the online multiplayer aspect of the Switch and you can actually find your friends online with the game, which some recent titles like FIFA 18 and NBA 2K18 seem to have issues with.

When it comes right down to it, Rogue Trooper Redux is a very dated game that has a new coat of paint, but is still obviously a game from a different era. Everything functions as it should, but playing it I just felt like I was going through the motions and not really enjoying any aspect of it. Some may find it more entertaining than I did, but for most it’s probably worth skipping, unless you’re really itching for a third-person shooter on the Switch.

Craig Majaski

Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.