Renegade Ops – review

Players of Just Cause 2 will know that Avalanche Studios does some of the best explosions in the business, and the developer's flair for the combustible is again brought to the fore in Renegade Ops. The top-down, twin-stick shooter is not uncommon on the console download services, but what sets this apart are its heavily armoured vehicles: perfectly weighted, bouncy-tyred contraptions, just controllable enough, equally capable of tight corners, lengthy power-slides or careering off cliffs. The all-too-brief helicopter sections are equally thrilling.

Players are cast as the titular operatives sent to thwart generic evil madman Inferno, a deliberately flimsy surface dressing that lends the explosive action an air of over-the-top 80s action-movie gruffness. Contrasting that is a thoroughly modern levelling system, each XP milestone rewarded with points to be spent upgrading health, firepower and each of the four playable characters' unique abilities.

Renegade Ops' large maps, multiple objectives and, at times, punishing difficulty mean a welcome focus on co-operative, rather than competitive multiplayer. There's support for two players offline and four online, the extra back-up essential for success on the game's higher-difficulty settings. It's as expensive as console downloads get, but hyperactive thrills and extensive replay value more than justify the price.