Gameplay-wise, I suppose the most interesting feature is the Geo-Mod 2.0 technology they dumped into the game to let you be able to destroy shit. I suppose it’s fun, but they were really stretching the limits of what I was able to believe. The buildings are remarkably resistant to gravitational forces, the gravity of Mars being one-third of Earth’s notwithstanding, but even I have a hard time believing some of the damage these buildings stand up to. My friend, who is majoring in mechanical engineering (and therefore must take a structural materials class) looked up when I asked if this building would still be standing in real life. He took one look at the screen, snorted, said no, and went back to doing his calculus homework. Yes, the physics in this game are fucking crazy. What’s more, they’re inconsistent. Why if I hit one rock, I go rocketing into the atmosphere, yet I hit a slightly different rock and I screech to a dead halt? And another thing, why is the EDF so keen on targeting ME and only ME when I’m out with a few guerilla pals blowing shit up? Why do EDF troops take so many shots to die from a high-powered rifle? And don’t give me that “THEY’RE WEARING ARMOR LOLOLOL” because I’m hitting them with rounds that break buildings apart and they shrug it off like I’m hitting them with snowballs. Why did they bother to call this Guerilla when you’re doing things all by yourself? They could have just as easily gone with Red Faction: Renegade or some other cheesy title so long as EA didn’t squall over the name being similar to Command and Conquer: Renegade, which nobody remembers because it was shit. The story was fucking retarded, with a thinly disguised tutorial mission and a too-demanding RPG aspect of turning in salvage for weapons. 2000 salvage to upgrade my thermobaric rocket launcher? Fuck off and die, kthx.
A few more gripes, what the fuck is with the Marauders? They’re this reclusive group of who knows what and their job is to fuck you up with no provocation at any given time. They attack you when it’s least convenient and somehow manage to just be a giant pain in the ass all the time and it’s never explained who or what they are or why they feel the need to fuck shit up all the time. If you’re holdovers from Ultor, pick a side. If you’re holdovers from the miner rebellion against Ultor, join our side. Pick one just so I can stop worrying about you coming in when I’m trying to get some salvage to upgrade stuff and suddenly my day turns into a fight for my life. One more thing to note: Swarms of constantly respawning enemies are bullshit. See: “Protect Sam – Eos Mission.” I finally rage-quit the last mission because it’s fucking ludicrous the amounts of enemies you’re supposed to kill.
Graphics were also not so great. Explosions look and feel powerful, but a lot more dust on collapsing buildings would have added a greater effect than large chunks of buildings disappearing into the ground. Character models are merely decent, and the vehicles are okay, but the damage modeling on them is spotty. Really the pyrotechnics here are the only reason that I enjoyed the graphics.
Sound is okay, with (almost too) quiet ambient orchestra, but some weapons don’t feel powerful at all. Given the damage they do to EDF, I suppose that’s possible. Explosions are, once again, the only thing of note. Overall, I didn’t enjoy Red Faction as much as I had hoped from the demo. The “protect Sam while shitloads of enemies swarm you” mission was complete fucking bullshit. Fuck you, suck my dick, I’m not going to continue this mission for the nth fucking time. No, what I’m going to do is get on the internet and write a review trashing your game that nobody will read. THAT WILL SHOW YOU, ASSHOLES.
Sticky’s Final Grade: C
+ Innovative destruction system
- That needs work
+ Powerful Explosions
+ (some) Creative weaponry
+ Nice orchestral score
- Bad missions
- Annoying missions
- EDF troops are FAR too hard to kill
- Wonky gravity
