Red Faction: Guerrilla

THE GOOD:
+ True sandbox game, open ended with full freedom
+ Excellent physics engine
+ Very few scripted events
+ Very high fun factor

THE BAD:
- Open-ended sandbox games require a player that are willing and able to figure things out, others may find the game too hard or confusing.
- Shallow characters and very simple/unengaging storyline.
- Activities and missions may get repetitive if you just "play to win". Besides destruction there isn't much else to do.
- I'd like to see an even wider range of weapons and upgrades.
- No coop-mode.

* * *

THIS IS NOT GTA!
Many reviewers call this game a "GTA on Mars", but in my opinion that is a label that does not fit.
The *only* thing Red Faction and GTA have in common is that they are both open-ended sandbox games. From there on, the differences are greater than the similarities.

The GTA games are far more complex in almost every aspect, with their storylines, mini-games/sidemissions, playground/environment and scripted events.

Red Faction on the other hand, is a simple, straight forward sandbox action game - and excels at that. It could be called "Mercenaries 2 on Mars", except that its much, much better than Merc2.

THE BEST SANDBOX SO FAR!
This is the most complete "sandbox" experience I've had. The gameplay is completely without artificial/scripted limitations. The storyline and missions form the basic framework to play within, the weaponry being your tools. From there on you are free to play the way you want to.

The main story takes you through all the areas of the map but there are no "locked zones". However the resistance is tougher the further you go, so following the storyline (and upgrading your skills and equipment along the way) as you explore the land becomes the natural thing to do.

It's the same kind of "natural flow" to the way you solve the missions. If you want to be a lone wolf and brute force through an enemy base, you are free to do so - it's doable but it's tough, as it should be. Or you may want to be more of a teamplayer and inspire the local population. The higher the fighting spirit is amongst the civilians in the area, the more people join and support you when you fight the enemy.

And this is one of this game strongest feature: The freedom of choosing your play style. There's no "one way" to solve the missions, no way you are "supposed" to do it, no scripted outcome. If your idea makes sense with your given tools it's probably a plausible solution.

The AI is pretty good with enemies seeking cover, trying different routes and generally is doing a fair job in giving you a hard time. No God-like abilities like seeing through walls and knowing where you are or see into the future and (scripted) have an army waiting at the very place you run for cover - no matter where you run.

THE BEST PHYSICS ENGINE SO FAR
The physics engine in itself is worth buying the game. Destruction has never felt so real, so logical and so FUN. And the larger the constructions, the more impressive the engine. To see a large building slowly start to crumble under its own weight never gets old. Especially if you were able to time the collapse and direction so that passing enemy units get crushed underneath.

If only this game had a coop feature. This game would be *perfect* for a storyline two-player coop...

I bought Red Faction on basis that I assumed that the multiplayer would be excellent and it was but it was not until I played the main game that I realised that this was a game done right.

If you was to describe it you could say it was a GTA on mars but so much more. The game is undoubtedly fun in every way no matter what you are doing. Because of the environments you can literally assault bases in any way you want; for example, I came across a situation where I had to kill some snipers hiding in a huge tower building. Should I use my sledgehammer to knock of out the buildings supports and watch it collapse? Or should I bust through the main doors and shoot my way up? Or should I jetpack my way to the roof and work my way down? Or should I run around the ground level placing charges on every wall then ignite it all. My point is there are tons of ways of doing it; hell I could get a jumping walker and just rampage through the whole thing.

Now the game could have sung this one note tune but it also adds some other key functions, such as collecting salvage to upgrade and buy weapons, armour and other fun toys; which if your like me and have been indoctrinated by Mario that collecting stuff on is the whole a good thing then this will be a big bonus. The weapons and toys are all good fun but mostly generic, however the system of upgrading and changing them is fairly enjoyable and makes collecting salvage well worth it.

Among all this is a fairly cut and dry storyline, which is fairly acceptable for the game. The storyline is simple some oppressive force is oppressing you and your friends and it's your job to help the resistance. There was a point where I could not help but realise that I had seen the EDF (the bad guys) kill a handful of people where as I am just finished stomping on 150 of them, which really led me to wonder who the bad guys where.

The only downsides to the game is the somewhat repetitive missions: drive vehicle to safe house, rescue hostages, help raid, defend area which you find yourself doing over and over. Don't get me wrong though these are fun as hell but can get tedious when you're playing it on hard and keep killing the hostages.

I have to say at £18 odd you should buy this game if you enjoy the genre. It lacks the advertising campaign of GTA 4 but god it's so much better in pretty much every way. To sum up Red Faction 3 is fun and highly playable and considering I've enjoyed only a handful of games in the past few that is something.

I brought thsi after playign hte demo and just thinking wow, i must of palyed it 5/6 times through each time differently, each tiem the AI responded brillantly to my actions.
I brought the game and quickly found it getting a little repeativitive and i was now gettign out gunned, then your introduced to the nano Rifle and your back on level playing terms.
The destruction elements are the best i have seen, and the only game that fully offers a fully destructive environment. The explosions are brillant, one of the best lookign parts of the game.
The developers have worked to make the game as playable as possible,
The ability to flip your vechile over saves you from having to find a new one. The vechile do handled like bouncying buggies, but thats all in the play ability of the game, to make it fun and playable.
There a side missions and main missions to do, the side ones are repeativitive in nature but each slightly different. So your not as bored as quickly. BuT soem of these side missions are boring from the start so i avoided them throughout.
There are a few things within the game that annoy me but are quite easily to look past, The fact that the graphics don't match other ps3 games they are better then ps2 graphics but i expected better. The fact that i would find myself running out of ammo very quickly during firefights and would have either try to run and grab some or resort to the hammer.
All the little details add upto make this game fun and enjoyable.
The cut scenes can't be skipped and the story is basic, and is very similar to others. But i didn't really care about the story and the fun i was havign within the game simply made the story irrevelant.
Great game, great destruction elements. 4/5. Not quite perfect but pretty close

Having played the demo of this game it has really has caught my attention.

Pretty much everything in the world can be destroyed which is rather refreshing as many games carry the invisible wall syndrome! The map shown in the demo is massive, it honestly will take you by suprise when you see it for yourself.

Graphics are not really breath taking however they do hold up enough to merit a progression from the PS2 era of graphics. After awhile though you forget about the graphics and get pulled in to how much fun you can extract from this game. You can grab any vehicle and take it for a spin, smash through any building you want, you can pretty much take on anything you see in this game and most of the time come out on top!

I've not really been an admirer of THQ's work but this game has put them on my radar and I look forward to the full game release and to wreck havoc upon all that oppose!

Wicked game based on Demo, love the physics and you can nearly destroy everything. Third person was a brave choice but it works. Cant wait for the game to come out !!!
5 out of 5