Have you ever wondered what life would be like on mars if humans inhabited it? Volition’s Red Faction: Guerrilla shows you how such an interesting idea might play out. You may be familiar with the Red Faction Series. Red Faction: Guerrilla is the third installation in the series and with it’s new and improved “Re-mars-tered” edition, you can explore Mars like never before.
Take control of Alec Mason, a mining engineer who has come to Mars to reunite with his brother, Dan. While working, Dan explains how cruel the Earth Defense Force is and how they need to be stopped. Dan then asks Alec to join the Red Faction, a rebel alliance whose goal is to overthrow the EDF. Soon after, Dan is gunned down and you are rescued by the Red Faction Guerrillas who decide to let you ally with them.
While working for the Red Faction, you will complete several main missions and side missions. The main missions are unique and ask you to perform tasks specifically to help the Red Faction take down the EDF. The side missions, however are more repetitive as you will be asked to destroy structures, defend against enemies, and deliver vehicles. After completing missions, you will are rewarded with salvage (game currency), reduction of EDF control, or increase in the morale of the populace to resist EDF domination.
Did I mention you can pretty much destroy any standing structure? Yes, this game equips you with a sledge hammer and tons of explosives so you can rip through buildings, bridges, wind farms and much more. I spent much of my experience playing the game planting C4 on buildings and watching them crumble in one push of a button. This part of the game is extremely satisfying, but be careful, it can be pretty annoying to restart from a checkpoint when a building falls right on top of you.
As I mentioned, you will be collecting salvage, the games currency. You can earn salvage from missions or you can scavenge for it in the wreckage of torn down structures. With salvage, you can buy new weapon and upgrades that you can use to help you complete the game. These upgrades are extremely useful due to the fact that your starting load out is a bit dull. Once you gain enough salvage, you will begin to buy bigger and more useful resources that create a more satisfying gameplay experience.
I really enjoyed the art style of the game but I was a bit dissatisfied with the map layout. Because the game is set on Mars, I expected there to be mountainous regions, but what I got was a map surrounding quarries and drop offs that make it tedious to travel. It wasn’t a huge problem but I would have had a lot more fun if I could have moved around the map quicker.
The controls are very similar to other third person shooters. It relates closest to Saints Row, another third person free roam Volition title. Moving around was very smooth but crouching and switching weapons became a hassle during combat. My problem was with the quick switch between weapons. You are able to quickly switch between two weapons but I found myself wanting to switch between three different weapons, which is not efficient in pressured situations.
I would recommend Red Faction: Guerilla to anyone who likes sci-fi and third person free roaming. While it lacks an intuitive story line, the gameplay makes up for that by being original and engaging. I did, however get bored after playing for long periods of time so I recommend playing in spurts.
