Red Faction: Guerilla review

Recently, I signed up for GameFly, which has proven to be a rather useful tool in catching up on games - especially those I'd be hesitant to buy. The first of these games was Red Faction: Guerilla - a title that can be found relatively cheaply in a variety of places, yet I still couldn't bring myself to buy it. Well, I was wrong to hesitate.

The game is a mission-based sandbox, much like GTA or any other open-world game. This is where I had trouble approaching the game, since I typically find myself only interested in a sandbox for as long as the novelty of the world lasts. Where Red Faction stands out is its unique Geo-mod engine (also a characteristic of earlier titles in the series). This engine allows you to destroy any object in the environment, taking down buildings, breaking into garages, collapsing the floors underneath enemies, etc. This, along with competent cover-based third person shooting with a variety of weapons, makes for a really fun game. Add to this a compelling story that edifies the player as he frees an oppressed people from the villainous EDF paramilitary organization, and you've got some serious desire to blow shit up.

Your destruction is guided by pleasingly varied missions and mini-map markers showing you which buildings belong to the enemy. Any building will yield the game's currency - salvage - but destroying civilian property carries with it the risk of killing civilians, thus damaging morale (and your profit from completing missions). The map shows you targets of medium-high importance, the destruction of which awards positive morale, while story and discoverable missions can provide salvage, morale, or both. So basically, you're being rewarded at every turn in a different, measurable way, as salvage leads to more equipment, and morale leads to more salvage. The attitude surrounding each mission vilifies your enemy so thoroughly that hammering through their troops feels quite nice. More specifics about gameplay after the jump.

Missions generally revolve around destroying certain property, though you can do this on your own as well, since important targets are marked on your map. Suppose its time to disrupt communications for the EDF in a given region. So, grab a nice, sturdy truck, drive it directly into the enemy base, rolling over enemies as you go. Then, crash it directly into your target building, watch as debris flies. Eventually your truck is too damaged, so you hop out just in time before it explodes, doing further damage to the building. But wait, it's still standing! And there's people firing at you from everywhere! Take cover behind one of the thicker, still intact columns, and start picking off the enemies firing at you. Alternatively, as was my preference, run up to them with your sledgehammer and send them flying. You're still under heavy fire, and things are looking grim, but then, a civilian worker at this station decides its time to take up arms against the EDF and earn his freedom, so he joins the fight. Several others join as you're now able to complete your task. Plant several remote explosive charges on the remaining beams, hi-jack one of the enemy's vehicles, and charge your way out of the base as forcefully as you entered, hitting the trigger on your remote charges in time to see that building collapse.

A couple of things emerge as the game progresses to keep this standard scenario a true delight. First of those things is the introduction of fighting mechs. These things can take a lot of damage as you plow through structures simply by walking into them, swinging your arms about. Sweep away foes, smash down on enemy tanks, level everything. Awesome. Then there's the jetpack. Regrettably introduced in the latter half of the game, the jetpack gives you complete freedom over your environment. It has limited bursts, so you can only get so high, but it allows for some nice, stealthier entrances, as well as some more creative destruction (such as bringing a heavy roof down upon a multi-storied building.

This game managed to do what I always appreciate in a game - make me feel like a badass. Good, unpredictable/multi-faceted story, plus amazingly robust destruction and shooting mechanics, PLUS smooth driving - there's hardly a dull moment. I must admit that I had a hard time getting into the game at first. They introduce a lot of concepts really quickly, and it's hard to know how best to approach the game without some trial and error. I ended up restarting after I played for a few hours when I realized I was spending my salvage on upgrades I wasn't using, and that I hadn't been realizing my full potential within the game. Once I had discovered how to play the game properly, though, I couldn't stop. It's not a perfect game, but the 25ish hours I spent on it were a blast.