Renegade Ops

It's an open world like Just Cause 2's – albeit from a dinkier perspective and with much less interaction. But it seems to have a different target audience in mind: during Renegade Ops' opening cutscene, the evil tyrant Inferno threatens the cities “where your children go to school”. The kids of 1993 are old enough to care about the fate of their sprogs now, and have fewer spare hours for lengthy timesinks. Fortunately, Renegade Ops' short-term sessions are still a complete blast.

It’s worth mentioning that all the cutscenes and incidental dialogue in the game are portrayed in beautiful motion comics, and it really adds to the stylish nature of the game. There are even points throughout some levels where you have to enter a base - a picture of a few guards looking surprised pops up. As you hammer X to fill up a meter, the picture changes to show them being punched, kicked, and defenestrated before you pull a lever or place a bomb.

Observing as your main weapon transforms from an efficient 'pew-pew' like machine gun into a full-blown 'blumba-blumba' cannon is much more of a treat that it should be, and it's thanks to Avalanche's brilliant visual design and efficient controller response that Renegade Ops provides such a satisfying shooting experience.

That's the game in a nutshell, really: a brief hit of retro goodness that loses its enchantment all too soon. If you're looking for a demanding blast from the past, Renegade Ops will sort you out for a week or two; just don't expect to be playing it for much longer than that.

Leaderboards encourage you to strive for high scores, and in a nice touch, if you beat a friend's score in the middle of a mission, you're informed of your victory with a message along the bottom of the screen. But it's the tight controls, the joy of movement, and the satisfaction of seeing stuff blow up real good that make Renegade Ops great. Someone's got to step up and defeat the forces of Inferno, and you won't regret being the one to do it.

Renegade Ops is something of a one trick pony, and the endless high-octane action loses its potency after a few hours, especially when playing alone. It’s ultimately a small complaint about a game that knows what it is and isn’t afraid to go all in on the concept. Plus, any tedium can be alleviated by teaming up with a friend in split-screen co-op, or up to four players online.