We got some hands on time with Renegade Ops at PAX this past week. The downloadable game from the Just Cause 2 team is set to release on the 360, PS3 and PC later this month with full four player co-op action. While the co-op play wasn't on display on the show floor, I got a pretty good idea of how the game is going to work and feel.
Players will choose from four characters, each with their own unique vehicle and take on missions through various areas. Our demo area was set in a jungle where we controlled a jeep to rescue civilians that were captured and drive them back to a church. The game is a twin stick shooter at heart, but it's easy to see the open world influence of Just Cause. It's not a linear progression through the levels, but instead, there's various ways to get to your objective and get back. The driving felt solid and your little vehicle moves through the world quite believably as it bounces on the road, crashes through objects, and skids as it tries to make turns at high speeds.
The destruction in the game was particularly impressive - buildings cracked, crashed and exploded as I drove straight through them to rescue those prisoners in need. The entire time I felt like I was "against the clock" - even though there was no particular timer on this section of the mission. Soon though, after mid-way through the rescue mission, I got an update that there were rocket trucks in bound. I had a certain amount of time to find and eliminate these all the while still having a main objective of rescuing the prisoners.
For the most part the vehicle combat was satisfying, shooting the little soldiers to rescue my friends never got old and the controls were tight. Perhaps the highlight of the gameplay session was being able to call in a special air strike attack on a target which exploded in an impressive display of fireworks and debris. This is definitely an intense and over the top twin stick shooter.
So while I didn't get to play the game in co-op at PAX, I did get a chance to ask the game's director, Axel Lindberg, about some co-op details.
Co-Optimus: The big thing everyone has been talking about for Renegade Ops is how it uses the Just Cause 2 engine but turns things into a retro styled top down game. What difficulties did you guys have to adapting this style game from an engine designed for a 3rd person action game?
Axel Lindberg: Actually, we had a very smooth transition going from 3rd person to top-down view. Some of the more complex challenges we faced early on was creating a completely new control-system for driving / aiming / shooting, and finding the right approach to how the environments needed to be made. From a level design point-of-view for example, in top-down the player can’t see very far, but they can see in all directions at the same time instead, which is something that needs to be taken into account in how each passage and combat-area is designed.
Co-Optimus: Was co-op part of Renegade Ops from the beginning?
Axel: Yes it was. With Renegade Ops, we wanted to create an experience best described as a “non-stop, balls-to-the-wall action-fest” that you can enjoy together with your friends. There’s a very strong, and kind of weird, sense of satisfaction in going into an area full of enemies and buildings with a friend or two, and just wrecking it all to the ground in a symphony of explosions and splintered wood.
Co-Optimus: We've seen you support both split-screen and online play for Renegade Ops. Was this something you felt was a necessity?
Axel: We wanted to make sure that as many people as possible could play Renegade Ops in multiplayer. Split-screen and online are very different types of experiences as well, and cater to different gamers.
Co-Optimus: Do the characters and vehicles in the game promote cooperative play with class like strengths and weaknesses?
Axel: Definitely! Each of the four characters has unique strengths and weaknesses derived from their vehicles size, handling, and most importantly: special ability. On top of that each character has access to a bunch of upgrades that can be used to further emphasize a certain role. Depending on what upgrades you equip, you can either build a character to be very helpful in a friendly co-op context, or you could build that same character to be the biggest and badest competitively, stealing kill-bonuses and racking up the highest scores. It’s up to each player to find their favorite setup.
Co-Optimus: How many different vehicles are there in the game? Are there any upgrades or tweaks that players can make to these?
Axel: There are 4 playable characters in the game and a few special vehicles that players can find in some missions, like a helicopter in the first mission. Once again, each of the 4 playable characters has a unique vehicle with its own handling, special ability, and upgrades. We’ve worked very hard trying to make each of the upgrades in Renegade Ops meaningful. Instead of just adding a percentage of damage to your machine gun, we’ve got upgrades that fundamentally change the way your vehicle or special ability works. We’ve also made each upgrade stackable, which means that there are lots of cool synergies you can find depending on how you combine the upgrades with each other.
Co-Optimus: Renegade Ops has been touted to have that big hollywood blockbuster type feel to the action. What's one of the craziest or most intense moments you've had in the game?
Axel: I’ve got one that happened just yesterday when I was playing. I was playing as the character Armand, who drives a heavy, armored truck with the ability to extend an indestructible shield. I was doing a play-through of mission 7, where the Renegades have come to a very hostile place that is basically like a full-on warzone. I needed to get to the top of a hill to take out a bunkered mortar. On my way up, an enemy chopper with rocket launchers started chasing me, so I used my turbo to try to shake him. I got to the top of the hill where I managed to clear out some enemy jeeps and a tank before finally getting to the mortar. I was pretty low on health from taking a shot head-on from the tank. The enemy chopper from earlier caught up to me and fired a few homing missiles after me.
So I destroyed the mortar truck, pushed my turbo, and went flying off a cliff while the homing rockets were still after me. I would’ve been dead if I didn’t have Armands shield. I activated it in mid-air and watched the homing missiles hit me. BOING! I had equipped Armands “Rebound” upgrade which makes his shield bounce rockets back at the enemy, so the homing missiles bounced off my shield back at the chopper, who was still chasing me, blowing him up while I was still spinning in mid-air. I released the shield, landed, got a stunt bonus for the 360 spin I did while in the air and continued to the next mortar. It looked like it was something I had planned all along. The guys who were watching my screen when it happened spontaneously burst out in awe. Those types of moments are a defining factor of the Renegade Ops experience.
Co-Optimus: In one interview, you mention Cannon Fodder as part of the inspiration for Renegade Ops. Jools, Jops, Stu or RJ? And will there be cuddly toys in the jungle?
Cannon Fodder
Axel: Good question! RJ gets the job done everytime! Haha. The Cannon Fodder inspiration is definitely there. Especially in the visuals. The jungles, the trees, the little soldiers. We didn’t think that people would pick up on it, but lots of people who saw the game for the first time instantly got it. “I don’t know why, but it reminds me of Cannon Fodder! I loved that game!”
In regards to the toys: they shouldn’t be cuddly! They should be made of the hardest, thickest, and sharpest plastic known to mankind. They should be toys that hurt to play with… Toys that make you swear and bleed… Because that’s how tough the Renegades are...
Thanks to Axel for taking the time to answer our questions and Sega for setting up the interview!