Red Faction: Guerrilla

"Why is the building making that noise?"

The Red Faction games are grounded in 2 ideas: Rebellion and Destruction. But not just any destruction. Red Faction 1 was famous for allowing players to tunnel several feet through rock if they had the explosives for it. While Red Faction Guerrilla does not feature terrain deformation, it's amazing how much work they put into the building destruction. And it's a pretty good game to boot.

Story

You play as Alec Mason, coming to Mars to work with his brother Dan. You're out on a job when Dan admits to being in the notorious Red Faction, as he tries to convince you to join the cause and rebel against the military controlling the planet. Alec refuses, up until the Earth Defense Force shows up, kills his brother and nearly kills him. Alec's motivation seems flimsy, but it does give the players an excuse to destroy everything in sight.

Also of note, the Marauders: scavenging barbarians often seen in the Badlands. They don't get the same kind of story coverage the RF and EDF do, but they are a dangerous force as well.

Gameplay

The Red Faction explains that there are six sectors under EDF control. In order for the planet to be freed, they must retake all six. These sectors are where the game takes place. The game is sandbox-style, so you can freely travel to any sector, except Eos and the Free Fire Zone that borders it, which are accessed later. In order to free a sector, you must do the story missions for that sector, and one final mission that liberates. But before the liberation mission is available, the EDF's control (represented by a bar with a number) must be reduced to zero.

There are a few ways to go about this. One way is to simply start destroying EDF structures Another way is Guerrilla Actions- basically miniature missions with a certain goal: Free these people, destroy that convoy, bring down this structure within this time limit. Some are seen on the map and can be activated at any time, others will be mentioned via radio when available: "There's an EDF convoy on route to Parker, someone take it out!" The game even allows you to set course for these radio-initiated actions by tapping one of the directional buttons.

The route to your destination is marked out on the road in front of the player as well as the minimap, so it can be easily seen. These actions also give salvage and improve sector morale. Salvage allows you to buy new weapons and upgrade your current ones (sadly, no upgrades are available for non-RF weaponry). Some upgrades are simple, such as an increase in damage or ammo capacity. Some are more interesting, such as the Smart Welder upgrade, that allows the player to use the Arc Welder without frying civilians or fellow rebels.

The weapons are varied and interesting, though not all are useful. The Enforcer, which fires homing bullets, doesn't do as much damage as the Assault Rifle. The Rail Driver, which can see and shoot through buildings, has very limited ammunition (and the sniper rifle isn't much better off). The Grinder fires giant sawblades, which is fun until you realize you could have used the weapon slot on something much more practical. And the Gutter, a melee weapon used by Marauders, can't be switched out with the hammer, so players will have to choose between having that or another ranged weapon/explosive. Ammo is general is rather limited, so players may end up using standard EDF armaments just so they don't run out of bullets. Ammo crates scattered through the environment help mitigate this problem, but they don't solve it completely. The crates also give more ammunition if morale is high.

Morale is another stat for each sector. High morale means rebels reinforcements when under attack, and colonists coming to offer Alec a vehicle when he's tired of running around on foot. The higher the better. But sometimes, the rebels are a little too eager to help. When they come to your aid, they will surround you, even if you're in a tank or firing off rockets. This leads to some frustrating situations where your own allies are more of a hindrance.

The Alert system is simple enough. Green means the EDF leave you alone (not counting harassment), yellow means shoot on sight, while orange and red mean it's time to leave. In these stages, wave after wave of EDF troops will charge into battle, some riding in APCs or gunships. Even with full armor upgrades, Alec won't last long against an EDF assault. Taking cover will help somewhat, but the best course of action is to retreat to the nearest safehouse. Problem is, the player won't want to leave. The salvage released by the destruction of EDF property is hard to come by otherwise, and worse yet, it disappears if the player is killed and respawned at a safehouse. Some of the upgrades are incredibly expensive, and some acquired very late in the game.

The destruction is amazing. Almost all buildings (one exception- certain bridges that are the only way across their respective canyons) are destructible, and they come down in a believable way. If the player knocks down the support beams for a tower, it will collapse. If only most of the beams are destroyed, the tower will creak and groan before the last supports are destroyed by the strain. No need to find a door for an entrance, just grab the sledgehammer and make one.

In the first 5 sectors, this will work to the players advantage almost every time. But it creates problems in Eos. In Eos, the buildings are made of glass and a few thin pillars, and the EDF are all sporting new gauss rifles that tear structures apart. It is in Eos that the strongest RF weapon, the Thermobaric rocket, becomes avaiable, but in a city made of glass the weapon is of little use. Any other weapon will do just as much damage, while carrying much more ammunition. Eos in general can be a frustrating sector to fight in.

As an example, I was doing a house arrest mission in Eos one day. My targets were 3 individuals inside a 3 or 4 story building. By the time I'd reached them, EDF troops were flanking the building on all sides. In their zealous attempts to kill me, all the staircases (needed to get the hostages out safely) were destroyed by weapons fire, and the building itself eventually came down. Escort missions are hard enough without worrying about the buildings giving out, and it made that particular Action very frustrating. At least there's enough variety in the Guerrilla Actions that the player is not forced to play ones they find frustrating, but certain Actions give salvage, mainly the Transporter and Demolitions Master Actions, which are both time-based. Driving across 3
sectors in a fragile car with half the EDF behind me wasn't fun, but it gave more salvage than going after EDF buildings and vehicles.

One last issue I have with Singleplayer is that building destruction is permanent. Bridges will be restored after completing the game, and targets of Guerrilla Actions are restored when replayed, but everything else is destroyed once and never returns. While it's nice to see that the EDF base I blew up yesterday is still rubble, I think there should have been some way to restore them. Yes, there is the option of starting a new game, but then you have to get all the salvage again, do all the missions again, and unlock all the weapons again, just so you can knock down that 1 skyscraper again. It's needlessly circuitous.

After singleplayer, there's still the online multiplayer and Wrecking Crew modes. Wrecking Crew consists of seeing how much damage can be caused with limited weapons and time. It is played in a pass-the-controller format, as each player takes a shot at causing the most destruction. There are a few frustrating moments when a building comes down immediately after the "break" timer ends, but otherwise WC is a load of fun.

Multiplayer has the standard Deathmatch, Team deathmatch, and Capture the Flag modes, but also a couple of new ones that complement the destruction system. In Siege, 1 team tries to destroy specific buildings while the other defends and repairs them. After the timer runs out or all buildings are destroyed, the roles are reversed. Some days the playlist will give you rocket launchers as a starting weapon on this mode, which is annoying as all semblance of strategy goes out the window and the match turns into Rocket Launcher blitzkrieg. Multiplayer also has backpacks, which give the players special abilities (improved firepower, rapid healing, near invisibility) for short periods. Multiplayer is enjoyable, with only minor faults such as being unable to join a match in progress (caused by technical limitations).

Graphics/Sound

They made sure that each Sector of Mars is distinguishable from the rest. Each has certain native buildings, vehicles, and colors. The Badlands are dark and mysterious, and work with the music to create a feeling of fear and foreboding (which is very fitting when the Maruaders appear from nowhere to remove Alec's head from his shoulders). The Marauder and RF weapons look old and weather-beaten, and seem distressingly inadequate next the the EDF's shiny new rifles. The explosions and building destruction are awe-inspiring, especially when combined for a rapid building takedown. The concussion pack makes a nice sound as nearby players are blasted away, and it is very rewarding to hear a loud scream after firing the grinder at an enemy.

Length/Replay Value

Hardcore fans may consider giving the story-mode a second run, but most players will be done with it after the first time. The Multiplayer modes however should hold your interest for a long while after single-player is completed. The collectible and multiplayer-based trophies can be reasonably acheived while still posing a challenge.

The game takes around 18-20 hours to complete, depending on how long you spend on Guerrilla Actions and getting salvage for upgrades.


Final Recommendation

Singleplayer can be beaten in a rental, and most players will spend no more time on it after that, but if you have any interest in the Wrecking Crew or Multiplayer modes, I'd suggest purchasing this game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/09

Game Release: Red Faction: Guerrilla (US, 06/02/09)