So I started playing Red Faction II. Don't bother asking me why. Rather, in the spirit of the thread, I'm going to explain why this game is beautiful. Beautiful in a "what the hell were they thinking?" way, but beautiful all the same. Like the Titanic sinking under a starry sky as you slaughter just as many people.
So I played Red Faction 1 years back, and thought it was okay. Nothing special, but the gunplay was decent, and the story, while basic, did at least sell itself well enough of a miners' revolt on Mars, and the player character, poor smuck that he was, stumbling into the role of liberator. Red Faction II, obstensibly taking place 5 years later, has no discernable link with the events of the prior game bar, so far at least, one vague reference to nanotech, and the word "Ultor" appearing on a supply crate. So, okay then, the game is just set in the same universe and is taking place on Earth in an unrelated plot. Not the end of the world, right? Well, sure, except there's another Red Faction group here as well, except no mention is made of the original Red Faction on Mars, or by some coincidence, two separate Red Factions on different worlds just sprung up, choosing the same name by mere chance.
...fine, whatever.
You're part of a genetically engineered group of super-soldiers (yawn), who were betrayed by dictator guy Victor Sopot (yawn), who rules "the Commonwealth" (where on Earth the Commonwealth is is never specified), and he betrayed your squad (yawn), so now you want revenge (yawn). Playing as silent protagonist "Alias" (eat your heart out, "Link") who's a demolitions man, you're in "the Squad," consisting of leader guy Motov (Moltov?), sniper girl Quill (with cleavage to boot), hacker girl Tangier, and "blue mohawk engineer guy" and "gravel-voiced minigun guy." Frankly, I'm astounded I can remember any of their names, because without hyperbole, this might be the most generic squad roster I've ever seen in a videogame. If stuff like Gears of War and Mass Effect occupy the "great" end of the spectrum for squad characterization, and stuff like Army Men and Brute Force are somewhere in the middle, then this is in the depths of the game's sewer level. Because of course there's a sewer level.
So the Red Faction and Squad both want dictator guy gone, and to that end, are willing to work together, even if Motov only wants vengeance, and Echo (leader of the Red Faction) is an idealist. Before you think that I'm crediting the writing too much, don't - the writing is terrible. Be it from friend or foe, it's one cliche after another, with generic dialogue done by generic characters through terrible voice acting. As I fought my way through the streets, I found myself reminded of stuff like Perfect Dark (the future feel) and Call of Duty (the OTT action), and lamented about games I could be playing instead. I mean, this is a game where sniper girl tells Alias that (paraphrased), "I know you're the demolitions expert, so here's the step-by-step procedure to how to destroy a bridge, despite the fact that as the expert, you should know this already." Alias decides to stop being a silent protagonist once dictator guy is captured because...reasons?
So, the game up until now has been dumb fun, but hey, dumb fun is still fun, at least in principle. However, it's after this point that the game's writing passes the event horizon of "what the fuck?"
So, Motov wipes out the Red Faction leadership sans Echo, his goal being to reactivate the super-soldier program because he's a soldier, and it's what he does, or something - yeah, sorry pal, you're not Big Boss, heck, you're not even Liquid Snake. If I was feeling generous, I could give the game some credit by running with the idea of revolutionaries often being as terrible as the dictators they depose, but I can't give it that, because a) I doubt the writers meant that to be conveyed, and b) Motov's actions make no sense. Because of the Squad, he tells Alias that he's going to execute him and Tangier as enemies of the state for...honestly, I have no idea.
Seriously, I'm not being snarky, I literally have no idea. There hasn't been a single hint in the entire game that has suggested that Alias or Tangier have been anything but devoted to the revenge mission. It's also hinted at this point that there's a 'thing' between Alias and Tangier, but similarly, there hasn't been a single hint of this in the entire game up until now. Heck, the two haven't even interacted in any real manner. So, in the space of a few minutes, we discover that Motov wants to arbitrarily kill two squad mates, and that Alias has been firing things other than bullets. Either things ended up on the cutting room floor, or the writers forgot to include any setup, or Motov's just an idiot.
So Alias and Tangier are now fugitives. The Commonwealth's army has unilaterally accepted Motov's command (...why?), and are now hunting down the Red Faction. There's certain things that happen after this point, and by my estimate I'm about 75% through the game despite having played less than 4 hours, but really, none of it matters anymore. It isn't just Motov that unilaterally turns on the player, it's the rest of the squad as well. You know, the original Red Faction was hardly a masterpiece of writing, but it at least kept things believable. There's no moment where Eos decides to arbitrarily kill Parker, for instance. Heck, considering the no. of people Alias has killed since being turned on, including Quill at this time of writing...yeah. Motov's a fucking idiot, only I doubt the writers intended on that being the case. It's stupidity on their part, not his.
So, is Red Faction II bad? Well, its story is absolutely terrible, so if that's your only concern, then yes. But the gameplay is generically competent at least - generic protagonists shooting generic antagonists (that include zombies, FYI) with generic near-future weapons, in a generic near-future setting. Again, it's another step down from the original, that at least felt a bit unique with its Martian setting. Red Faction II can't even manage that.
So, yeah. Red Faction? More like Red...SUBTRACTION, amirite?
...yeah, probably not.
