When first announced, Bethesda’s next big project was described as more of a tactical shooter than a linear military game. They gave it the name Rogue Warrior and, though it has the same title, it doesn’t take influence from Richard Marcinko’s autobiography at all. Rather, it draws from his fictional novels detailing different experiences that a US Navy SEAL might go through. So with that influence to build on, there’s good reason to have faith in the prospect of this title’s success.

Rogue Warrior will follow Richard and his squad of SEALs as they carry out a mission to infiltrate a North Korean submarine base. Their goal is to collect information on North Korea’s nuclear launch readiness and relay this back to the US. Unfortunately for the squad, as the mission is underway, North Korea attempts a full-scale invasion of South Korea, igniting a war that has long been put off through international diplomacy. With all of this unfolding, there is no way that the US or anyone else can safely extract Richard and his team, making their next mission to get out of the country in one piece.

Since its initial revealing, a lot has changed about the game. Ditching the old idea of tactical action, Bethesda has made clear the fact that their new vision is for Rogue Warrior to be a straightforward, fast-paced action game. Most of the time, players will travel from area to area, staying low and using one of the game’s stealth takedowns to eliminate enemies. But when the jig is up, players shouldn’t have much trouble mowing down enemies left and right, as Senior Producer Aaron Guy has described the game as resembling an eighties action movie.

In an interview with Gamespot, Guy told them “[We’re] trying to kind of get across an eighties feel and reference eighties action movies. And to get that vibe into the game without seeming kind of clichéd is a big thing.” All we can do is hope that they can truly integrate their proposed theme successfully. Amongst the big names dropped (aside from Marcinko) was Mickey Rourke. Rourke, an icon of the eighties, will be providing the voice acting for Richard’s character in the game. “The audience for this game in particular has grown up in the eighties and are going to really appreciate some of the references we have got,” said Guy when describing the target audience for the title.

In regards to multiplayer, Rogue Warrior hopes to bring something both ambitious and entirely new to the table. Implementing a setup which allows them to break up each playable map into tiles, the game will randomize which tiles from which maps will be added together. In that way, very rarely will one ever play in exactly the same place. It’s definitely a cool idea, but one must wonder if it will actually work out in terms of keeping action exciting, or just annoy shooter fans who pride themselves on learning the layout of every accessible area in competitive multiplayer.

Rogue Warrior seems as though it will oddly blend new ideas with old-school gameplay and themes. By doing so, it may either provide for an experience unlike any other or one riddled with corny clichés and confusing gameplay elements. Whatever may happen, we’ll keep an open mind leading up to the game’s release on December 1st.