'Rogue Trooper Redux' release date announced; comparison trailer revealed

"Rogue Trooper," featuring its blue-skinned genetic infantryman. "Rogue Trooper" website

Game developers Rebellion and TickTock Games announced on Thursday that "Rogue Trooper Redux," the remastered version of the acclaimed third-person shooter "Rogue Trooper," will be released on Oct. 17. They also shared a video that compares the new version to the original 2006 game.

The video offers side-by-side comparison to how the remastered version has improved the graphics on the original game. Some of the changes that it made include completely remodeled characters, weapons and vehicles and remastered cinematics. The upcoming game will also employ new special effects, dynamic lighting and higher fidelity geometry to create more immersive experience for players.

The remastered game will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. According to Richard May, lead programmer at Rebellion, while people may think that it's straightforward to make old games compatible with modern hardware, such is never the case. The PlayStation 4, for example, has a very different architecture compared to its predecessors. "The landscape of online gaming on PlayStation is unrecognizable to that which existed a decade ago," said May in a blog post.

Remastering a game will need the source code and assets used in the original game. Otherwise, the developers would have to recreate them from scratch. Luckily, folks at Rebellion have a mentality of saving everything. "We were able to take the original source code and recompile it for modern hardware," May added. "It wasn't entirely smooth sailing – these things never are – but it was much easier than starting from scratch."

"Rogue Trooper" is based on the 2000 AD comicbook title of the same name which is also published by Rebellion. It follows the story of the last surviving genetic infantryman (GI), a blue-skinned bio-engineered soldier. The story is set in the chemically-poisoned planet called Nu Earth, located in a remote corner of the galaxy, where the protagonist must fight in order to avenge his fallen comrades.

Rebellion also publishes "2000 AD," which is also known for characters like Judge Dredd, Sláine, and Nemesis.

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