Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 09 June 2009 17:14
Entertainment
Page 1 of 2
Ah Mars, once mankind reaches the level of technology needed to terra-form, colonize and start life on the red planet, surely all wars, prejudice and oppression will have been removed from the race. Not according to Volition as they reignite the rebellion with Red Faction: Guerrilla
Alec Mason is new to Mars, but almost immediately he feels the weight of oppression, as EDF (Earth Defence Force) heavies welcome him to the Martian mining fields by immediately revoking his right to work, and murdering his brother.
Red Faction: Guerrilla
|
|
Developer
|
Volition
|
Publisher
|
THQ |
Rating
|
MA 15+
|
| |
|
PS3, Reviewed on Xbox 360, On PC in August
|
As with so many video games, so starts the tale of revenge and the struggle against tyranny, this time with the Martian landscape playing a pivotal role, well almost.
RF:G is a game about destruction, lots of it. Volition touts the Geo Mod 2.0 technology as the crux on which the game-play is built. It is the grandchild iteration of tech promised back when Red Faction was a First Person Shooter in 2001, and is part of the magic, along with Havok physics that gives players the ability to rip-a-new one in any man-made structure upon the planet’s surface.
Man-made is the key here, there is no way you can damage the Martian landscape with your mining derived weaponry, but that’s ok, for there is plenty of fun to be had belting the pjesus out of everything else on offer.
And bustin stuff up is important, as it provides ‘scrap’, the raw currency for getting stuff done within the Red Faction resistance.
RF:G is an open world game, similar to many on the market, and like games such as
Godfather II and
inFAMOUS , it has its own unique progression model.
Mars is divided into six regions, all under control of the EDF, though the artillery ridden Free Fire Zone and the Marauder dominated Badlands are arguably not controlled by anybody. Mason can pretty much move at will within these zones, but must free the oppressive hold on each in order to continue the story line.
To do this Mason must lower EDF control, and increase local citizen Morale.
To lower Control, missions can be freely taken or ignored as he sees fit. Missions such as rescuing hostages, intercepting couriers or EDF convoys all take different tactics to complete. Whereas guerrilla raids or defending against EDF attacks are straight forward shoot-em-ups.
Each successful mission will lower EDF control in the area, prompting the unlocking of story driven master missions. Each success also increases Morale in the region, whilst each civilian casualty or Mason death, for that matter will conversely lower Morale.
Morale is an interesting factor in the game, and a bit of a catch 22. As Morale goes up, the predominately female civilians are more likely to join in with you and your EDF battles, raising the chaos of any particular encounter, and thus also increasing the likelihood of guerrilla/citizen casualties that will subsequently lower Morale.
The effect is tangible and immersive, with Mason indeed feeling part of a larger resistance the more success he has. This gives a real life to an otherwise barren and dusty environment, the antitheses of the unimportant meat puppets that normally inhabit games such as this.
CONTINUED on PAGE 2
