Rogue Warrior - first look

Everything's going according to plan. You and your elite team of Navy SEALs have infiltrated a nuclear-armed North Korea and are prepared to make your way back to safe ground. But before the team can cross over, an all-out war erupts between North and South Korea, stranding your unit behind enemy lines. With miles of unfriendly terrain between you and home, nothing but the absolute best troops can hope to survive.

Luckily, Rogue Warrior plants those crack troops squarely in your command. After robbing everyone's life with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda's decided to move onto the crowded FPS squad-shooter market, but it's brought along a few ideas that just might differentiate Warrior from all the Rainbows and SOCOMs.

Right away you'll notice the graphics. They've got that "holy crap!" look to them that's become indicative of almost all 360/PS3 games of late. We could rattle off some impressive words like "shader technology" and of course "the Unreal 3 engine," but all you need to know is that the water looks good enough to drink.

Chiming in just underneath the visuals is the overall level of detail in this digital Korea. Developer Zombie Studios has been working with infamous former SEAL Richard "Dick" Marcinko and other officials to insure Warrior's authenticity. This allegedly translates into gameplay that feels legit, sounds even better and plays out like real life, not a showboating Hollywood film. Rationing ammo, sneaking instead of shooting and out-thinking your enemy are all familiar mechanics, but perhaps with so many genuine heads involved, Warrior will offer something more.

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.