Red Faction: Guerrilla - Xbox 360

REVIEW FROM: www.infestedandy.com When you think of interstellar tyranny and galactic civil war, Red Faction isn’t the first game that comes to mind. But when you replace those two things with Mars and unprecedented destruction, you have a different story entirely. Red Faction: Guerrilla is Volition’s third entry in the series and brings with it the most unmeasured, gratuitous destruction this generation has seen. The story isn’t going to win any awards, but it does what it needs to do. For what it’s worth it follows Alec Mason as he arrives on Mars to work with his brother. Shortly after, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) kills his brother and targets Alec for being part of the resistance, part of the Red Faction. From here Alec is assimilated into the rebel ranks and must help them push the oppressive EDF back. The only problem is, well, the EDF has an entire army. Guerrilla warfare anyone? Unlike its predecessors, Guerrilla deviates from the conventional first-person viewpoint by going third-person. Along with this change comes the shift to a free-roaming, mission based environment ala Grand Theft Auto. If that sounds strange – you’re not alone. But surprisingly, the change works incredibly well and, if anything, infuses the game with explosive variety that many open-ended games lack. Mars is setup into six distinct zones that must be liberated from EDF control. Each activity you undertake will earn you salvage (the game’s currency and means of purchasing new equipment) and/or lower the gauge of control for the EDF. Lowering control allows you to gain access to the story-based Red Faction missions that will progress the game and unlock other zones. These missions are all very fun and in case you misstep, the checkpoint system is very forgiving. This setup works extremely well as you’re given the choice of just running rampant, destroying EDF structures or partaking in the various activities around Mars. It wouldn’t be a Red Faction game unless it put a tremendous amount of effort into destruction and Guerrilla is no different. Every single building on Mars can be brought to the ground in glorious fashion. It looks great, feels satisfying, and simply never gets old. The only problem I have is when you’re trying to destroy a building it sometimes is kept standing by just one or two supports. In that regard, the destruction physics can be a bit off, but for the majority of the time it’s a blast to swing through obstacles and watch the debris fly. If you’re not one to constantly follow activities, Guerrilla rewards for taking out important EDF structures. These targets range from small, less important buildings to heavily fortified, high importance structures. Destroying targets is a quick way to unlock Red Faction missions and is quite fun at that. There’s nothing like collapsing a power planet surrounded by EDF troops and making a quick getaway. If running off the beaten-path doesn’t appeal to you as much, activities like Demolitions Master, Heavy Metal, and the rail-shooting rides with Jenkins are among the greatest in the entire game. Demolitions Master is probably the best activity since it’s so unique. It’s basically a puzzle that requires the annihilation of a building in a certain way. There are also a couple different multiplayer components worth noting. One is called Wrecking Crew which is more of a pass the controller, party mode. It has various modes such as limited ammo or simply blowing up barrels, but they all deal with blowing buildings apart. It’s a good time with multiple people but not something you’ll be spending most of your time on. The other component deals with the competitive side of things. You’d think meshing destructibility with the diverse range of weaponry available would be something unbelievable. And it is - it’s unbelievably ridiculous and broken. It’s setup like Halo and in that respect it works well. It also uses various unique backpacks, like the Rhino which can charge a short distance through buildings. But it all goes to hell once the games begin. For instance, on certain maps teams can spawn-kill the entire time. Weapons are completely unbalanced and make otherwise close matches into blow-outs. While I found the different gametypes very unique, the gameplay online was simply too chaotic and unrefined to be anything worthwhile. The destruction and campaign in Red Faction: Guerrilla is unquestionable great and something definitely worth experiencing. Unfortunately, full retail price isn’t justifiable as once you’re 15 hour romp is done, there’s little reason to revisit Mars.

The game is fun for the first couple of hours, but after that, it gets old. The ability to destroy any standing structures on the map is great. You can't dig into the dirt, only destroy the buildings. The physics of the buildings isn't always perfect, so you'll be knocking down support beams and wondering why the structure is still barely standing, but a quick remote bomb, will fix that. In a nutshell: The game feels just like Mercenaries 2 (GTA style, do missions as you see fit... game has great potential, but just doesn't get there...). The graphics are good, not great. The sound is a little lacking, no radio while you drive around... just the annoying hum of your vehicles' engine as you drive over red dirt to your next location. The bullets and explosions sound and look good. The plot is typical Red Faction style: People being treated like animals, so they fight back, and you help them.... With VIOLENCE!!! The controls for driving around are a little sloppy, but it works. The control is much better when you're on foot, and you can use cover during firefights. The action is good, but tough. They throw enemy after enemy at you, and if you're not prepared, the AI will box you in and flank you within seconds, so you always have to act quickly and re-adjust your tactics, so that is fun and challenging. They tried to implement a mild stealth gameplay to the action parts, but it fails badly (you can walk around and perform minor actions around enemies sometime, and other times they will shoot you on sight for just walking/driving too close to them). So you run and gun almost everywhere. This game could of been AWESOME, but instead, it feels more like a guilty pleasure to see buildings fall/blowup in different ways. It barely has any cut scenes... barely any plot development or character growth. So you won't connect with the main characters, unlike other games where you truely feel for the characters as they grow. Basically in this game, they thrust a gun and some explosives in your hand, and tell you to kill all the EDF Military Personell and blow up their structures... then they turn you loose on the cities of Mars. And that's it... I wanted more, and I'm on hour 7 and still waiting for something that would make me say, "Wow, I'm so glad I bought this!" This game feels like a futuristic Mars version of Mercenaries 2, right down to the driving physics and on-foot controls. Basically: If you wanna see stuff explode and blow up buildings, then this will be fun. If you want an engrossing experience, where you bring the downtrodden Mars people up from the dusts of tyranny and love every second of it... then you'll be sorely dissappointed. Get it if you want to see buildings blowup and come crashing to the ground with people screaming and running around while bullets go whizzing past your characters head...

Red Faction is a 3rd person action game.You plays as Alec Mason,you can run,jump,hijack vehicles and use various weapons and free roam across the open planet of Mars.You must fight against the EDF(Earth Defense Force).Weapons in the game are Machine gun turrets,Rocket turrets,Remote charges,Sledgehammer,Machine guns,and lots more.A special weapon is called the Grinder it's a homemade,improvised weapon made by the miners that launches charged blades at enemies and objects.Another weapon is called the Reconstructor,but you can only use it in multiplayer.You can use it to rebuild destroyed structures.With over 120 plus missions,some are a little repetitive,but it's still a fun game with replayable value.

I had a good time playing Red Faction, and then I got to Eos, which is one of the last areas in the game. I played a mission called Dogs of War. Snipers were on the roofs of some apartment buildings, and my job was to kill them. It was INCREDIBLE. The most memorable experience I've ever had in a game. I was shooting through the roof of a tall building while standing inside, and parts of the ceiling were coming down around me, ripping up the floor. I was desperately trying to find a safe place to stand, with soldiers outside shooting up at me through holes in the floor, and guys outside shooting through the windows. It was total chaos, and that's just one of the moments in this mission. I can tell you right now, because I had to play this at least six times before I beat it, that the game was responding to whatever I did. There wasn't one way to play it. I did different things each time, and I think I could have beaten the mission with each one if I stuck it out. When I beat it, I used half a dozen different weapons, managed to jump a truck straight through the wall of the second floor then blow up the truck doing massive damage to the building, sledgehammered a sniper out of a window and he broke the wall of the adjacent building when he hit it, nano-rifled the stairs out so people couldn't follow me...just too much to list here! A huge thumbs up.

welcome to mars. in red faction guerrilla, you are a man named mason, a hero on the planet. what you are basically trying to accomplish in ths game is to liberate, or free, mars. Mars is being ruled by the EDF, a corrupt group who kills the red faction members. to take them down, you must destroy all their property using powerful sledgehammers, sticky bombs, rocket launchers and thermobalic launchers. after destroying a fair amount of property, edf troops will be coming for you. kill them with weaponry from a basic assault rifle to a high tech nano rifle. when you begin the game, their are some cheats you can use, such as super hammer, or unlimited ammo. these cheats make the game more fun, but makes it so you cannot get awards, or g-points. stop playing cod or halo and buy red faction guerrilla today!!!!

I bought this game thinking that the good reviews and feedback were true. After playing this game for a good 5 hours, I lost so much interest and motivation to pick up the game and place it in my 360. After awhile, saving hostages, destroying things, raids, etc. become way too redundant. Almost any difficulty level is not difficult enough. There will be times where you accidentally kill your own guerrilla teammates and you won't care because character development and storyline is NOT a part of this game. You almost mindlessly go and do missions and the only seeming payback is the chance to upgrade your weapons. Aside from that, a mindless game filled with destruction destruction destruction. There's more to a game than just graphics and explosions (at least in my opinion). This is a rental. I had great expectations for this game, but it didn't live well to the hype.

I've played quite a few sandbox games dating back to the original 'Driver & GTA' series...the whole get-out-of-your-car, walk, roam, do thing. This does what every sandbox game should do have side quests (that you care about or love and have fun playing) unbelievable framerate for the amount of action on the screen.........and just overall FUN. I have never played a game that kept my interest from start to finish like this and decide to go back and do all side missions. Well, Fallout 3 but, thats a different thing...anyways, This game is by far the biggest surprise of 2009! Major props to the developers (SR 1 & 2) for getting this game right. I love the change from the original RF series (FPS) to the 3rd person view. I love the destruction in all its glory. This game gets a solid A from me.

This game is a brand new look on video games. The destruction engine offers a new insight and new and innovative game play. "Should i run in guns blazing? Or go to the back of the building, break through the wall, and get them with their backs turned?" You'll find yourself looking at situations in this game completely different than any game you have ever played. Why just shoot at the baddies, when you can drive a truck through the wall and take down the building on top of them? Online play offers even more fun. With several different modes to play, 16 players, and multiple unlockables, it opens the next door of this very addicting game. Final verdict on Red Faction=Fun for all, and positively a game to buy and enjoy for hours and hours.