Available for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, the free game sports eye-catching 3D graphics and simple controls, along with plenty of enemy ships and asteroids to blast into smithereens. You also have a modest fleet of starships that is available to improve your chances of survival.
Rogue Jet Fighter has the potential to be a cool game, and while there is some room for improvement, it is a fun Windows 10 game to battle your way through the final frontier.
The backstory for Rogue Jet Fighter has you in the middle of a secret mission to steal key information about an alien invasion plan. You have the plans and now need to escape the pursuit of enemy starships and dodge space dangers such as asteroids. Success is dependent on you reaching a jump gate portal and escaping the enemy territory.
The primary menu for Rogue Jet Fighter is simply laid out with options to jump into gameplay, view and select your starship, and view a series of storyboards to introduce you to the game's backstory.
The starship selection includes three different jet fighters or starships that can be unlocked with a $0.99 in-app purchase (that also removes the ad support). Each ship has slightly better abilities than the previous, such as better speed, higher weapon fire rates, and better shields. From this hangar view, you can also choose control options.
Flight control options include using the device's touchscreen and keyboard or motion sensors to steer your ship. Weapons control is handled by tapping the side of the display, and you can choose left- or right-hand orientation. There is also an option to show a control guide prior to the start of gameplay. Additionally, Rogue Jet Fighter offers a pair of background options to choose from. One is more of an open space concept, while the second adds a few planets into the mix.
Gameplay with Rogue Jet Fighter places you behind and slightly above your starship with an assortment of asteroids heading in your direction. Mixed in with the asteroids are enemy fighters, determined to prevent your escape and retrieve the stolen invasion plans. You can maneuver around the asteroids and enemy ships or use your ship cannons to destroy them. In the distance, you can see the jump portal that is your objective and the distance to the gate is displayed in the upper-right corner of the game screen. The closer you get to the portal, the more active your flight path gets.
The original starship that comes with this Windows 10 game has three lives and the unlockable ships are afforded four lives. Points are earned with each object you destroy and, as you would expect, when you exhaust all your lives the game is over.
Rogue Jet Fighter's gaming experience is fun, but there is plenty of room for improvement. The 3D graphics are well drawn up and I like the background options to give the game a little variety. Controls are a mixed bag, though, with touchscreen controls being more responsive than motion controls. I also would not mind seeing a higher fire rate for the ship's cannons. The free ship has a fire rate of one shot per second. The unlockable ships offer a slightly better shot rate that ranges from 1.3 to 2 shots per second. While the slower fire rate adds to the game's challenge, it can be painfully slow.
The other nit I have with Rogue Jet Fighter relates to its ad support. Ads are in the form of 30-second video advertisements that pop up too frequently. I completely understand the role ad support has with games, but these ads should never take away from the game's entertainment value.
The only other suggestion I would offer the developer is to include powerups or upgrades to the ships. You could have powerups floating in space to give your ship an edge or convert your score into earnings that can be used to upgrade your ship's abilities. While there is room for improvement, overall I find Rogue Jet Fighter to be a fun Windows 10 game. It has potential and with a little fine-tuning it could be a stand out in the Windows Store.
