When destruction somehow manages to be boring
If one shouldn't grocery shop while they're hungry, should one write a review immediately after finishing it? Then after awhile, once the entirety of the game has settled into your brain and you get the broad overview of everything it has to offer, maybe you'll see the game differently if it had a disappointing ending. But here's the thing with Red Faction: Armageddon....there's not much to fully redeem it once everything's settled. What was once promising about the previous game, Guerrilla, has been stripped away, the very underrated multiplayer has been dropped and the very structure of the campaign is not only bland and boring, the actual destruction takes a back seat which is criminal. Aside from a couple of fleeting glimpses of fun and the 2 modes being quite good, this is one of the most uninspired campaigns I've played in quite awhile.
50 years after Red Faction Guerrilla, you play as Darius Mason, the grandson of Alec Mason, the hero of that game. The terraformer, which allows for breathable air on the surface of Mars, is destroyed by Adam Hale which causes everyone to flee underground. 10 years later, Darius unknowingly unleashes the Plague, an insect-like race on the planet. He then has to clear his name and get rid of the Plague before it wipes out the entire colony.
Now generally, these kind of campaigns can be separated into 2 groups: the gameplay and the story. In the former, it's repetitive with familiar environments, the same enemies and corridors and only the occasional vehicle section to break up the action. You end up feeling slightly errand boy-ish as you're constantly turning things on, repairing things or destroying it and yet you don't feel connected to any of it. You're just doing it because you're told to do it. I don't mind linear games since non-linear games can occasionally run the risk of losing the game's pacing or bogging you down with so much sidequests, the drive of the story gets lost but Armageddon doesn't break up the monotony long enough for it to save it. Hell, your AI companion has the most personality of anyone in the cast which is just bizarre.
As far as the story is concerned, its ho-hum. Characters are not fleshed out, writing is abysmal and the romance is barely touched on, finally addressed at the end then gets abruptly ended. Granted the vehicle sections help out things and it's cool piloting them but towards the end, it's practically enemy gauntlet and you're facing big brutes, missile launchers, tiny bugs, tentacles and a giant shield-giver that it just feels overwhelming and unfair.
Red Faction's trademark destruction is ever-present and while it isn't as gleefully awesome as it was in Guerrilla, it's still fun wrecking shit. Guns like rocket launchers get the job done but some of my favorites are the more unconventional ones such as the magnet gun which makes the second shot fly towards the first shot which makes for some fun moments. Enemies annoying you? Magnet a building, magnet him and watch him just get crushed under all that metal. In fact it's almost overpowered since even bulkier enemies can get grabbed with it. You can use the salvage to upgrade your character from better aiming to activating abilities such as shields or attack boosts. Another fun gadget is the Nanoforge which can repair objects or upgrade stations but also acts as a "force push" which really comes in handy when enemies start crowding you.
In lieu of the multiplayer, Volition took it out (booooooo) and replaced with 2 modes: Ruin and Infestation. Ruin is basically "cause as much damage within the time limit" and the fun of Guerrilla can be found here as it's always a blast to blow away the legs of a structure and watch it smash onto the ground. However, this was a rental and Volition's "online pass" is instead tied to the full Ruin mode. Without the redeem code, you're only allowed one map, one mode. It's a bit too strict in terms of grading but it's frequently a blast. The other mode is essentially Horde mode, the now-standard mode of killing waves of enemies until everyone's dead. It's actually a fun mode with up to 4 players and you can use the salvage to upgrade your campaign character but it's not quite as fun as Firefight or intense like Nazi Zombies.
Awhile ago, I reviewed a game and mentioned that despite my lack of hype and anticipation, I still walked away disappointed. I don't want to say Red Faction: Armageddon is bad but there's really no other way around it as the emphasis on destruction, as entertaining as it is, doesn't become an integral part of the game and the other modes probably won't make the experience last longer to justify taking out a true online. With a flat story, an unearned character fate towards the end, short length (6:35 by my stats screen, keeping in mind I died way too many times on stupid parts) and fun modes that'll lose its luster, Armageddon is just the wrong step forward.
