The Norts hate the color blue and even more so when they are staring down the barrel of a weapon held by those abominations known as the Genetic Infantry. As the propaganda begins to fill the airwaves with a powerful campaign to destroy what is left of the cloned, blue-skinned soldiers, the war for Nu Earth has just begun. Of course, the Norts will have to deal with a hero who is just too tough to kill. This is the epic struggle gamers will encounter in Rogue Trooper for the PlayStation 2 and this summer’s most surprisingly fun action game.

You slip into the combat boots of Rogue, a genetically created soldier with blue skin and the desire to fight back against the human Norts who want to destroy the Genetic Infantry for good. This isn’t just a battle for survival for Rogue but also a battle for revenge. Having been betrayed on the surface of Nu Earth, Rogue watches as his comrades are massacred. As the lone survivor of his squad, Rogue continues on his path to infiltrate the enemy stronghold and exact his revenge on the Nort forces. As a lone warrior, Rogue attempts to defeat the enemy with his quick wit, enough bullets and the help of his dead squad members. It certainly isn’t easy being blue.

Rogue Trooper will seem like familiar fare to fans of third-person shooter action games and, for the most part, it has all the appearances of a generic shooter set in the future. Yet the one thing that sets this game apart from countless other games in the same genre is the fact that the game is actually fun to play. Even the stealth moments in the game don’t seem to slow the shoot-first-never-ask-questions pace. In short, it’s an action game that skips the story to concentrate on its various action-packed moments. In a way, it reminds me of the campy sci-fi film “Starship Troopers” only without the menacing space bugs.

Since Nu Earth’s atmosphere is poison to the enemy, Norts wear suits with air tanks strapped to their backs. Rogue, on the other hand, can breath the air perfectly and thus is able to exploit the enemy’s need for oxygen tanks by shooting the tanks and watching them run around like chickens with their heads lopped off until the tank explodes. Rogue is armed with a rifle, pistol, frag grenades as well as mines … that is up until the point when his comrades Gunner, Bagman and Helm are killed in action. In the heat of battle, Rogue takes a chip from the bodies of his dead friends and inserts them in his rifle, backpack and finally his helmet - this way his dead comrades communicate with him as well as offer tactical information and generate extra ammo, items and upgrades. Bagman, for example, is in charge of supplies while Gunner can be turned into an automated sentry gun to be placed anywhere you like. Helm can create distractions for the enemy by projecting holograms of Rogue.

Thankfully, these elements are a big help on the battlefield where Rogue will be up against the hordes of enemies who have everything from tanks, drop ships, gun emplacements and even floating decapitator robots. Rogue Trooper will put you in a variety of situations that are unique from each another so one minute you will be storming a Nu Earth beach while in another you will be sneaking into Nort facility while performing stealth kills with your trusty knife. There are even items to collect such as scraps of metal to use as money to purchase weapon upgrades as well as extra ammo.

Control-wise, the game is easy to master thanks to the fact that the game is not in anyway complex. Rogue is able to perform dives to dodge bullets and grenades as well as crouch behind cover and even perform a peek-and-fire maneuver or simply lift up his gun and fire blindly hoping a stray bullet will catch one of his enemies. Rogue’s GI rifle can also be used as a sniper weapon by clicking in the right analog stick as well as refitting the same rifle with attachments that will turn the rifle in a shotgun, beam rifle, sammy launcher or even mortar gun. He can even launch mines from a distance or drop them behind him to detonate manually when a pursuing enemy is close enough.

All of these things help make this a good action game but unfortunately, not all is perfect in the world of Rogue Trooper. The game is also way too short. In fact, the game ends right when things are starting to get interesting … and fun. The next bad news is that the multiplayer mode is fun and you can even play an objective-based cooperative match online using a Broadband connection. Why is it bad, you will ask? Well, there is hardly anyone online to join you and much like the single-player mode, the multiplayer modes are short. Each map will have you completing a set of tasks, whether it is keeping an injured comrade alive until the timer expires or making it from Point A to Point B within the time limit and without wasting all of your extra lives. The modes are fun but very short.

Rogue Trooper isn’t a very pretty game but it’s not an awful-looking game either. The character models, for example look good up close and the damage done in battle looks spectacular. Toss a grenade explode and you’ll not only see smoke and shrapnel but you’ll also see the enemy fly up into the air with their limbs askew. Even the animated cutscenes look good but the plainness of Nu Earth just isn’t as eye-catching as it should have been. Still, watching Rogue plow through the enemy forces is still a fun sight to see.

The game’s sound, on the other hand, fares far better than the visuals. Listening to Gunner, Helm and Bagman through Rogue’s weapons and equipment is especially enjoyable and it does give the impression that the often-silent Rogue is not alone on his quest for vengeance. The score is also a highlight and thankfully, you will hear a lot of it during the game. There are even some wonderful sound effects throughout the game that go beyond the shooting and explosions.

Rogue Trooper might not be the most innovative shooter available but it is certainly one of those surprisingly enjoyable shooters that won’t disappoint in the action department. Despite its somewhat confusing plot, the game has likeable characters, inventive mission levels and fun combat. My biggest complaint is that the game is far too short but given the variety in the missions this is still a game you will want to play this summer if you like an exciting action game for your PS2.

Gameplay: 8.0
The one-man army that is Rogue makes him a fun character to play but having your backup in the form of fallen comrades just makes the character all the more interesting. The levels differ from each another and the weapon upgrades add a nice number of ways to eliminate the scores of enemy troopers you’ll face in the game.

Graphics: 7.5
The character models look good in action and there are great rag-doll effects but the framerate tends to drop when the action gets hot and the environments don’t look as good. What does look great are the visual effects and there a lot of impressive effects here.

Sound: 8.0
The score is nicely cinematic and punctuates the cutscenes rather well but the star of the show here are the sound effects and the delightful voice acting that does not fail to give each character plenty of personality. Play this one loudly.

Difficulty: Medium
The game’s normal setting isn’t as challenging but thankfully the other difficulty settings will keep you on your toes. There are boss battles to fight and they will give you something to worry about but it’s nothing veterans of third-person shooters can’t handle.

Concept: 7.0
Just when you think you’re settling into the solid action-packed levels the game ends leaving you wishing there was more. There’s a nice variety of weapons and upgrades and the mission objectives keep the battles interesting. The game also includes a multiplayer mode but it doesn’t offer anything refreshingly new.

Multiplayer: 7.5
Up to four players can play co-op mission-based objectives online or with up to two players offline. The multiplayer mode runs smoothly and the mission objectives are actually quite entertaining. Yet much like the single-player campaign mode, the multiplayer is short and online I found it hard to find another player.

Overall: 8.0
Exciting and packed with plenty of action-packed moments, Rogue Trooper is one of those surprising games that fly under the radar but should not be ignored. It might not be as huge as Halo or as deep as the Call of Duty games but it is still a fun war game with enough bullets and heart to make this a worthwhile game to play this summer.