Rogue Trooper is probably the hardest game sell in recent memory. With graphic and plotting from the cheesiest depths of 80s British comic books, not to mention a half-naked and buff blue main character... well, it's not the first thing any gamer would look at. But thankfully, Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons' Genetic Infantryman has a solid bit of gameplay behind his new venture into the gaming arena.

In this adventure, based on the first story arc of Rogue Trooper, Rogue and an entire army of Genetic Infantrymen jump into cast-iron bombshells of sort and drop from orbit onto Nu-Earth. However, a traitor in their ranks leads to all but a very few of the blue soldiers are taken out before they land. Left behind are Rogue, Gunnar, Bagman, and Helm.

From this point, the storyline is almost completely obvious. Gunnar, Bagman, and Helm die within the first few minutes of the game, with biochips (essentially a soul on a microchip) that are inserted on... get this! Your gun, your backpack, and your helmet. Continuing on from there, the game goes forth to run through the old standby nerd maxims of mistrust and misogyny. If you see a woman, or anyone else for that matter, they will turn on you or die. Sometimes both.

Even though the writing is stuck somewhere in the 80s, the presentation is somewhere nearer the 40s. More specifically: World War II. Rogue Trooper looks and feels sort of like a World War II game with trench warfare and gritty, methodical battles. Even under the day-glo atmosphere, it's nice to see the game takes from the same thematic roots as the comic

Fighting through Nu-Earth is made simple through the biochip-infused equipment. Gunnar features auto-aim with a nice iconic overlay to denote what you're targeting on an enemy's body. As the enemy is primarily made up of humanoids who can't breathe in Nu-Earth's atmosphere, the quickest way to take them out is to ruin their air supply. Although headshots are quick and to the point, firing at oxygen tanks makes for an explosive backlash that can take out anyone near the victim.

Of course, Rogue isn't just limited to guns and flash: stealth and melee are equally important in the game. Using everything from distractions generated from alternate modes of Gunnar and Helm to good old sneaking, it's usually beneficial to take out the bad guys with a little finesse. In some cases, stealth is necessitated. Take, for example, the occasional mechs that pop up in the late-middle game. As they will rip apart a Genetic Infantryman with superior firepower, it's not smart to take them on headfirst. A combination of sneaking, distractions, and maybe an EMP grenade can turn the tables in Rogue's favor quickly, though, giving an in to find the weakness and exploit it.

In the end, Rogue Trooper is a technically solid game. It's intuitive, looks and plays great... but it's really not all that compelling. For all the great work done on making the gameplay sing, the one-dimensional level and character design lack any sort of pull to make you want to play further.

1. Excellent, refined controls.
2. Great weapon selection.
3. Faithful to the original comic.

1. The original comic is dated and one-dimensional.
2. Who will Rebellion take out of the 2000 AD vaults next?