My big takeaway from Red Faction 3 wasn’t the story or the shooting mechanics, but the gratifying sense achieved when you systematically dismantled some massive structure with everything from an axe to a Nano Rifle. Seeing giant buildings slowly crumble and fall into a huge messy pile of junk was unrivaled by anything else in interactive entertainment, which made Armageddon’s debut trailer all the more puzzling. Narrative heavy and combat focused; I was worried Volition was going to get it all wrong. Thankfully, a live demo told a far better story than a CG trailer.
A story was present to explain why you’re deep under the surface of Mars, but it was treated largely as a vehicle to explain the shift in environmental aesthetics. Volition knows you’re here to blow a ton of stuff up, and they were happy to oblige with a host of brand new toys. First up was the Nano Forge, which systematically restored pieces of metal you (or someone else) might have previously destroyed. It sounded like a gimmick until I saw a guy blow a hole in a container, step inside, restore the hole, and encase himself in perfect cover. Following that was the Magnet Gun, which was a cross between the gravity gun and a lasso. Fire it at one object, then fire at another object, and watch the initial object barrel toward the other object at an incredible speed. Watching that happen elicited feelings of extreme delight, and there’s no doubt in my mind the Magnet Gun is destined to become the best toy in the box. There was also a nice mech-suite sequence at the end and, while it caused a good deal of chaos, it felt like an epilogue after the majesty of the Magnet Gun.
This is just a random assumption, but Armageddon appeared to be structurally different than its open world predecessor. While a linear path couldn’t be guaranteed, that’s certainly what it appeared to be in our demo. A change in structure isn’t necessarily a bad thing (god knows I could have used less timed race missions in Guerilla), and it might be just what Armageddon needed to distance itself from the lastly entry. Either way they’ve got a while to think about it, and so do you, as Armageddon doesn’t drop until March 2011. See you then.
