Battlemouth

Not since 2001, when the Red Faction first spread its wings, have I had so much fun blowing the shit out of stuff. Especially following on the heels of an all but depressing Y2K (what with the lack of hover boards, robots, and general worldwide computer meltdowns) Red Factions first installment brought forth a new gaming engine that revolutionized in game physics.

It was just earlier this year, while still wondering about in shock over the grandeur that was NYCCC ‘09, I found myself being handed a t-shirt with an oddly familiar logo adorning the front. A circle containing within it the upraised, fist clenching that distinct mining hammer of the Red Faction miners. Of course having been several years since I had played the original, it wasn’t until I looked up and realized I had stumbled into THQ and Voilitions booth with the large, red letters across the the top stating the obvious, that I realized what it was that I was about to lay eyes upon. But that was just a small taste…not nearly enough to get me as excited as I now realize I should have been.

Upon returning from a nice weekend in Chicago I decided to treat myself with a nice, relaxing new game to play. After realizing that Fight Night Round 4 was still not out….I settled on Guerrilla….and have been unable to pull myself from the television (except to work) ever since.

There are several highlights about this Red Faction that set it apart from the previous two games of the same name. Firstly while the OG Red Factions were 1st person shooters, Guerrilla is all 3rd person. I have to say that in addition to allowing the very attractive graphics to shine out much more, the 3rd person POV allows for better controls and a sense of mobility while on foot, and in vehicles…Vehicles you say? Yes and LOTS of them! Taking a page from the success of the GTA franchise (like so many do these days) to aid with the fantastic massive free-roam world there is a host of many many very cool rides. You will of course remember that the initial games were set on Mars…a scene that remains still. And what better way to get around the different beautiful landscapes of Mars than in that glorious Mars Buggy or SUV or MECHA-SUIT! And with the newly revamped destruction physics, one of my favorite things to do is find a large piece of construction equipment and drive it as fast as I can through the largest building I can find, upon getting stuck (assuming the building hasn’t colapsed around me) I jump out and start shooting and throwing my trusty demolition mines all over the place only to watch it all blow to hell and come tumbling down on my enemy as I flee off into the dusty sunset.

The single player on a whole reminds me a lot of Mercenaries, wide open spaces with random jobs all over the place to satiate your need to progress. However this can be a bit of a problem if you have a short attention span like me…I usually start driving towards a new mission, only to get distracted by some large, shiny building looming on the horizon for me to smash into….and then promptly die. Which brings me to another point…this game is hard. While I do love the occasional stealthy type game…I usually get bored and charge in to the rooms guns blazing….and die…RF:G like many of these games, does not reward the gamer with my style all that often! This game takes skill and patience…merely throwing explosives at a building or tower will not always bring it down…in fact most often it will do little more than make holes (still really fun…but not the goal). I never really thought my year spent at that lumber yard would really pay off, but the better you know how to look for load bearing walls and other main supports within and around the building you are attacking, the faster you can bring that bitch down. And frequently if you can’t do this fast, the baddies will be on you so fast you will get your ass blow apart before you can even run back to your ride for a getaway!

Which brings me to another fresh idea this game brings. It is made clear to you at the beginning of the game that while the Red Faction can steal plenty of guns and other weapons from the EDF (Earth Defense Force) their numbers are just so much greater that it will take more than just using their weapons against them. This is where blowing up buildings for fun comes in…every time you destroy something you will find shiny pieces of scrap that you can turn in at any of your bases throughout the six different zones to be used to create new weapons and research all sorts of other gear. And let me tell you some of these weapons are truly fantastic!

I recommend trying out the “Wrecking Crew” mode after you have tried out the single player for a bit. There are several different modes, all of which the point is to destroy as much as you can in some shape or form, but mainly you will find that you get to try out all the different fantastic weapons as well as the backpacks. All of this and I feel like I have still barely scratched the surface of the content in this game. I think that this will probably be the first game I recommend purchasing for 2009. This weekend I plan on getting in some face time with Prototype, another game I got a glimpse of at NYCC and have been looking forward to ever since! We shall see how it lives up to the glory that is Red Faction: Guerrilla.

Next Week BattleGamerz!