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[Preview] Rogue Warrior
by Ron Burke
Rebellion has a daunting task - they have to try to capture the essence of Richard "DemoDick" Marcinko. For those who don't know, Marcinko is the Paul Bunion-esque larger-than-life supersoldier behind the book Rogue Warrior. Sean Griffiths, Senior Producer at Rebellion, gave us a look at the bombastic and very mature Fall-slated shooter by the same name, Rogue Warrior. A word of warning - Marcinko's language can be a bit salty.
Our short demo takes place in the 80s, knee deep in the Cold War, and far behind enemy lines. Marcinko, voiced by the very fitting Mickey Rourke, has gone off-mission and is moving deep into Russian territory in pursuit of a nuclear threat. The game is a first person shooter that transitions to third person perspective to utilize a cover system that immediately reminds me of Rainbow Six: Vegas or Gears of War. Those thoughts were dispelled with a sickening crack as Marcinko snuck up behind an enemy and jammed a very large knife directly through his spine. Dumping the body over a nearby railing, Marcinko simply mutters "Fuck you..." in derision. In just the first few moments of the game, we are very aware that this title is squarely aimed at adults. That wasn't cutscene - that's all gameplay.
Utilizing stealth, Marcinko sneaks through enemy lines by dodging through cover. Closing distance on another enemy, Marcinko faces his foe only long enough to smack the weapon out of his hands,
shooting him in the head in the process. With this shot ringing out on the oil rig setting, the enemy set on his position immediately. Switching to heavy run-and-gun action, Marcinko guns down his foes in fairly typical fashion - the real treat here is the close range 'kill moves'. Moving back into stealth mode, Marcinko sneaks into a structure. Popping a nearby power breaker, he takes cover with his night vision and waits for an enemy to investigate. Whispering "April Fools motherfucker...", Marchinko stabs the nearby soldier directly through his eye socket, moves down to open the femoral artery, and then transitions back to the throat in just a quick second - this guy is dead several times over, and his buddy is none the wiser. Moving into the room and dispatching the rest of his foes in silence, Marcinko encounters what he calls a "Total goat fuck" as enemy soldiers hit the lights and rappel through the overhead glass ceiling.
The game is being billed as a 'personality-driven shooter', and having met Marcinko once myself, I'd have to say they are succeeding. (Funny enough, I'd say they've actually toned him down - Marcinko is...uh...interesting) The game is brutal, heavy on language, and as realistic to Marcinko's personal experiences in war as possible. The game will include 6-map multiplayer, deathmatch, and team deathmatch utilizing the same massive set of kill moves from the single player game in a 16-player setting when it ships this Fall. Players will compete against each other, with the winner getting the dubious honor of wearing the "Dick skin". I'm sure they mean that you'll get to look like Marcinko for the next round, but I wouldn't be surprised if that nickname sticks all the way to the shrink-wrapped product. Look for more on the 360/PS3/PC slated title as we move closer to that 4th Quarter release date.-- Ron Burke
Director of Gaming Trend
