Red Faction Recap

I spent the past week or so romping through Mars playing Red Faction Guerrilla on the PS3 and overall had a good time with it. The story was severely lacking, especially since so much could have been done with the rebellion taking place on the red planet; but the good news is that the game itself brings the fun.

Taking out whole buildings using only a sledgehammer is some of the most fun I've had in a game in a long time, but you're not limited to a hammer you have a variety of weapon at your disposal. Destruction is made easy with rocket launchers, mechs, tanks, remote mines and all sorts of goodies that will allow you to take down any structure you see standing. If you don't like the way an apartment building looks, tear it down! The game won't puish you for needless destruction!

This brings me to one of my biggest issues aside from a lack of an involved story: though there is a penalty for killing civilians, there's no real consequence for it. City morale can be gained back faster than those recently killed can lose their body heat. This takes away from the realism of leading a rebellion on Mars--wait, did I just comment on the realism of taking leading a rebellion on Mars? Who cares? This is a fantasy! Let the bloodshed continue!

While Red Faction Guerrilla will never be mistaken for a deep game story-wise, the fun of running amok while taking out the Earth Defense Force will make you forget that this is nothing more than a fantastic sandbox. The shooting is fine, the driving is good enough, but what the game boils down to is busting up buildings and watching them fall.

Overall, I'm glad I purchased Red Faction Guerrilla, but I'll say right now it's not going to be a permanent member of my collection. It's worth a play, and a purchase if you can get it for less than $40, but even breaking shit can get kind of old when you don't care about the world or any of the characters.