I've been a long time reader of the comic 2000AD, so when I heard one of their most successful characters, Rogue Trooper, was about to get a game of his own I was very excited. However, this wasn't without a certain amount of trepidation, as Rebellion, who now own the comic, are also responsible for the rather weak Dredd vs Death. I was concerned that they'd completely miss the point of Rogue Trooper and just go for another bog-standard first person shooter. I was wrong about that, but while my fears about their treatment of the source material proved unfounded, I still do have some reservations.

Of course, the problem with most games released on the back of comic book success is that most gamers aren't going to know the first thing about the character they're playing. Here's a bit of background for the uninitiated, before I launch into my review of how the game actually hangs together. Picture this: a world so torn with war that it is no longer capable of sustaining human life. The war has waged so long and hard that every inch of the planet is poisoned with deadly chemicals or bacteria. No human can walk on the surface without a chem-suit and full breathing gear. Take your mask off and face instant, suffocating death. Welcome to Nu Earth. Yet the war between the Norts and Southers still wages, as it is the first planet nearest a giant wormhole in space, a hole through which there are entire star systems waiting to be plundered.

The strategic importance is such that the Souther powers that be decide to play God, genetically engineering a race of blue-skinned beings capable of breathing the deadly atmosphere, designed to thrive in a constant state of combat readiness. The Genetic Infantrymen are finally launched into combat in the Quartz Zone, a place so badly bombed that everything has turned to glass from the extreme heat of the detonations in past conflicts. However, a traitor in the Souther high command gives away the position of their drop zone and out of the thousands that land, only four survive. Of these, only one has a body; the others are biochips, electronic devices that store the mind and soul of a GI upon death. It just so happens that when placed in various slots on the equipment of a GI, they can take over and guide the equipment. So it is with three biochips in control of his gun, his backpack and his helmet, Rogue Trooper walks upon Nu Earth, searching for the traitor General who sold his entire race down the pan.

Woah, four hundred and forty five words in and still no mention of the gameplay! Don't worry my friends, I'm getting to that, but I had to really set the scene, for it is with this that the game really succeeds; this really is a dream for readers of 2000AD who have been chomping at the bit for a decent game based on their much loved characters. For the rest of the gaming community, if you like third person shooters then you're going to have fun with this title, despite no previous exposure to our blue-skinned chum. Rogue is in view all the time and there's no option to go to a first person perspective, of which I'm glad, because it maintains the feeling of controlling your character rather than being your character, and maintains the viewpoint as laid down in the comic. I was pleased to see that whenever any of your biochip buddies, Gunnar, Bagman or Helm (guess which equipment slot each is in) speaks it is with their chip appearing onscreen, as they do in the comic strip panels.

So, compared to other third person games, what aspect does this one focus on? Is it run-and-gun like Killzone or a more thoughtful and stealthy game like Splinter Cell? The answer is that it sits somewhere in between, and even adds something a little new to the genre, which is thanks to your bickering biochip buddies. If you want to go in guns blazing you can, and you have the grenades and the kill crazy semi-sentient machine gun to back you up. Gunnar gives you a red circle to aim for to get the best kill shots and when your sights and his circle are perfectly lined up you're guaranteed to waste a lot of Norts, much to Gunnar's delight. However, you will have to adapt your tactics as you progress, or you'll find things get just a little too tricky.

There's a lot of opportunity to do things all stealthy-like and a lot of fun to be had this way too. First of all, you can fit a silencer to Gunnar (much to his disgust) and snipe enemy Norts from a distance. If they're patrolling alone then their bodies won't be discovered, and their death throes won't be heard. Also, if you sneak up behind a Nort with a crouched Splinter Cell type approach you can carry out silent kill moves. These vary constantly and so far I've seen the mask being ripped off a face so the Nort gulps poisonous air, a nasty combat knife through the vocals cords and a rather wince-inducing move involving a broken spine and instant death. These are all done perfectly in-keeping with the comic book and I viewed these grim deaths with a morbid feeling of nostalgia.

However, what makes this game special is the way your biochip buddies help you perform sneaky moves. First up, Gunnar can be mounted on a tripod and left to his own devices, happily firing away at any approaching enemy, giving you the opportunity to flank them and take them out silently from behind. Also, besides using his technological know-how to bypass security systems and open doors for you, Helm can create a hologram version of you so lifelike that it causes the enemy to chase it before they realise it's not you. This realisation usually happens when you break their necks from behind. To add to this mix, Bagman can take any scrap you find and use it to make vital equipment for your survival. Besides the obvious ammunition rounds and med-packs, these also include new weaponry like mortars, EMP bombs and fragmentation grenades.

It's just as well you have this arsenal at your disposal, because throughout each incredibly large and diverse level you're going to find opponents ready and waiting for you. Give any one Nort the merest hint of your presence and you're going to be in a world of pain. They have no qualms about instantly calling for backup and you're going to find yourself in a massive firefight unless you can take a few out silently first. That's not to say that firefights are impossible to survive though, as you are playing a Genetic Infantryman after all, bred for war and all that. Rogue can hide behind walls, bunkers, rocky outcroppings and so on, poking his head around the corner to take out unwary Norts, or tossing grenades into the mix for a real feel of confusion. If you're looking to give Rogue a quick getaway, try a bit of blind-fire into a gang of Norts, then sneak away quickly as they scatter for cover. Otherwise, be prepared for some decent AI trying to outflank you as you pop away at random targets. I can assure you, if you haven't got the hang of these key strategic techniques by the time you hit the last few levels, you're lost.

Although the levels are huge and very free-form, allowing for a variety of preferred playing styles, I did find one fault with them; the visuals. Even on my near top spec PC with everything turned up full, I sometimes muttered to myself "Yecch, what the hell is that?!?" In particular, I found the sea and water effects so poorly done as to be non-existent. During a key moment near the start of the game, as your comrades are being wiped out in the Quartz Zone, they all run into the sea to await pickup. As the enemy races towards them in their machine-gun mounted speedboats, not a ripple could be seen; no spray and no movement of water as the GI's try to fight back, no wave, no tide, no nothing. It was like they were wading through black sand or treacle and it was at this point I found that I may have to be a bit more forgiving over graphics than I normally am.

It wasn't all as bad as this, but I found many of the graphics in the landscape to be a bit rudimentary. I think the game designers were aware that thanks to the source material we weren't going to see much more than concrete pillboxes, blasted futuristic ruins, shell-pocked barren wastelands, functional barracks, research facilities and factories. They certainly didn't push their imaginations much further than this for the playing area, but thank goodness they did for the character animations, including Rogue himself. First of all, when stalking the opposition it was gratifying to see them turn their heads sharply when I got too close too quickly, or whirl around in surprised fashion when a misplaced shot chipped them instead of taking them out. Similarly, when I took them out with a sniper shot to the air supply pipe I found it incredibly funny (does this make me a bad man?) to watch them spinning in circles, desperately trying to get their hand over the leaking pipe before too many toxins got into their chem-suit. [Nah, that is funny! Ed]. Also, the silent kills are beautifully choreographed and just bring me that much closer to the feel of the comic strip.

The sound, like the visuals, are a bit of a mixed bag. Musically, it all drums along at a martial pace and nicely mixes those moments from stealth to all out warfare; careful slow bass rumbles as you stalk to high treble nightmarish cacophony as it turns into a mega bullet-fest. This is as well done as the sound effects, which include the rata-tat-tat of gunfire and the boom of frag grenades going off around you. Similarly, the whoosh of the land and surface vehicles were fairly functional and, while nothing new, do their job quite well thank you very much.

What really does it for me though is the superb audio visualisation of the biochips. Their characters are perfectly captured in their voices, such as the psychotic kill-'em-all attitude of Gunnar, the sound advice and functionality of Bagman and the slightly neurotic 'Why am I here?' whining of Helm. When all three bicker away with each other it's a lot of fun and you often wonder if Rogue's sullen attempts to keep them quiet are more the response of a grumpy father than a comrade in arms. Whatever reasons for the outbursts of each, it's hammy, it's funny, it's totally in character and it really makes the game for the 2000AD fans out there.

The big problem is, it only takes about 10 hours to clear the game and once you've done that the multiplayer co-operative maps leave a bit to be desired. Don't get me wrong, they are fun when playing alongside other fans of the series, but they are somewhat limited. I did find a certain amount of gratification working my way through the other harder settings and finding a bit more challenge in playing a purely stealth game, or a purely run-and-gun game. However, all good things must come to an end and this game did a little too abruptly for my liking.

Ultimately, what we have with Rogue Trooper is a game that succeeds on some levels and fails on others, often within the same category. It has bog-standard music and special effects but the voice work is perfectly created to give that feel of personalities flung together against each their will. The graphics are functional when it comes to the large playing areas but exemplary when it comes to the rather bone-crunching despatching of the opposition. The gameplay is a bit of a mishmash of action and stealth until you tactically employ the many talents of Gunnar, Bagman and Helm. If you're a fan of Rogue Trooper then you're going to be delighted. If this is your first time coming to this much loved character then it's definitely worth a look, even if it's just an expensive advert for the great graphic novels about this GI and his biochip buddies.

Reviewed by Dave Wynn for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).