Introduction:Rogue Ops is a stealth based game that shares many of the strengths and weaknesses of similar games, but adds enough new features to stand on its own legs. While it's not a game for everyone, for those who like sneaking around, it's definitely worth checking out.

The Game:Rogue Ops puts you in the attractive shoes of Nikki Connors, a super-secret agent working for the likewise super-secret group Phoenix. Although the plot is (yet another) tale of revenge that is mostly predictable, it does develop cleanly, and it's obvious that your goal in the previous mission leads to the next one, giving a sense of progression.

The controls in Rogue Ops aren't as intuitive as other games, but after the first few missions you'll be creeping about with ease. The left stick controls movement and strafing, while the right stick looks around. The camera is tied to Nikki's back, meaning that looking around will also cause her to turn her body. This is great for the action sequences, but somewhat clunky when trying to snoop around and be aware of your surroundings--looking behind you requires you turn all the way around. The D-pad controls weapon selection and utility items like night vision goggles and fly cams. A great innovation is the use of the headset to call up different items, allowing you to keep moving while changing weapons.

Another new idea is the fact that stealth kills are not automatic. Attempting one forces you to input a quick series of movements with the D-pad or analog stick. Failure means a pissed off enemy. Success means a dead one, usually through multiple broken bones, a fractured skull, and/or a snapped neck. This exercise in hand-eye coordination requires a bit more work than just shooting the guard in the head, but offers a much nicer reward. In addition to the reward, the stealth kills also prevent blood from being spilled, which can alert any guards who patrol the area afterwards.

Stealth in the game is handled more like the Playstation's Tenchu series than anything else. Hiding in the shadows is almost non-existent. Instead, hiding behind objects and walls will be the main way of avoiding death. A radar in the upper right corner of the screen alerts you to nearby guards and their field of vision. A normal guard has a pretty narrow cone and rarely looks anywhere but straight ahead, while an alert guard's vision is nearly 180 degrees and constantly looks around. Sound also plays a role, as it should. Running about wildly will notify all nearby guards to your presence.

The one major complaint of the control scheme is the use of action icon to do various things. Almost all interaction with the environment is done through an icon that pops up when close to certain items, areas, etc., including stealth kills. Usually all this does is take the thinking out of solving the puzzles. Seeing a movable crate next to a field of lasers means moving the crate to block the lasers. Nothing overly complicated when the answer literally pops up right next to you. Sometimes, however, the icons get mixed up, causing problems that shouldn't be there. Playing a few keys of a piano to draw a nearby guard away from his partner, I snuck up on him as he examined it. Right as I pushed the button to execute him, the icon changed from the guard to the piano, obviously causing my quick demise. Any enemies near an interactive object usually means a gunshot to the head as opposed to a stealth kill.

Nikki's employers aren't at all squeamish about killing. In fact, they heartily encourage it and nearly all the missions are about killing each bad guy before advancing on to the next area. The goal is to do all this killing quietly, as failure to do so results in reinforcements for the bad guys and usually an alarm being sounded. In the early stages this is hardly a problem as the alarms don't do much. In the later half of the game, however, alarms call in an endless supply of enemies, usually requiring a restart or a lot of running and gunning, which Nikki is more than capable of doing.

Although Rogue Ops only contains eight missions (nine if you count the training level), each stage is pretty long and packed with enough enemies that clearing the game will take about 12-15 hours. The missions themselves are very linear, but generally well executed. Many situations offer viable alternatives as to how to get passed them. At one point you're pinned down by multiple enemies in an English museum. You can lean around the corner and kill each one, or simply shoot the wires that hold the T-Rex exhibit, causing the ancient monster to crash down on them. While many objectives are standard fare (kill this leader or steal these documents) a few are pretty ingenious. One has Nikki stealing bonds from a bank vault, while another has her forging a suicide note.

In addition to some interesting objectives, Nikki also gets to play with some fun toys. The standard night vision/thermal goggles are here, but there's also a thermo-optic camouflage suit (although only during the last mission), a retina scanner, an adrenaline boost (for some Max Payne-like bullet time), and a fly cam to scout out the upcoming areas. Some are secondary and not essential, but many items are crucial to Nikki's success. The fly cam is a scouting tool, but in some cases you must use it to shut down cameras or open up doors before you can proceed.

Rogue Ops is stylized as a stealth game, but it also contains plenty of action. Many stages contain parts where the enemies know your location, and being sneaky just isn't an option. It's really quite nice to let loose and just gun down the bad guys after a full level of being quiet.

The replayability of Rogue Ops is lacking. It consists simply of playing the game again at a tougher difficulty setting. This is somewhat depressing, as future content should be downloadable to extend the life of such a game.

Graphics & Sound:Graphics in Rogue Ops are solid, if not much more. The environments are very well done, and no two levels look the same, as each mission has it's own look and feel. Sneaking through the bank vault at night is considerably different from the abandoned research station with it's generator powered lighting. Nikki herself looks good, if a little blocky, but her moves are very fluid, and the enemies mimic Nikki in that respect: a little blocky but fluid.

The sound is good, but not great. The suppressed guns sound decent, and enemies will yell to their companions when Nikki is spotted. Music in Rogue Ops ranges from perfectly setting the mood to just boring. But when it's on, it does a great job of immersing you into the role of a super secret agent. The voice-overs are decent for the most part, sometimes being a little too overdramatic, which actually seems to fit with the B-movie plot line.

Innovation:While not a groundbreaking game, Rogue Ops attempts to do more than just copy other similar games out there. As mentioned above, some of the mission objectives were truly interesting, which makes going through such levels more enjoyable than usual. Using the headset for changing weapons and items is a surprisingly useful tool, and once I got the knack of it, I hardly ever used the D-pad for switching gear. Nikki has a nice assortment of objects and weapons, each with their proper use. The fly cam in particular, with it's use essential for success, shows inspiration in the level design. And the stealth kills, while not unique to the genre, are unique to the Xbox.

Mojo:If you enjoy sneaky games, then this game has a good amount of mojo for you. Breaking a terrorist's leg and shoulder before snapping his neck is a satisfying reward for being able to sneak up on him. The action sequences are almost as fun. Running about as enemies pop up and greeting them with a silenced bullet is it's own kind of cool, and helps break up the general slow pacing of any stealth game. Because this is a game based on patience rather than hand-eye coordination, reloading will be necessary. But the game's engine makes reloading quick and almost painless. Kudos to anything that's lessens downtime.

Lowdown:Rogue Ops is a solid stealth game that won't win any awards, but should please fans of the genre. For those who would rather run and jump while killing everything that moves, this is not the game for you.

Gameplay: 8, Graphics/Sound: 6, Innovation: 6, Mojo: 7. Final: 7