Mars, right now, it's an uninhabitable chunk of rock, drifting through space. However, in the future, it will be riddled with miners. They will trade scrap metal in order to survive?. And make powerful weaponry in order to blow the monuments of their oppressors into more scrap metal.
Alex Mason is a new face on Mars. Looking for a new life as a miner, his brother Dan shows him the basics before Dan is murdered by the EDF. Alex himself is then accused of being Red Faction, and after being rescued by the Red Faction themselves, Alex finds himself storming across Mars, liberating it's many six sectors from the clutches of the Earth Defense Force. In case you didn't know, the Earth Defense Force was once the ally of the Red Faction, 50 years before, when Ultor Corporation was oppressing the miners in the first Red Faction game. The EDF slowly began to tighten it's grip on Mars, leading up to the revival of the Red Faction, the creation of the Marauders(scientists from Ultor who became savages) and Alex's current struggle. Sounds like something that could have a pretty interesting story right? Well, the story is actually pretty forgettable. This is due to the lack of storytelling. As you progress through the game all you'll ever hear about is how bad the EDF is treating the miners. You'll spend about 15 to 20 hours lowering the EDF's control of the six sectors, completing guerrilla actions, and missions and only get about 7 or 8 cut scenes, most of which you won't see until the end of the story.
The story is pushed aside by the Guerrilla's Geo-Mod 2.0 gameplay. The structures all have unique engineering properties causing battles to always play out differently yet end the same. Battles are chaotic as enemies will swarm your position as soon as the first bomb goes off. You can ambush convoys, or blow up a bridge to slow down pursuing enemies. Taking out targeted structures and completing Guerrilla actions will lower EDF control and raise citizen morale. As fun as all this sounds, the game can become repetitive once you leave the Dust sector. The game does occasionally mix things up during the liberation missions however. You'll find yourself racing through an artillery field or riding shotgun and blowing things up. Don't let the repetition pull you away though. The game is filled with plenty of "What the hell!? Oh my god that was awesome!" moments. The destruction really keeps you engaged and on your toes during large battles. If you don't want to complete Actions or missions, you can cause some mayhem, or find radio tags to unlock large car bombs.
The controls in Guerrilla are solid, especially the shooting. You're only allowed to carry 4 weapons, 3 of which can be switched out for a new weapon at your safe house of looted from the corpses of the fallen. You can easily switch out to a weapon in your inventory by holding the right bumper and pressing the designated button. There's a wide range of weapons, but, the most interesting of them all is the nano rifle. When fired, it will slowly eat away at it's target and cause them to dissolve. Hearing the EDF drones scream in horror as they're companions dissolve into a cloud of nanites is just as satisfying as picking apart a building with the nano rifle. Players can sprint with the left bumper, as well as take cover on nearby walls. Cover isn't always the best option in a large fire-fight though. The driving mechanic is solid as well, yet the cars feel pretty weightless(forgetting we are on Mars). You'll often find yourself flipping your car over when you're on the run. There's also the walkers. These unstoppable pieces of machinery are rare, but when you do get to use them(especially the Combat Walker), you'll wish there were more moments that allow you to use them.
The Geo-Mod 2.0 has also been incorporated into the strong competitive multiplayer. Matches are very intense since you never know where your enemies will be coming from. There's a satisfying range of game types to play like the death match equivalent, Anarchy, to capture-the-flag and siege. There are 10 back packs to use in the multiplayer, each with their own unique ability. The rhino pack sends players bulldozing through walls, while the stealth pack makes the user invisible for a short time. As you build up experience, you'll be allowed to play more game types and unlock more customization options, like characters and eventually the Ostrich hammer. It's just too bad there's a small community of players, making the maps feel incredibly large and cluttered.
The graphics look good, nothing great, but good. This however, keeps the framerate smooth when buildings start to come down around your ears, while explosions go off all over the place. Thankfully, there's not a whole lot to see on Mars, aside from rocks. There is the occasional pop-up, but you wont see it often. The sound is all done very well. The voice actors do a good job and the various booming sound effects of a collapsing building, chatter of a machine gun, thunk(or splat) of the hammer, or disintegrating enemy are all very impressive.
The repetitive gameplay is hidden under the game's chaos and satisfying destruction. Old fans of the Red Faction series won't be disappointed with the loss of terrain deformation that made the first so famous. Those new to the series will definitely find there money was well spent. Red Faction: Guerrilla delivers a solid, long and challenging single player experience, with a lot to do. The multiplayer is just as good, and anyone who wants a fun, competitive multiplayer experience, will find they looked in the right places, even with the small amount of people they'll meet online. So if any of you earthlings are planning a trip to Mars anytime soon, don't forget to bring your sledgehammers. You won't want to miss out on the fun that is Red Faction: Guerrilla.
Red Faction: Guerrilla gets 8.5 sledgehammers out of 10
Alex Mason is a new face on Mars. Looking for a new life as a miner, his brother Dan shows him the basics before Dan is murdered by the EDF. Alex himself is then accused of being Red Faction, and after being rescued by the Red Faction themselves, Alex finds himself storming across Mars, liberating it's many six sectors from the clutches of the Earth Defense Force. In case you didn't know, the Earth Defense Force was once the ally of the Red Faction, 50 years before, when Ultor Corporation was oppressing the miners in the first Red Faction game. The EDF slowly began to tighten it's grip on Mars, leading up to the revival of the Red Faction, the creation of the Marauders(scientists from Ultor who became savages) and Alex's current struggle. Sounds like something that could have a pretty interesting story right? Well, the story is actually pretty forgettable. This is due to the lack of storytelling. As you progress through the game all you'll ever hear about is how bad the EDF is treating the miners. You'll spend about 15 to 20 hours lowering the EDF's control of the six sectors, completing guerrilla actions, and missions and only get about 7 or 8 cut scenes, most of which you won't see until the end of the story.
The story is pushed aside by the Guerrilla's Geo-Mod 2.0 gameplay. The structures all have unique engineering properties causing battles to always play out differently yet end the same. Battles are chaotic as enemies will swarm your position as soon as the first bomb goes off. You can ambush convoys, or blow up a bridge to slow down pursuing enemies. Taking out targeted structures and completing Guerrilla actions will lower EDF control and raise citizen morale. As fun as all this sounds, the game can become repetitive once you leave the Dust sector. The game does occasionally mix things up during the liberation missions however. You'll find yourself racing through an artillery field or riding shotgun and blowing things up. Don't let the repetition pull you away though. The game is filled with plenty of "What the hell!? Oh my god that was awesome!" moments. The destruction really keeps you engaged and on your toes during large battles. If you don't want to complete Actions or missions, you can cause some mayhem, or find radio tags to unlock large car bombs.
The controls in Guerrilla are solid, especially the shooting. You're only allowed to carry 4 weapons, 3 of which can be switched out for a new weapon at your safe house of looted from the corpses of the fallen. You can easily switch out to a weapon in your inventory by holding the right bumper and pressing the designated button. There's a wide range of weapons, but, the most interesting of them all is the nano rifle. When fired, it will slowly eat away at it's target and cause them to dissolve. Hearing the EDF drones scream in horror as they're companions dissolve into a cloud of nanites is just as satisfying as picking apart a building with the nano rifle. Players can sprint with the left bumper, as well as take cover on nearby walls. Cover isn't always the best option in a large fire-fight though. The driving mechanic is solid as well, yet the cars feel pretty weightless(forgetting we are on Mars). You'll often find yourself flipping your car over when you're on the run. There's also the walkers. These unstoppable pieces of machinery are rare, but when you do get to use them(especially the Combat Walker), you'll wish there were more moments that allow you to use them.
The Geo-Mod 2.0 has also been incorporated into the strong competitive multiplayer. Matches are very intense since you never know where your enemies will be coming from. There's a satisfying range of game types to play like the death match equivalent, Anarchy, to capture-the-flag and siege. There are 10 back packs to use in the multiplayer, each with their own unique ability. The rhino pack sends players bulldozing through walls, while the stealth pack makes the user invisible for a short time. As you build up experience, you'll be allowed to play more game types and unlock more customization options, like characters and eventually the Ostrich hammer. It's just too bad there's a small community of players, making the maps feel incredibly large and cluttered.
The graphics look good, nothing great, but good. This however, keeps the framerate smooth when buildings start to come down around your ears, while explosions go off all over the place. Thankfully, there's not a whole lot to see on Mars, aside from rocks. There is the occasional pop-up, but you wont see it often. The sound is all done very well. The voice actors do a good job and the various booming sound effects of a collapsing building, chatter of a machine gun, thunk(or splat) of the hammer, or disintegrating enemy are all very impressive.
The repetitive gameplay is hidden under the game's chaos and satisfying destruction. Old fans of the Red Faction series won't be disappointed with the loss of terrain deformation that made the first so famous. Those new to the series will definitely find there money was well spent. Red Faction: Guerrilla delivers a solid, long and challenging single player experience, with a lot to do. The multiplayer is just as good, and anyone who wants a fun, competitive multiplayer experience, will find they looked in the right places, even with the small amount of people they'll meet online. So if any of you earthlings are planning a trip to Mars anytime soon, don't forget to bring your sledgehammers. You won't want to miss out on the fun that is Red Faction: Guerrilla.
Red Faction: Guerrilla gets 8.5 sledgehammers out of 10
