Red Faction Armageddon Review

“Ain’t no Guerilla’s in the Armageddon.”

Red Faction has gone through multiple changes in its franchise.  The first two were a First Person Shooter and Guerilla was a sandbox destruction game. Armageddon is no different in the aspect of blowing things up and having fun, however it is more focused on a linear play-style. Throughout the game, you play as Darius Mason, the grandson of Red Faction Guerilla’s main character.

In the beginning of the game, events unfold that lead Mars’ surface to be disastrous, forcing the colony to be underground. Underneath these ancient mines and chasms lie unknown Martian creatures that are quick to attack. The dark caverns and lighting effects used in the game give an eerie vibe that resembles Dead Space, and ironically so do some of the enemy designs.  A downside to being underground is the lack of grand structures you can destroy, which is something I enjoyed a lot from their previous title. The story itself is pretty mediocre, nothing too in depth to have me enthralled. A noted feature that helped in the progression of the game is a yellow guideline that shows the way to your current destination, which can help immensely when lost in a maze of underground caverns.

When it comes to weapons, Red Faction has never disappointed. By far the best new weapon I’ve seen a game is one you get pretty early, the Magnet Gun. The first shot is the magnet; your second shot is the anchor which attracts the magnetized surface. Countless times I cleared an area full of monsters by shooting them and slinging them through a building, or just bring the whole building down to collapse on them. It’s insanely fun and its unlimited ammo! The fun factor of destruction is quite varied when traveling to each place, divided by a few segments not just on foot. A light-weight mech, a large ground-crawling Mantis, and even a flying ship can be controlled to help off the fighting swarm of creatures.

Surprisingly, Armageddon only has two available online modes, Infestation and Ruin. Infestation requires players to fight off waves of enemies while completing objectives, defending, or just surviving until the last creature is killed. Ruin however, is all about mass destruction in a short amount of time. Both modes are great fun, but Ruin is limited to purchasers of new copies or by purchasing an online code. Despite being intensely fun, I miss the online multiplayer types Red Faction Guerilla had.

Fun, is a great synonym to video games. The Red Faction franchise has definitely shown us that destruction can as fun as random killing. Armageddon takes a new approach for the series in a linear way, but keeps all the destruction elements that made its predecessor unique. Unfortunately, a mediocre story and a lack of online features the previous title had hold this game back from contending with some other Triple-A games that are due out this year.

Final Score=7/10