Rogue Warrior is a 2009 First-Person Shooter/Third-Person Shooter by Rebellion Developments (specifically Rebellion Derby, formerly known as Core Design aka the origin Tomb Raider developers) for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. It is based on the Rogue Warrior series of novels by Navy SEAL Richard "Dynamite Dick" Marcinko, who also serves as the game's player character, voiced by Mickey Rourke.
The game is a first-person shooter with third-person cover shooting, similar to the two Rainbow Six : Vegas games. There is also a large emphasis on elaborate melee takedowns, of which there are more than two dozen uniquely motion captured ones. The plot follows Marcinko as he blasts his way through North Korea and later Russia in pursuit of nuclear missiles.
Not to be confused with Rogue Trooper, another cover-based Third-Person Shooter developed by Rebellion.
This game provides examples of:
- All Up to You: Marcinko's team all get killed in the opening movie, leaving it up to Marcinko to finish the mission.
- Back Stab: There are over two dozen different ways for Marcinko to kill hapless Mooks with his knife.
- Bottomless Magazines: The silenced pistol you start every level with has infinite ammo, but has reduced stats compared to the heavier weaponry you can acquire throughout each level.
- Dull Surprise: Mickey Rourke as Dick Marcinko says all of his one-liners with about as much emphasis as a block of wood.Chip Cheezum: Ice cold, Mickey.
- Elite Mooks: Spetznaz soldiers start appearing once the enemies switch from North Korean to Russians. They use somewhat more advanced tactics compared to regular Russian soldiers, such as fast-roping and breaching charges, and wear ballistic masks and body armor, but aren't noticeably tougher than regular Mooks.
- Excuse Plot: The plot makes no real sense, and is basically an excuse to have Marcinko go from one North Korean (and later Russian) facility to another, killing everyone who crosses his path.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Most of the soldiers cannot hear Marcinko coming towards them even when spouting sweary one-liners. They pay no attention to their bases being blown up and don't react to rooms that have suddenly had their lights cut out. They don't even notice Marcinko standing right in front of them even when the area is illuminated by lightning!
- Large Ham: Mickey Rourke really goes full ham voicing the foul-mouthed, Hot-Blooded Marcinko.
- One-Hit Kill: Marcinko can dispatch a lot of soldiers this way with a single button press, made even easier by the soldiers' total lack of awareness.
- Optional Stealth: In many areas you can sneak around using melee takedowns and your silenced pistol to quietly clear out the Mooks in your path, or you can just dive in guns blazing at no real penalty.
- Regenerating Health: Pretty standard for a modern shooter. Similar to the Rainbow Six: Vegas games, you actually can only survive a handful of bullets on Normal or Elite difficulty, so proper use of cover is pretty important.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Every third or fourth word out of Marcinko's mouth is a swear. Unfortunately, the excessive use of profanity is one of the reasons why the game is so bad. And want to know the funny bit? Marcinko's game counterpart still cusses less than his real-life counterpart, as shown in the original Rogue Warrior novels!
- Stealth-Based Game: The
Licensed Game has shades of this, with the player being able to sneak through enemies and stealth-kill them. Said gameplay mechanic would be reused in the 2010 Aliens vs. Predator game. - Take Cover!: The game has a third-person cover shooting system essentially identical to the one from Rainbow Six : Vegas.
