Red Faction: Guerrilla VIDEO REVIEW
Destructibility is one of the key features many games, especially shooters are trying to achieve. Battlefield: Bad Company introduced a somewhat scripted version where as Red Faction Guerrilla is truly destructibility to the max. Although it's not perfect it's a good step into the future of destruction.
The story puts you in the shoes of Alec Mason who travels to Mars to work with his brother but instead he finds that the EDF (Earth Defence Force) is running riot killing civilians and treating Mars like a labour camp, so a group known as the Red Faction has risen up to fight against the EDF. Alec finds himself forced to fight for them after his brother is killed off quickly by the EDF. It all seems a bit rushed at the start and skips from the initial event to another with no explanation of who, what and why. From then on you are a one man army fighting against the EDF with some useless help from civilians, who act as cannon fodder rather than troops. The story is told mostly through the radio which means that character development is lost, so you have to make your own assumptions. The main problem with this is the game tries to add some dramatic moments to the game which have no effect as you know basic characteristics about the characters. Also the difficulty for this game is strange. In the beginning you can muck about as much as you like but half way through it becomes very difficult. This is not necessarily a bad thing but when the game urges you to blow things up for fun, this can result in the entire EDF army chasing you down, and if you can complete the final mission on normal, bravo.
If you do not know Red Faction is a free-roaming game, split up into sectors that need to be liberated, so the mission structure is pretty basic. You must complete a set number of main missions and drop the EDF control to zero to unlock a liberating mission. Once you have completed this mission an area of Mars is liberated from the EDF. Along the way you can complete a number of Guerrilla Actions which can include destroying a convoy or taking out a high priority buildings. These are spread throughout the world so completing them is up to you. Safe houses are dotted across the maps also so that whenever the heat becomes too much you can restock on ammo and drop your wanted level.
As the game is set on terraforming Mars there are a number of settlements dotted around and I found it quite clever how they used the Mars terrain to create roads and motorways that make the world feel quite real. The eight sectors are also very different to each other so the game doesn't feel the same in each area, but at the end of the day there are only about six side missions that you can choose to do and repeating these over and over again makes the side missions become very repetitive. But lucky you only need to do about two or three of these to progress into the next area and continue with the story, so it isn't a burden on the game.
As usual you have a complete arsenal from your standard assault rifle, rocket launcher, mines and a gun that actually fires ninja shurikens. These must be purchased by collecting Salvage which is the games currency, this is basically scrap metal that you can find from anything destroyed. The great part about these unlocks is that you never feel bored with your arsenal because you can mix and match between different weapons and change your play style completely.
The multiplayer has the usual mix of modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. On top of that are three other game modes which put objectives that relate to the destruction of an object. With 21 maps the multiplayer is a strong aspect to the game. Another addition to the multiplayer are the backpacks, there are 10 ranging from the standard jetpacks which you can get in the single player to Rhino packs which makes you like the Juggernaut from X-men smashing through walls and objects. Additional packs include Stealth, Fleetfoot, Thrust etc. The clever part about these jetpacks is the tactical element to them, such
as the Rhino is supposed to be used to smash through walls but smash into the enemy and they go flying into the air and smash to the floor. This is especially satisfying when you smash through a wall and into an unsuspecting enemy. It also bodes a fair ranking system giving you cosmetic upgrades, so does not make the game unfair for new comers. The best upgrades have to be the hammers where at the highest rank you can unlock an Ostrich hammer.
A pass and play multiplayer mode called wrecking crew also allows some local play. This mode is a basic objective mode where you just have to destroy buildings or objectives as fast as you can to rack up points. This is done in various ways by giving you less ammo or time but keeping the same objective of blow stuff up.
The game looks decent for what it is achieving. Character models look great and the rag doll physics add to the game by seeing your characters legs flinging about when flying or when you get hit by a rocket and seeing your body go soaring across the map. The Mars landscape looks great keeping the red glow you come to expect from Mars and the near future look the game achieves makes the game have a unique look but keeps it believable. But of course the physics from the destruction are the forefront in this game. Smash a smoke tower down to the ground is something which is a sight to behold and the best part is that it is never certain which way it will drop. This is by far the best destruction engine we have seen to date, but it is not without its faults. Sometimes a building can be held up by nothing but a pipe or some stairs. This can be quite frustrating especially in the multiplayer when your objective is being held up by drain pipe. But when it works, it works brilliantly.
Red Faction: Guerrilla is definitely a game which has expanded the aspect of real time destruction and it has achieved it well for the most part. The story is weak due to the low character development but the multiplayer is deep and will have you coming back for more, even if it's to just blow up a building or two.
The story puts you in the shoes of Alec Mason who travels to Mars to work with his brother but instead he finds that the EDF (Earth Defence Force) is running riot killing civilians and treating Mars like a labour camp, so a group known as the Red Faction has risen up to fight against the EDF. Alec finds himself forced to fight for them after his brother is killed off quickly by the EDF. It all seems a bit rushed at the start and skips from the initial event to another with no explanation of who, what and why. From then on you are a one man army fighting against the EDF with some useless help from civilians, who act as cannon fodder rather than troops. The story is told mostly through the radio which means that character development is lost, so you have to make your own assumptions. The main problem with this is the game tries to add some dramatic moments to the game which have no effect as you know basic characteristics about the characters. Also the difficulty for this game is strange. In the beginning you can muck about as much as you like but half way through it becomes very difficult. This is not necessarily a bad thing but when the game urges you to blow things up for fun, this can result in the entire EDF army chasing you down, and if you can complete the final mission on normal, bravo.If you do not know Red Faction is a free-roaming game, split up into sectors that need to be liberated, so the mission structure is pretty basic. You must complete a set number of main missions and drop the EDF control to zero to unlock a liberating mission. Once you have completed this mission an area of Mars is liberated from the EDF. Along the way you can complete a number of Guerrilla Actions which can include destroying a convoy or taking out a high priority buildings. These are spread throughout the world so completing them is up to you. Safe houses are dotted across the maps also so that whenever the heat becomes too much you can restock on ammo and drop your wanted level.
As the game is set on terraforming Mars there are a number of settlements dotted around and I found it quite clever how they used the Mars terrain to create roads and motorways that make the world feel quite real. The eight sectors are also very different to each other so the game doesn't feel the same in each area, but at the end of the day there are only about six side missions that you can choose to do and repeating these over and over again makes the side missions become very repetitive. But lucky you only need to do about two or three of these to progress into the next area and continue with the story, so it isn't a burden on the game.
As usual you have a complete arsenal from your standard assault rifle, rocket launcher, mines and a gun that actually fires ninja shurikens. These must be purchased by collecting Salvage which is the games currency, this is basically scrap metal that you can find from anything destroyed. The great part about these unlocks is that you never feel bored with your arsenal because you can mix and match between different weapons and change your play style completely.
The multiplayer has the usual mix of modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. On top of that are three other game modes which put objectives that relate to the destruction of an object. With 21 maps the multiplayer is a strong aspect to the game. Another addition to the multiplayer are the backpacks, there are 10 ranging from the standard jetpacks which you can get in the single player to Rhino packs which makes you like the Juggernaut from X-men smashing through walls and objects. Additional packs include Stealth, Fleetfoot, Thrust etc. The clever part about these jetpacks is the tactical element to them, such
as the Rhino is supposed to be used to smash through walls but smash into the enemy and they go flying into the air and smash to the floor. This is especially satisfying when you smash through a wall and into an unsuspecting enemy. It also bodes a fair ranking system giving you cosmetic upgrades, so does not make the game unfair for new comers. The best upgrades have to be the hammers where at the highest rank you can unlock an Ostrich hammer.A pass and play multiplayer mode called wrecking crew also allows some local play. This mode is a basic objective mode where you just have to destroy buildings or objectives as fast as you can to rack up points. This is done in various ways by giving you less ammo or time but keeping the same objective of blow stuff up.
The game looks decent for what it is achieving. Character models look great and the rag doll physics add to the game by seeing your characters legs flinging about when flying or when you get hit by a rocket and seeing your body go soaring across the map. The Mars landscape looks great keeping the red glow you come to expect from Mars and the near future look the game achieves makes the game have a unique look but keeps it believable. But of course the physics from the destruction are the forefront in this game. Smash a smoke tower down to the ground is something which is a sight to behold and the best part is that it is never certain which way it will drop. This is by far the best destruction engine we have seen to date, but it is not without its faults. Sometimes a building can be held up by nothing but a pipe or some stairs. This can be quite frustrating especially in the multiplayer when your objective is being held up by drain pipe. But when it works, it works brilliantly.
Red Faction: Guerrilla is definitely a game which has expanded the aspect of real time destruction and it has achieved it well for the most part. The story is weak due to the low character development but the multiplayer is deep and will have you coming back for more, even if it's to just blow up a building or two.
