Open world games appear to have flooded to market in 2009 and have managed to bring something new and refreshing to the genre. Red Faction has moved away from its 1st person shooter genre and moved on to a 3rd person open world game. Will this transition prove successful? Let’s find out.
Before one can delve into all the destruction, collapsing buildings and explosions, you will quickly discover that Red Faction has a fairly decent story to offer. Taking place in the very far future on the planet of Mars, where the majority of the population is enslaved by a military group known as the Earth Defense Force (EDF) – Red Faction has an original plot line in its hands. The mining population on Mars is greeted by a new visitor by the name of Alec Mason, a miner who comes to join his brother on Mars. After the death of his brother, Alec joins a resistance movement in an attempt to live out his brother’s dream of freedom. The story is unique and manages to portray the intense and oppressed atmosphere that exists between these two binary oppositions.
Mars is experienced in a 3rd person, open world perspective. With a map that could probably be one of the largest open world maps, there is never a dull moment to be had in Red Faction. In your attempt to try and liberate Mars, you will have to lower the control of the EDF and increase the morale of the resistance in areas of the map. This is done by completing main missions, side missions (which include raids, saving hostages, delivering vehicles and protecting the faction members) and destroying EDF property.
Ever wanted to watch a building, vehicle or soldier burst into flames right before your eyes? Look no further. Red Faction is all about chaos and destruction and you are required to take out as many buildings as you can. Destruction is very physics heavy and particles and pieces of the buildings will fall and collapse realistically. Coupled with some intense gun fights and you have some SERIOUS fast paced action on your hands. This makes Red Faction an immersing and unique game to play.
Weapons in Red Faction can be summarized into a single word: Massacre. It boasts some of the most lethal weapons in the history of gaming. These will make buildings crumble at your feet and have the EDF running like little girls. The nano rifle being the most insane of all the weapons, will allow you to literally vaporize anything that stands in your way. Yes… you heard it VAPORIZE!
From the word go you will be greeted by some awesome visuals that Red Faction has to offer. It has some very impressive character modeling (especially that of Alec) which can be seen in the detailing of the characters themselves and their movements. Level design is executed fairly well and it manages to create a unique and surprisingly believable image of Mars. Yes at times it looks like baron land but after all this is Mars people not a fashion party.
If the super long single player campaign is not enough for your, you can always jump into an online multiplayer game mode which can cater for up to 16 players. Beside the usual deathmatch (aka ananrchy) and team anarchy, there are also game modes where they player will have to try and cause as much destruction as possible to win the game. The multiplayer adds a fair amount of replay value to the game and carries some new and interesting features.
If causing destruction, chaos, and leaving a trail of collapsed buildings is your thing, Red Faction will not disappoint. It has a super long single player campaign which is full of action and promises hours of fun. To add to your experience there is the online multiplayer which works fairly well. So bring out your nano rifle and mines and fight the good fight. Viva Red Faction and Viva la resistance!
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