by Sirfalcon
When the words GeoMod Technology comes to mind, only the Red Faction series can uphold the title of mass destruction of walls and buildings. It seems that THQ and Volition Inc. took their time with this series. Last time I played a Red Faction Game was in 2003. Thankfully its 2009 and yet again another Red Faction game has surfaced. Things have changed though as Red Faction Guerrilla takes a different perspective on things. Now Red Faction has become a third person shooter rather than a first.
Graphics. Well this being the first Red Faction game in High Definition I would expect an impressive assortment of high res textures and gorgeous backgrounds. But no its mostly barren wastelands, rock settlements and building structures that probably wont be there by time you complete the game. The cinemas are nice, but I feel as if they were added in last minute.
Now this being a game on destruction, Red Faction focuses on destroying buildings rather than walls. It’s nice to see the structures destroyed from the inside out. Taking out a building’s main support beams look great and the collapsing of buildings also looks great. I was given the chance to speak with the president of Volition Inc. and I asked him, “With all this destruction, can you destroy those pesky invisible walls that prevent the player from proceeding?”. With it being a joke and all, he laughed. But when you look at everything overall, everything looks great its just that the game is on Mars so of course there is going to be boring terrain.
Control. Of course Red Faction Guerrilla being a shooter and all the controls feel similar to Halo. RT shoots, X reloads and so on. Now this being an open world game the other portion of controls are more like Saint’s Row. You can borrow vehicles to drive from one safe house to the next. Driving can get tedious so luckily later in the game you receive the option to transport to any safe house. But most of the time you will spend in the game is with your trusty hammer smacking things around. When you melee it feels a bit stiff at times and there is not much moving animation to make it look that impressive.
Sound. It is your standard Dolby 5.1, nothing out of the ordinary. Machine gun fire here and there, explosions, and what have you. Nothing really stands out much in the sound department. I will admit that regarding the sound effects if you are inside a building, when it is about to collapse it sounds very realistic. The cranking of metal and the physical strain on the support beams sound great. On a side note it is great that most of the narrative in the game is done by Michael McConnohie, the voice of your superior in Crackdown and the final boss Seth in Street Fighter IV.
Gameplay. Red Faction Guerrilla is a roller coaster of fun, but by the fifth hour or so the gameplay wears down and everything becomes more of a chore. Missions are few and far between as I found you will spend more time doing side missions for other fellow miners. Don’t get me started about your fellow miners! They are kind of like the non-recruitable homies from Saint’s Row. But they do nothing but get in the way and die, which affects the morale of the sector you are in. But I digress.
Back to talking about the missions, they are also kind of like Saint’s Row. You have your typical escort, destroy, and pickup and return missions and that’s really it. There are around 20 story missions and 100 side missions. If you decide not to do any side missions this game will be over real quick. Maybe if there were more cinemas it might feel as if the game had some real story progression. By the end of the game the main missions pick up again and they feel refreshed.
Luckily where the single player slacks the multiplayer picks up. There is your standard Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and a unique mode called Damage Control. Damage Control acts like territories where you construct a data post and if you keep operational your team will receive points. Collect enough points and you win. The weapons are typical Red Faction, but it’s nice to see the Rail driver again. The matchmaking follows the Halo 3 system so if you party up with friends there is a lot of fun to be had here.
Overall. Red Faction Guerrilla is by no means a horrible game despite all my criticisms. For me it was just a disappointing one. It was nice to see all the original Red Faction references even though it is as if the second game never existed. If you are looking for something to fill the summer drought or you are a Red Faction fan its something worth playing. For others I recommend passing on this one there are too many shooters on the market and this one doesn’t stand out among the rest. Hopefully in the next Red Faction installment it we see some substantial improvements.
