Red Faction II

"Guns Don't Kill People... Magnetic Raildrivers Kill People!"

It's becoming fairly obvious what a huge impact Halo has made on the world of first person shooters. Red Faction 2 is one of the latest to be influenced. While it maintains its relatively claustrophobic feel, the game engine seems totally different. Red Faction 2 is fast and ferocious, it never gives you a moment to breathe. It forces you to react to your environment, or die. Isn't that what a rebellion should be like? Just picture this scenario: you and a band of rebels in the war torn streets of a city, cars exploding, grenades whizzing past your ears, chunks of buildings flying into the air, and you right in the middle of it. Standing right in the middle of the street hammering away on a heavy machine gun like there's no tomorrow. Sound exciting? I can assure you that it is.

If you're a fan of the first game looking for a continuation in the story, you'll be disappointed. While the actual Red Faction is in the game, this is a brand new plot that has been far removed from Mars. In the future, a new technology is being used by a dictator named Sopot to build an army of super-soldiers. But he eventually comes to fear his own creation, and tries to have them all destroyed. Many are killed, but one squad remains. They vow to rebel, to kill Sopot and release the dictatorship. Under the leadership of Molov, the player will control Alias, the demolitions expert.

This is a first-person shooter, and as far as the controls go, they are virtually perfect. You move Alias with both analog sticks, and use the shoulder buttons to fire and throw grenades. This little feature allows you to use grenades without sifting through your inventory. It can give you immediate cover if you run out of ammo, as you don't have to waste time looking for them. You can toggle between different types of grenades with the left and right directional buttons. You can use night-vision goggles by pressing down on the D-Pad, but sadly, there aren't many areas where it is actually useful. Pressing up on the D-Pad will open up your mission log, which is helpful if you get stuck. Along with regular fire, many weapons will have an alternate firing mode, which is happily becoming more popular in FPS games. The weapons are one of the best parts of the game, every single one of them is fun to use. There are all types of handguns, machine guns and there are more powerful weapons like massive rocket launchers and the almighty railgun. Most of these have alternate modes of fire. The shotgun, for example, can shoot incendiary shells as well as normal slugs. One machine gun comes equipped with with a grenade launcher, making it one of the most effective weapons in the game. Red Faction 2 also allows the player to wield two guns at a time. Smart players will be able to use methods that can produce literally non-stop fire. There is something just utterly cool about blazing away with dual submachine guns as your enemies run for cover.

But don't expect them to run for cover very often. The A.I. in this game is lacking, and it seems like no improvement has made at all over the first game. You can classify the types of enemies rather easily in this game. There are suicidal, the ones that stand in the open and don't move while shooting. There are the cowards, the ones that run away from you once you get in their general proximity. And there are the smart ones, the ones that shoot from behind cover and make you work at getting that kill. Unfortunately, most of the enemies are the suicidal type. This generally results in the same furious gunfights, even though there may be little to no strategy involved. To break up the gunfights, the developers have included several stages where the player must fight from vehicles. While these stages are admittedly fun, they are a step down from the first game. One of the biggest thrills in the first Red Faction was piloting the airship through the winding caverns. In this game, you would have a whole city to fly in, but this segment won't allow you to pilot the craft. You are simply a gunner. This is true for all the vehicles in the game except for one of them. I would much rather play the game my way than follow a set path.

Perhaps the most famous aspect of the Red Faction series is Geometric-Modification, or Geo-mod for short. What exactly is Geo-mod? It allows the player to modify the environment. This is usually done with explosives. Players can blast through walls to take out unsuspecting enemies on the other side, discover secret areas and make shortcuts. A perfect example of putting the Geo-mod to use comes early in the game. There is a narrow corridor with a mounted machine gun at the end, and passage is simply impossible. Using remote mines, the player can blow a hole in the wall next to it, and simply come out on the other side. Gunfights that involve explosives are possibly the most destructive and exciting fights the game has to offer, since the enemy can do the same thing to you. My only complaint here is that many of the environments aren't destructible, and become this way more often towards the end of the game.

The graphics in Red Faction 2 are definitely a step up from its predecessor. The environments are very detailed, and very vibrant. One level has you fighting through a military complex at sunset. Everything is bright, as the buildings soak in the sun, but the light becomes softer if you move inside. One level has you fighting through a labyrinth of catacombs, and it's very bleak and dark. The enemies and other NPC's are modeled very well, right down to glowing eyes and insignia on their uniforms. While the graphics are technically better than the original, they've lost some of the overall grittiness that I loved in the first one.

Red Faction 2 is one loud game. You'll generally be taking on several enemies at a time, so guns are constantly blazing. There's rarely a moment where you aren't hearing some sort of fire. All the guns are distinct and clear, the player should be able to recognize it just by the sound. There isn't much music, which is fine with me. Music can only be heard during critical moments in the missions, and it's generally a remix of something found in the first game. With Hollywood-caliber voice talent like Lance Henrikson and Jason Statham, the voice acting is very well rounded. Some of the voices may seem a little over the top, but nothing very annoying.

If you're a FPS fan, you will find yourself in replay heaven with this game. By completing bonus objectives, the player can unlock all sorts of secrets, from multi-player maps to still-frame shots. There are also four different endings, depending on how well you play. If you complete a lot of the bonus objectives, you'll be a hero. If you can't watch your fire and mow down a few civilians, you'll end up as a murderer.

This is a fantastic game, and very fun to play. However, I can't say that it's better than the original. It is one of the better FPS games on the PS2, so if you want a fun game, picking up Red Faction 2 would be a great idea.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/04