Rogue Trooper is a 2006 video game based on the comic book of the same name. It was originally released on the PC, PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox with a version titled Rogue Trooper: The Quartz Zone Massacre being ported to the Wii in 2009. A remastered version
was released in October 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Following the titular Genetic Infantryman through the Quartz Zone massacre and through his subsequent quest to find the Traitor General, the game stays relatively true to the original strip's storyline. Rogue, with the help of the biochips of his dead comrades, Helm, Gunnar and Bagman, fights his way across Nu Earth in search of the traitor. Fitted to his helmet, rifle and backpack respectively, they add abilities for Rogue to make use of in the field; Helm can be used to hack computer terminals to open doors, Gunnar can be used as a Sentry Gun and can be fitted with attachments for a variety of purposes, while Bagman stores and crafts ammo and supplies and can upgrade Rogue's equipment by use of salvage taken from fallen enemies.
Tropes associated with this work:
- Alien Blood: Whenever Rogue takes a serious hit, he bleeds blue.
- Alternate Continuity: While the story stays fairly consistent with the comics, the ending changes. Instead of going back to MilliCom to regene Helm, Gunnar and Bagman, Rogue takes a shuttle and goes off to continue wandering and the Traitor General survives. Since the storylines that occurred after the Traitor General was dealt with in the comics were unpopular to begin with, this is somewhat justified. The manner of Helm's death changes also.
- Art Evolution: The remastered Rogue Trooper Redux has moderate updates to the character design. I.E., the Traitor General's disfiguring facial damage is much more realistic looking as opposed to his rather cartoonish appearance in the original game, and while Captain Natashov's Russian dominatrix military officer look has mostly been retained her conspicuous Cleavage Window has been removed.
- Awesome Backpack: Bagman carries around ammo and medkits and can be used to craft these, as well as upgrade Rogue's gear.
- Back Stab: Rogue can sneak up on Norts and perform a kill animation if undetected. Rogue can use his knife, beat the guy with his rifle, snap his neck or pull the oxygen tubes on his suit for a rather cruel death. A stealth kill will net the player bonus salvage when looting the corpse.
- The Baroness: Helm has the displeasure of being captured by a woman named Surgeon-Kapten Natashov, who's not only a very attractive redhead◊ but also a sadistic Torture Technician. Her skills in that field are the reason Helm doesn't last very long after Rogue saves him, but at least Rogue manages to pay her back for the cruelty she inflicted on his teammate.
- Cast Speciation: In the original comic, all GIs were identical. The game changed the hairstyles of Helm, Gunnar and Bagman to differentiate them from Rogue's Mohawk. The rest of the GIs shown are all wearing helmets. This is especially apparent in multiplayer, where Helm wears the helmet and Rogue goes bareheaded.
- Chain Lightning: The laser deals low damage on its own, but is best used against groups of enemies, where it conducts from soldier to soldier.
- Cold Sniper: Rogue's pursuit of the Traitor General brings the turncoat to call on the soft-spoken, coldly detached Morgen◊. He has the particular distinction of wearing a black uniform only given to Nort marksmen with over a thousand confirmed kills and he soon becomes personally motivated to mercilessly dispatch Rogue after the GI out-snipes him, which cracks Morgen's mask for the rest of the game.
- Cool Helmet: Helm can be used to hack computers to get Rogue through locked doors. He also functions as a radar, which is temporarily lost during hacking.
- Cutscene Boss: Rogue takes out Kaptan Natashov with his knife offscreen. Admiral Hoffa dies in a cutscene also, though this is the result of the Traitor General shooting out the window of the room he's in and Rogue just leaving the environment of Nu Earth to finish the job once he's got what he wanted out of him.
- Dies Differently In The Adaptation: Helm actually survives the Quartz Zone Massacre this time around, albeit with serious injuries from the attack at the extraction point that killed him in the original comic. He's captured by Kaptan Natashov and used for experimentation. His death is caused by a toxin she develops specifically that even GIs aren't immune to.
- EMP: The Norts deploy EMP troopers, who can temporarily disable the biochips, locking out a lot of your abilities for that period. When they come back online, they're not happy about it and ask you to disable the EMP trooper. Rogue can make use of Scramble Grenades, which have the same effect on Nort equipment. On infantry, it will disorient them. On Tactical Armour, it will disable them long enough for you to get around and take out its wearer from behind.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Traitor General is never referred to by name, only as the Traitor General. This somewhat makes sense as no one knows who he is and by the time you see his face he's been so heavily disfigured that no one would recognize him anyway.
- Exact Words: When Rogue confronts Grand Admiral Hoffa, he promises not to kill him in exchange for information. Of course, that doesn't mean he's going to help him survive.
- Falling Damage: It's a tad excessive. Rogue falling his own height easily wipes out third of your health.
- Hand Cannon: In addition to Gunnar, Rogue carries a rather large pistol that's just as effective at dealing with Norts with the added bonus of coming with infinite reserve ammo.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted with Rogue and Helm in single player, but played straight with Gunnar and Bagman, to differentiate them from each other. Gunnar even tosses his aside the moment his drop pod lands. Rogue doesn't wear a helmet in multiplayer, so as to distinguish him from Helm.
- Limited Loadout: Rogue gets two weapons: His rifle and a backup pistol. That said, the rifle is a Swiss-Army Weapon thanks to the various attachments available for it.
- New Game Plus: Upon completion, the game can be replayed with all upgrades carried over.
- One-Hit Polykill: Rogue takes out two Mooks with a single shot in one cutscene. The sniper attachment allows the player to do this by penetrating through enemies.
- Only in It for the Money: When the Nort General flatters the Traitor General during their meeting, the Traitor General makes it clear he doesn't give a damn about politics and is only interested in the very large bribe the Norts are giving him.
- Red Herring: The virus used to kill Helm is put into a bullet to be shot at Rogue. The sniper misses and the virus is seen splattered onto a wall. No more is said about the virus after.
- Red Shirt Army:
- The GIs who appear in the first two levels all get killed thanks to the Traitor General giving their position away to the Norts. The Norts are treated like this by their superiors; According to the database, their masks afford poor visibility and their weapons jam every few shots. The database notes that it's almost like the Nort high command wants their troops to die.
- The Souther troops that appear later in the game also fall under this trope, as most of them get slaughtered by Norts in the forest.
- Regenerating Health: Minor wounds can heal on their own due to a GI's enhanced physiology, but major wounds reduce the level to which Rogue's health bar can regenerate until a med pack is used.
- Robbing the Dead: Searching Nort bodies gives Rogue salvage, which can be used to craft ammo, supplies and upgrades. You can loot GI corpses in the Quartz Zone as well, but the amount of salvage recovered is minimal.
- Save the Day, Turn Away: After defeating the Traitor General, Rogue refuses Colonel Kovert's offer to work for him and takes a shuttle away.
- Shoot the Fuel Tank: Blasting fuel tanks on landing pads with micromines can be used to prevent hoppas from landing and dropping troops. Fuel tanks on trucks can be shot to blow them up. Also, enemies' air tanks can be shot, causing them to explode after a couple of seconds.
- Shout-Out: The Traitor General's dialogue in the final boss fight consists of numerous lines lifted from 80's pop culture, including The Transformers: The Movie and RoboCop (1987).
- Sniper Duel: Rogue and Morgen
- Smart Gun: Gunnar, being the personality of one of Rogue's comrades inserted into his rifle. Gunnar assists with Rogue's aiming and comes with a number of extra functions and attachments, such as a Hollywood Silencer, Sniper Rifle attachment, underslung shotgun, surface to air missile launcher and laser. He can also be used as a sentry gun.
- Swiss-Army Gun: Gunnar can be upgraded to use a shotgun, mortar, surface to air missile and laser depending on the situation.
- Take Cover!: The game features a cover system, complete with blind fire option that actually predates Gears of War by a few months.
- Updated Re Release: Rogue Trooper Redux, released over a decade after the original, is a full "rebuilt from the ground up" remaster that improves the game's 6th gen graphics up to 8th gen standards, and also allows it to be run on modern systems with modern resolutions.
