What happens when you take a bucket full of Micro Machines and strap them full of high-powered armaments? Renegade Ops, the action-packed vehicle shooter that isn't nearly as mundane as its name. Created by Avalanche Studios, the boys behind the Just Cause series who know quite a bit about wanton destruction, this game knows exactly what we want: explosion porn!
Renegade Ops is not what anyone was expecting as the follow-up to the open-world antics of Just Cause 2. This title is very much inspired by the Strike series of vehicle shooters: isometric military shooting action. Every moment of the game is dripping with bullets and explosions; pewpewbangboomaction, yeah! The sights and sounds of exploding buildings and splattered soldiers in a jungle setting was very pleasing to the eyes and ears.
Controlling the little bugger took some getting used to, as the off-road jeep I was at the helm of must have been in a slippery mood. There wasn't much traction on the jungle dirt, as I imagine would be the case in real life, so battles with the more fortified enemies consisted of a lot of donuts and a lot of machine gun rounds. At the moments when I was able to sacrifice mobility for firepower, the alternate firing function planted some tripod legs into the jungle floor and let blast a thunderous single-shot cannon. Things that make you go boom!
Unfortunately, I didn't get to take any of the co-op modes for a spin, but the short single player session I had was a blast. The final product looks to span across a multitude of locations and vehicles, to keep everyone happy. As downloadable games go, Renegade Ops has as much promise as the best of them, and twice as many explosions. What else would you expect from the Just Cause devs?