I've had my eye on Red Faction for a while now. Although it mostly looked like your basic FPS, the destructible environments really perked my interest. While its E3 showing was less than spectacular, I have to say that Red Faction is actually much better when you put some time in with the game, and actually comes out as an excellent, well-constructed game.
For the most part, it's instantly playable if you're used to the first person shooters available on consoles. Once you get used to the dual shock control, moving around becomes second nature. Left stick moves you forward and back and strafes, while the right stick allows you to look around. R1 is the primary fire button, R2 is secondary, L1 is jump, and L2 is crouch. These are the basic controls and work great, but if you want, you can remap them to suit your taste.
Red Faction's biggest improvement on the FPS genre is the use of "Geo-Mod" technology. Basically, it allows you to blow the hell out of everything in the environment. While this feature could have been messed up badly, it actually works fantastically in Red Faction, allowing for an even more complex gaming experience. You can blast your way around doors, through walls, and set up ambushes. For example, one level has a tank traveling across a bridge. Instead of taking it on head-to-head, you shoot around the tank, actually targeting the bridge and watch as the bridge tears apart and sends the tank to a fiery death. Awesome.
The graphics and sound are also excellent. I was worried about the game on the PS2, whether it would suffer the same fate as Unreal Tournament or join Quake 3 for graphical excellence. Luckily, it shares more with Quake 3 than UT, and that's a really good thing. The high-resolution looks fantastic, and the game runs at a satisfactory frame rate. There are some strange moments, like looking at yourself in the mirror (it just doesn't look right), but for the most part the explosions are awesome and the weapon effects awesome. The soundtrack is very good, reacting to the action on-hand, and the sound in the game is right up there with the best. You can listen for footsteps of guards when you're trying to be stealthy, and the voice acting, while not excellent, is decent.
The best part about Red Faction is the fact that it's a long, fun game. What mare can one ask for? The weapons are cool, from silenced pistols to some serious explosive weaponry. They all work well within the game, and most of them have two modes of fire, which adds to the unique feel of Red Faction.
Besides the great weapons and destructible environments, the game allows you to drive vehicles. Most of these levels are somewhat short, but they are all cool, and breaks up the monotony of constant on-foot action (not that the levels are monotonous... just that variety is nice too!).
Add a fun multiplayer mode (sadly, it's only one or two players, no four-player action here) and tons of secrets (usually accessed by blasting walls), and we have a winner on our hands. Red Faction may not be the best FPS ever, but it can go toe-to-toe with the best of them. Pick it up if you're at all a fan of action games. Red Faction, thankfully, doesn't disappoint.
-Jerred
Company Line
Assume the role of Parker, a worker toiling in mines run by the Ultor Corporation far beneath the surface of Mars. The miners are suffering from inhuman living conditions and a strange, deadly disease called the Plague that is suddenly sweeping through their ranks. The miners' anger and resentment are ready to boil over, and it's up to you to provide the spark to start a rebellion against Ultor. Your goal is to stay alive long enough to bring down Ultor and solve the mystery of the Plague. This journey spans from gritty subterranean mines to Ultor's pristine science and nanotech labs to the surface of Mars and even onto satellites orbiting high above the planet.
Additional Features:
Geo-Mod Engine: The only game with real-time, arbitrary geometry modification allowing for complete environmental destruction.
Controllable vehicles: Hijack 5 land, sea and air vehicles each equipped with their own weapons including an ATV, submarine and high flying fighter.
Weapons of mass destruction: Red Faction features 15 weapons of mass destruction, each with its own secondary firing capability including rail guns, rocket launchers, riot sticks and heavy explosives.
Immersive storyline: A true first person shooter with an engrossing single player storyline, taking place during a revolution on Mars.
Varied objectives: Stealth, cooperation and action driven objectives are all important aspects of gameplay.
20 levels of varied environments: Play 20 intricate levels through the deep seas of Mars, natural caves inhabited by bats, the Ultor Corporation's bases and more.
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