So the last couple of games I've reviewed have been busts.
Thankfully today's game - Red Faction: Armageddon - is anything but.
Now here's a game you've probably never thought about. Heck,
you may have never played anything in the series, despite how revolutionary the
original was, or how awesome the third was as a complete reimagining of an FPS
into a third person sandbox destruction-gasm. Just don't bother with the second
one, its pretty bad.
If you have played a Red Faction game before, particularly Guerrilla, just know that this game continues Volition's tradition of being
willing to experiment and try something very different from any of the previous
titles, and you shouldn't write it off just because it's not a clone of the
last game you played. For example, Red Faction II was a heavily story driven
game about a group of nano-enhanced soldiers on Earth, which was nothing like
the original, about a miner rebellion on Mars. The third took an even more
drastic departure, and became that third person, open world, destruction fest.
Following this precedent, Armageddon is an indoor, fasted paced, action heavy,
third person corridor shooter. If you're considering passing after hearing
that, don't - you'll miss out on one of the best games of 2011.
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| Also, lots of stuff goes boom. |
This game's hammer-wielding protagonist is one Darius Mason,
a descendent of the main character from Guerrilla, Alec Mason. A lot has
happened since the last game, including a SyFy channel movie, and now the Red
Faction is Mars' military, rather than just a rebel group. You are, of course,
a member of that military, and the game begins with you deploying on a mission
to stop some cultists, an offshoot of the marauder faction from the previous
game, from destroying the terraformer, a device that is critical to the
survival of mankind on the surface.
Well, lets just say you're not too good at your job. Flash
forward a few years, and humans are just getting by, living in tunnels and far
beneath the surface. That is until you do another bang up job, and find that you've
been tricked, yet again by the cultists, into unleashing a menagerie of aliens
that had been sealed up sometime before the first game. You spend the game
fighting for survival, and trying to find a way to set things right, on account
that everything is your fault, while avoiding being killed by aliens, cultists,
and some citizens that aren't too happy with the job you've been doing.
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| Remember kids, if you ever get an offer from mysterious individuals to destroy strange ancient artifacts, pass. |
Most of the game takes place in underground tunnels, which
encompass everything from caverns, to small human outposts, to the larger
settlements that make up the core of the remaining human civilization. There
are levels that take you out onto the surface, or into more heavily constructed
areas, but they aren't as common. So there is no more hi-jacking a vehicle and
tearing around the planet, but since this is a very liner experience, the new
environments fit very well with the intentions behind the game. Your time
underground works out particularly well, because those aliens have a tendency
to burrow out of cave walls, and can pretty much spawn anywhere, which serves
to keep you on your toes, and your head on a swivel.
The enemies, particularly those blasted aliens, are pretty
cool, and there are some subtle mechanics at play that really add a lot to the
game, without you having to think about it. Specifically, not only do the
aliens vary by size in accordance with power, but they are also color-coded -
they are covered in spines that, when you are not looking directly at them with
a flashlight, illuminate with the color unique to that enemy, and help you
detected their location, as well as discern which enemy types you're up
against, so you can handle them in the appropriate order. This proves extremely
helpful when you've got groups of 4-5 enemies constantly tunneling in, while
tentacle structures that give off a shield pop up, and you're running low on
ammo.
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| This way, you can avoid adding something cliche, like night vision. |
Some of the weapons from the previous game make a return,
such as the Enforcer, an assault rifle that fires semi-homing bullets, or the
always classic rail gun, which has been in every RF game, but most of them are
new, or modifications of other guns. For example, you no longer plant charges,
or place singularity grenades. Rather, you have a charge launcher, and there is
a singularity rifle, both of which are really, really, fun. Most others are
pretty standard fare, shotgun, rifle, both a fast firing and accurate dual
wielded pistol as well as a slow firing but heavy hitting dual wielded pistol.
New weapons include the amazing magnet gun, which allows you to fire a magnet
to two different surfaces, which will then pull the smaller one to the other,
like attaching one to an enemy and the ceiling above a chasm, or the top floor
of a building and the ground beneath it. That last one is a really good gun to
experiment with, because its very surprising how well it works with the
destructible environments.
Weapons aren't the only method at your disposable for
dispatching enemies. You're equipped with a nano-forge that, as with the
previous game, allows you to repair structures, but pulls double duty by
granting four additional abilities that share a common cool down. The first is
a simple area knockback that deals a good amount of damage, followed by an
ability that grabs every nearby enemy and flings them up into the air in suspended
animation for a limited amount of time, allowing you to take plenty of pot
shots. Yet another creates a dome shield around the character, which is
appreciated when you need to regen some health, but the final, called
berserker, greatly increases your damage and grants unlimited ammo, as long as
your charge lasts.
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| Okay, that's just cool. |
Another mechanic that makes a return from the previous game
is the use of scrap as a currency. You find it either by destroying buildings,
as an item pickup around the levels, or by killing enemies. Rather than using
to upgrade weapons, as was the case in Guerrilla, it is instead used to buy new
abilities and augmentations, such as increased health, enemy health indicators,
or increase nano-charge on enemy kill, which can be combined with berserker to
grant you infinite ammo as long as you can kill enemies fast enough.
I'm aware of the disappointment Armageddon was greeted with,
but it's worth considering the state of many sequels in modern day series,
particularly Call of Duty, and the minuscule alterations between iterations. What's
really important with this game is to not think of it as Guerrilla II, and
understand that it is its own, largely independent, experience. If you can do
that, and appreciate the approach Volition has historically taken with regards
to the Red Faction series, then you will feel less regret that this is not a
destruction centered sandbox game, and appreciate it as an action game that is
well worth your time, and money.
I picked up the game and DLC for a combined total of just
under $15 a few months back, and I can honestly say I paid too little for what
I got. The biggest downfall is that this game is too short, clocking in at 9
hours, and I could easily have used more. I was particularly disappointed that
this game did not include multiplayer, beyond that of co-op destruction and
survival, in the manner that Guerrilla did. I know I spent a good amount of
time trying to convince you to break the "Armageddon = Guerrilla II"
link, but I would have liked to have seen the type of versus modes in the
previous game brought back into a more action centric environment, with the new
weapons and abilities making for a really good time. Still, I'm glad I devoted
9 hours of my life to playing this, and feel I'm better for the experience, so
I give it a 9 out of 10.
So, the final breakdown:
Score: 9/10
Suggested Price: $20+
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