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Red Faction: Guerrilla
Release Date: June 2, 2009 (North America), June 5, 2009 (Europe), September 15, 2009 (PC Version)
Reviewed On: PlayStation 3
Also Available On: PC, Xbox 360
Developer: Volition
Publisher: THQ
ESRB Rating: Mature - Blood, Strong Language, Violence
PEGI Rating: 16+ - Violence
OFLC Rating: MA 15+ - Strong Violence
Have you ever wanted to stand up against “The Man?” Fight oppression and corrupt governments? Destroy, plunder, and kill members of the armed forces? Then you probably want to be a terrorist; or in the case of Red Faction, you want to be a Guerrilla Fighter. Can the enticement of theoretically playing a terrorist with a cause tempt gamers into Red Faction: Guerrilla? The third game in the Red Faction series is far from its previous counterparts which could make it a tough buy for fans of the preceding games.
Story:
In Red Faction: Guerrilla you are Alec Mason, a miner from Earth who just needs to get away from all of his problems back at home. So, as Alec you make the move to Mars where your brother, Dan, already resides. Quickly you will find out that Dan has not really told you much about what’s going on around the red planet as you both find yourself confronted by the Earth Defense Force (EDF), who state they are arresting Dan because he is a member of the Red Faction organization. Red Faction members come to your rescue but sadly just moments too late for your brother Dan, as he is killed by the EDF squad. Alec is hastily recruited by the Red Faction members to fight for their cause. Whilst your character is not really supportive of the cause at first, he will do anything to avenge his brother’s death. As Red Faction: Guerrilla progresses you will meet new people on both sides of the battle and discover the Marauders, a strange gang of bandits who seem only to be out for blood but know more than you or anyone else will think.
Welcome to Mars Alec, you're in for one hell of a time.
I cannot say I was really keen on the story of Red Faction: Guerrilla and neither is Alec for the cause of the Martians. This is mainly due to the fact that the open world structure of the game does not push the story and emotions of the characters forward. You can go through ten missions without much progression, leaving little to no cut scenes throughout your time in the single player campaign. Red Faction: Guerrilla felt like a mixture of the films; Total Recall, Ghost of Mars, and anything else with guerrilla forces fighting someone, or something to do with Mars. The little story that is there is actually interesting and I really hate the fact that it is told so poorly in the open world that has been developed.
Gameplay:
While Red Faction: Guerrilla plays out in a very open Mars, it also features immense destruction with the new GEO-MOD 2.0 engine, previous editions of which were also in the preceding two Red Faction titles. The updated GEO-MOD 2.0 engine allows for fun times to be had in the game through the chaos and mayhem you can cause by destroying everything in your path. Unlike the prior games, Red Faction: Guerrilla is in third person, allowing players to fully enjoy the destruction, whereas the previous two games played out in the first person perspective.
Destruction seems to be all that the game has going for it. It is the main gameplay mechanic but because of the very open world most structures are few and far between, and buildings do not vary much in look or design. It was somewhat fun pretending I knew anything about structural engineering as I looked for the load bearing structures of the buildings so I could take them down even faster. Many of the side missions ask you to destroy buildings which rewards you with more salvage; the game’s currency allowing Alec to purchase weapons or upgrades from the Red Faction. Some of the other missions will have you racing against the clock to bring in a vehicle for salvage, rescuing imprisoned Red Faction members, or defending areas from EDF assaults.
Boom, Boom, Pow!
As Alec progresses through the game you must work with other Red Faction members to liberate sections of Mars. Once each section is liberated, you can move through it freely without having to worry about EDF disruption. The “blow ‘em up” mentality of the game loses its flare after the first few missions in the Parker Sector, and doesn’t return until the last section, Eos, where a more developed region exists. Most areas in between are very open because they are mining territories or just so barren that not much is there. For a game that relies so heavily on destruction, there is not a lot to destroy throughout the midsection of the game.
Graphics:
The open world environment of Mars leaves it very open for rolling hills and rough terrain, and there’s a lot of it. The best part is that the land and world of Mars in Red Faction: Guerrilla looks superb; ground textures are the best asset going for the visuals of the game. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for any of the characters, both in the main roles and supporting. Characters lack depth and feel unimaginable to any extent. The models are very basic and textures are cloudy at best for most of the characters; with Alec, Dan, and a few other major players looking only marginally better than everyone else. Most of the world has a very basic form which may be due in part to the destructible factor of 99% of it, thus needing the more basic design to work well with that gameplay mechanic. Watching buildings and monuments fall down and blow up in your path of destruction is always fun, and most of the time provides the best entertainment throughout the campaign.
Take in the immense beauty of the Mars landscape.
Audio:
Red Faction: Guerrilla contains some of the best orchestral soundtracks that I have heard in a science fiction video game. The addition of several modern sounding tracks is a nice touch that will help move the gameplay along. Composer Tim Wynn has done a fantastic job with the music of Red Faction and it makes the game a little more worthwhile. I was able to enjoy the voice acting in Red Faction as well. A familiar voice was present most of the time as the voice behind your character Alec Mason is performed by actor Troy Baker, who has done previous voice acting as Sgt. Matt Baker in the Brothers in Arms series and Conan in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Most of the rest of the sounds of Red Faction: Guerrilla carries the game along but is nothing spectacular in comparison to the soundtrack; however, they get the work done.
The Marauder hideouts are shrouded in mystery with an audio track just as fitting.
Multiplayer:
Red Faction: Guerrilla does a good job of carrying over the GEO-MOD 2.0 engine into the multiplayer modes by putting up to 16 players in a single server to kill one another and cause serious mayhem. The online game modes include a variety of six types from your standard Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, to the more interesting and fun Anarchy and Siege. Gamers will find a few new tools to use in the multiplayer not found in single player that includes a variety of backpacks that can cause the player to run faster, jump higher with a rocket pack, or even shoot out sonic waves that can destroy buildings. As your points increase you are able to unlock new weapons and other perks. For local play you also have two options; a standard LAN mode that contains all of the game modes listed above and a separate Wrecking Crew mode that pits players against one another in a variety of destruction based game modes. The large variety of offline and online multiplayer modes are a great addition to the game and will give gamers more of a reason to continuing playing the game for some fun destruction with your buddies near and far.
Hope your friends like destruction just as much as you do.
Summary:
I cannot say that I truly enjoyed playing through Red Faction: Guerrilla. The story, although interesting, could have been told better or elaborated on more. The world of Mars looks phenomenal and is fun to explore, but looking at the mediocre characters and bland structures really makes for a disappointing visual experience. The soundtrack is one of the better parts of the game, keeping true to the science fiction feel and sound. Voice actors do a good job portraying their characters. When the game carries over into the wide variety of online and offline multiplayer modes it becomes quite fun putting the GEO-MOD 2.0 engine truly to work as it should have been in the single player campaign. With the promise of additional content on the way to expand the single player campaign, I am optimistic that it will be more story-driven, unlike the colossal world campaign of Red Faction: Guerrilla; a game which is better played in short spurts then hours and hours of playtime.
Total Gaming Network Rating: 7/10
~Kieran Manzi