INFINITE STATE GAMES | Photo Courtesy
Paying homage back to older 2D aerial combat games such as “Mig 2D Retro Shooter” and “Siberian Strike,” “Rogue Aces” by Infinite State Games is a 2D aerial combat dogfighting game that just released today, April 12.
“Rogue Aces” kicks this class of retro shooter gaming up a notch by adding aerial combat as fluid as water and brings with it a couple of unique gameplay mechanics.
In “Rogues Aces” only one pilot, an aircraft carrier (and her crew) and three airplanes remain to take out the enemy. To quote an adequately humorous line from the game’s official website, “Just pop out and win a war for us would you, old chap?”
Players battle for supremacy over land, air and sea, all the while taking care of your aircraft and upgrading them to become even more efficient at raining death and destruction upon your enemies.
According to the Infinite State Games website for this game, the campaign for this game is, “100 randomly generated missions over a procedurally generated series of islands.” This means that no matter how many times someone might play the campaign, it will always be different.
Along with the regular campaign, there are a few additional modes available to play. There is the Veteran campaign that takes off all the training aids, so a player will have to know how to play or learn quickly to survive. There is also Rogue Ace, which is basically a “destroy everything in your way” game mode. You begin and end with a fully upgraded fighter plane where your only objective is to score points. Survival is rather self-explanatory, and it is basically shoot the enemy until you are overrun.
There are a few other modes, but on the website at the time this article was written they are listed as “Top Secret” and “Secret Stuff.”
Graphically, “Rogue Aces” does not compete with most other games on the market today. What it does seem to have, however, is an artistic style from a simpler time. This style seems to harken back to arcade games that were once played around the world. This game has the potential to give off waves of nostalgia for many people who have enjoyed past games of a similar look. Plus, the game has an epic musical score that will keep the action more “action-y.”
Earlier I mentioned the original game mechanics that separate this game from other 2D airplane shooter games. The coolest mechanic “Rogue Aces” includes is the ability to bail from your aircraft. The pilot can do this when their plane gets severely damaged.
To my knowledge players can do one of two things: either start dropping bombs onto enemy vehicles, buildings and weapons, or steal a plane from the enemy.
Another mechanic this game has that sets it apart from other similar titles is the ability to fly your plane in any direction. Top-down airplane games normally force an aircraft to only fly in one direction and do not allow a player to go back to destroy something they may have missed. “Rogue Aces” allows a pilot to fly back and destroy something. The animation for the plane makes it look like it is banking and turning around, which looks really nice.
If you are intrigued by “Rogue Aces,” I suggest taking a peak at the Infinite State Games website for more information about the game and on how to purchase it for yourself. Infinite State Games has a variety of games they have worked on, so if you do not feel like soaring through the skies in a winged death machine, you can always find something else to play.