Rogue Ops

The story progression, variety of missions and locations, appropriate alternate costumes and great controls make it easy to buy into this world.

Lacks the originality and, more importantly, polish of the games it strives to be -- and no amount of heroine sexiness or humorous one-liners can make us ignore that.

And while Rogue Ops is still often a blast to play, the game’s lack of polish and numerous minor frustrations noticeably hamper the solid, if somewhat derivative, gaming experience that lies underneath.

Although technically sufficient, the deliberate pacing and occasional trial-and-error nature may turn some players off.

Besides the poor enemy A.I., the paint-by-numbers gameplay (requiring surgically precise cursor movement for actions like jumping or climbing) makes the action feel canned. [Dec 2003, p.195]

The intricate layering of tasks and guard puzzles merely proves frustrating, and with the lack of anything beyond the game's eight lengthy single-player levels, which you probably won't feel much like completing, it's a game that looks good in theory but falls flat in execution.

Objects that can be interacted with are circled with an icon, but this only appears if you are looking at exactly the right spot. Indeed, much of Rogue Ops is spent trying to make this cursed cursor appear. It's not a pleasant way to spend an evening. [Feb 2004, p.108]