If you were around for the 80s, you may recall the likes of G.I. Joe and the A-Team; shows that glorified wild, over-the-top military style combat with a lot of explosions. Being TV shows aimed at younger audiences, they didn’t have much of a body count but they were still clearly the inspirations for Renegade Ops. Putting you in control of a combat vehicle with incredibly loose physics, this game uses an overhead view and twin-stick controls to pit you against a horde of enemies on just short of a dozen large maps. While you are given the occasional side objective, for the most part Renegade Ops is pure action.
Not particularly one for complexity, Renegade Ops drops you into a brief tutorial that explains some simple controls before turning you loose on a mix of enemy vehicles and soldiers. Your job is to plow through their ranks and destroy a variety of special objectives (usually bases they have built, or specific vehicles that represent a major threat to you) with as much firepower as you can muster. Overkill is encouraged, and it’s entirely acceptable to slam through the security gate, fire a wild spray of bullets in every direction, then blow up a building with a rocket. This sort of wild destruction will be rewarded with a lot of explosions, as well as bonus points that will eventually let you buy various vehicle upgrades.
Renegade Ops pretends to be clever at times. There’s an exaggerated 80s style plot about paramilitary terrorists with insane demands, and you’re occasionally given missions to protect civilians or safely drive precious cargo to a certain location. You’ll even occasionally get access to helicopters for certain battles, but these sort of segments are short-lived; the main course is frantic combat in ground vehicles. All of this works together to strike a good mix, ensuring that gimmick sections don’t wear out their welcome by dragging on too long and the main combat doesn’t get too stale.
