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- Jan 2, 2007
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Now, I won't lie. I didn't care for Red Faction parts 1 and 2. Red Faction 1 was a mediocre shooter. Red Faction 2 was a painfully boring shooter. Yet despite this, the GeoMod tech offered an interesting gimmick, and at the time, it was *kind of* impressive even if it wasn't fully realized and paper thin. So naturally when I heard they were making a new one I didn't pay any mind. Yet I raised an eyebrow when I realized it was being made by the same company that did Saints Row 2, a game which has become my wife and I's addictive drug of choice lately. That game has rarely ever left my 360's disc tray since it was released. I raised another eyebrow when I saw a trailer showing that the new GeoMod technology was kind of cool. After the demo and a rental, I was hooked. However, since I didn't finish the game in my rental period and I have a policy of beating a game before I review it, so this review was delayed. I'm not rich and can't afford a 60$ game right now, but for $40 I figured it was reasonable, so I got the PC version. Anywho, time for the review proper.
Story
Some 60 years or so after the events of RF1 and the demise of the Ultor corporation, Mars has been fully terraformed allowing people to breathe in its atmosphere, and has been colonized by miners and the EDF. However, the EDF has slowly closed their grip on the colonies and taken over Mars, once again bringing forth a rebellion known as "The Red Faction." You are Alec Mason, an immigrant to Mars who was unlucky enough to be caught in the middle of the calm before the storm, and loses his brother, the leader of Red Faction, to the EDF. Reluctantly, he is made the leader of Red Faction and seeks to free Mars and overthrow the EDF. The story is simple enough, in many ways its a retooled version of the first games story. However, there is still enough good writing and voice acting to make it somewhat compelling. However, much like your average popcorn flick, the story is nothing more than a framework. It won't leave much of an impression, but it won't drag anything down either.
7.0/10
Presentation (Graphics/Audio)
Red Faction Guerrilla isn't the greatest looking game, but it doesn't look too shabby. It is certainly not as poor as Saints Row 2, but it also isn't as colourful. This is the main flaw with the graphics, while it is a common flaw with a lot of modern games the colour palette leaves much to be desired. Naturally, Mars is supposed to be barren and dusty, but the game is almost completely red and gun metal gray. It may be my graphics card, so I won't slight this too much but there's also a LLLLOOOOOOT of pixelation, and it kinda hurts my eyes. The sun and light blooms are a massive block of pixels, in fact, every light in the game is a block of pixels, and sparks shooting of metal also are blocks of pixels. As I said, I have a feeling this is just my computer, but it can definitely make the game an eye sore at times.
The sound design is great. The music, while not particularly memorable, sets the tone and can really get you pumped in heated moments as do the brilliant sound effects. Tearing down buildings with a sledgehammer should be a noisy affair, and RFG nails that noise perfectly, from clashing steel, crumbling dry wall, and full blown crashing booms, the game sounds incredible and it only adds to the fun of blowing stuff up or tearing it down. The voice acting is competent, a little dry, but competent. The guns sound a little strange, but they still sound decent and the various screams and shouts are all appropriate as well.
8.5/10
Design
The game uses a sandbox approach, but you are often constricted to a "Sector," however this never hampers the freedom because each sector is relatively big and gives you plenty of ground. While the sandbox approach works, it can sometimes seem a little empty and barren when compared to most other open world games. Maybe that was the approach the designers wanted, considering the Martian setting, but it would have been nice to see maybe a city or two functioning. It can still be fun to explore the world though, and naturally like any open world games there are goodies to find and goodies to destroy. Everything you see in the game that is man made, can be taken down. Whether it's with your trusty sledgehammer, remote mines, rocket launchers, and other implements you can wreak havoc on pretty much everything. While the martian surface will always more or less stay the same, as I mentioned, everything man made can be destroyed. There aren't words to describe how awesome the physics are, lets just say that the first time I took down 3 buildings in a row by knocking over a smoke stack I had a look on my face something like this:
The physics are simply superb, while they can be stubborn and strange at times (Ever seen a skyscraper still standing with only one support?) they usually work like they should and the damage is all real time and things fall, crumble, and crash like they should. A lot of effort went into these details, and the pay off is great.
9.0/10
Gameplay
Here is the all important gameplay section. As mentioned before, the wonders of destroying stuff never gets old thanks to the superb design and production values. However, while it is a large part of the game, the game isn't just about making Mars look like Eastern Europe after the war. The game is a behind the back shooter, and is a very good one at that. All the weapons are fun to use, and while you do have a standard assortment of pistols, shotguns, Assault Rifles, and the like, you will eventually get much more interesting tools at your disposal. While the AI may not be stellar, its smart and knows how to make your life hell. I know a lot of people have already complained about the "difficulty," but I actually didn't mind. It wasn't so difficult that I ever got frustrated, but it was certainly challenging. It seems games are getting easier and easier these days, and this game tries to retain a difficulty curve closer to some older games, although like any game it starts easy and gets harder as you progress. The firefights are quite intense, and you really feel like a lone soldier, and its never a good idea to fight troops on your own. That's where the "Morale" aspect comes into play. As you fight to control the various sectors of Mars, you will loosen the EDFs grip and by destroying key targets and other such things, you will boost "morale," have enough morale, and miners will pick up a gun from one of your dead foes and join the fray. They may not be the smartest AI buddies, but they aren't dumb, and they certainly are useful to have. They can often save your ass in an otherwise dire situation. Chases and such are also very intense and exhilarating, yet they are always fun. RFG is a great shooter, a great sandbox destruction game, and as a whole, a great game all together. It knows how to be fun and constantly exciting and action packed, the video gaming equivalent of a big summer action movie, but in many ways much more stimulating and entertaining due to the interactive medium.
9.7/10
If you like Third person action games, if you like sandbox games, and if the idea of tearing apart buildings appeals to you, RFG comes with high recommendation. It's available on the PC, 360, and PS3; the PC version being offered for only $40, and in my opinion its more than worth it. At the time its hard to imagine how Volition can improve the impressive GeoMod technology, but we can all hope they'll find a way to make it even more destructive and cool.
Final Rating
Story: 7
Presentation 8.5
Design 9
Gameplay 9.7
Overall: 9.4/10
Story
Some 60 years or so after the events of RF1 and the demise of the Ultor corporation, Mars has been fully terraformed allowing people to breathe in its atmosphere, and has been colonized by miners and the EDF. However, the EDF has slowly closed their grip on the colonies and taken over Mars, once again bringing forth a rebellion known as "The Red Faction." You are Alec Mason, an immigrant to Mars who was unlucky enough to be caught in the middle of the calm before the storm, and loses his brother, the leader of Red Faction, to the EDF. Reluctantly, he is made the leader of Red Faction and seeks to free Mars and overthrow the EDF. The story is simple enough, in many ways its a retooled version of the first games story. However, there is still enough good writing and voice acting to make it somewhat compelling. However, much like your average popcorn flick, the story is nothing more than a framework. It won't leave much of an impression, but it won't drag anything down either.
7.0/10
Presentation (Graphics/Audio)
Red Faction Guerrilla isn't the greatest looking game, but it doesn't look too shabby. It is certainly not as poor as Saints Row 2, but it also isn't as colourful. This is the main flaw with the graphics, while it is a common flaw with a lot of modern games the colour palette leaves much to be desired. Naturally, Mars is supposed to be barren and dusty, but the game is almost completely red and gun metal gray. It may be my graphics card, so I won't slight this too much but there's also a LLLLOOOOOOT of pixelation, and it kinda hurts my eyes. The sun and light blooms are a massive block of pixels, in fact, every light in the game is a block of pixels, and sparks shooting of metal also are blocks of pixels. As I said, I have a feeling this is just my computer, but it can definitely make the game an eye sore at times.
The sound design is great. The music, while not particularly memorable, sets the tone and can really get you pumped in heated moments as do the brilliant sound effects. Tearing down buildings with a sledgehammer should be a noisy affair, and RFG nails that noise perfectly, from clashing steel, crumbling dry wall, and full blown crashing booms, the game sounds incredible and it only adds to the fun of blowing stuff up or tearing it down. The voice acting is competent, a little dry, but competent. The guns sound a little strange, but they still sound decent and the various screams and shouts are all appropriate as well.
8.5/10
Design
The game uses a sandbox approach, but you are often constricted to a "Sector," however this never hampers the freedom because each sector is relatively big and gives you plenty of ground. While the sandbox approach works, it can sometimes seem a little empty and barren when compared to most other open world games. Maybe that was the approach the designers wanted, considering the Martian setting, but it would have been nice to see maybe a city or two functioning. It can still be fun to explore the world though, and naturally like any open world games there are goodies to find and goodies to destroy. Everything you see in the game that is man made, can be taken down. Whether it's with your trusty sledgehammer, remote mines, rocket launchers, and other implements you can wreak havoc on pretty much everything. While the martian surface will always more or less stay the same, as I mentioned, everything man made can be destroyed. There aren't words to describe how awesome the physics are, lets just say that the first time I took down 3 buildings in a row by knocking over a smoke stack I had a look on my face something like this:
The physics are simply superb, while they can be stubborn and strange at times (Ever seen a skyscraper still standing with only one support?) they usually work like they should and the damage is all real time and things fall, crumble, and crash like they should. A lot of effort went into these details, and the pay off is great.
9.0/10
Gameplay
Here is the all important gameplay section. As mentioned before, the wonders of destroying stuff never gets old thanks to the superb design and production values. However, while it is a large part of the game, the game isn't just about making Mars look like Eastern Europe after the war. The game is a behind the back shooter, and is a very good one at that. All the weapons are fun to use, and while you do have a standard assortment of pistols, shotguns, Assault Rifles, and the like, you will eventually get much more interesting tools at your disposal. While the AI may not be stellar, its smart and knows how to make your life hell. I know a lot of people have already complained about the "difficulty," but I actually didn't mind. It wasn't so difficult that I ever got frustrated, but it was certainly challenging. It seems games are getting easier and easier these days, and this game tries to retain a difficulty curve closer to some older games, although like any game it starts easy and gets harder as you progress. The firefights are quite intense, and you really feel like a lone soldier, and its never a good idea to fight troops on your own. That's where the "Morale" aspect comes into play. As you fight to control the various sectors of Mars, you will loosen the EDFs grip and by destroying key targets and other such things, you will boost "morale," have enough morale, and miners will pick up a gun from one of your dead foes and join the fray. They may not be the smartest AI buddies, but they aren't dumb, and they certainly are useful to have. They can often save your ass in an otherwise dire situation. Chases and such are also very intense and exhilarating, yet they are always fun. RFG is a great shooter, a great sandbox destruction game, and as a whole, a great game all together. It knows how to be fun and constantly exciting and action packed, the video gaming equivalent of a big summer action movie, but in many ways much more stimulating and entertaining due to the interactive medium.
9.7/10
If you like Third person action games, if you like sandbox games, and if the idea of tearing apart buildings appeals to you, RFG comes with high recommendation. It's available on the PC, 360, and PS3; the PC version being offered for only $40, and in my opinion its more than worth it. At the time its hard to imagine how Volition can improve the impressive GeoMod technology, but we can all hope they'll find a way to make it even more destructive and cool.
Final Rating
Story: 7
Presentation 8.5
Design 9
Gameplay 9.7
Overall: 9.4/10
