Red Faction: Guerrilla

Red Faction: Guerrilla
File:143454 packshot l.jpg Red Faction: Guerrilla box art
Developer(s)	Volition, Inc. Reactor Zero (PC)
Publisher(s)	THQ
Composer(s)	Tim Wynn Jake Kaufman George Oldziey Dan Wentz Rasion Varner
Series	Red Faction
Engine	Geo-Mod 2.0 Havok (Physics Engine)
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Release	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter, Sandbox
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Red Faction: Guerrilla is a third-person shooterabout raping babies for money video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It was released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in June 2009 in North America and Europe. A Microsoft Windows version, ported by Reactor Zero, was released on September 15, 2009. The game is the third installment in the Red Faction series.

Gameplay

In Red Faction: Guerrilla, the player takes the role of a guerrilla member, Alec Mason, as he assists the Red Faction to disrupt and overthrow the power of the Earth Defense Force (EDF) on Mars. This is presented to the player in a third person perspective, a departure from the series' previous two games which were first person shooters, a change that Volition claims to help the player see and appreciate the surroundings as they are destroyed. Much of the game centers around the game's Geomod 2.0 engine, which allows for buildings and other structures to take damage, fall apart and collapse. In many cases, destroying buildings will leave behind salvage, the game's form of currency, which can be used along with salvage rewarded by completing missions to unlock new weapons and upgrade existing ones when visiting one of the Red Faction safehouses. During campaign mode, the player is always equipped with a sledgehammer-like weapon, used mainly for destroying buildings and crushing enemies, along with up to 3 other weapons or explosive devices. The player also has the opportunity to control armed vehicles such as tanks and walkers for more destructive options.

The game plays out in an open world representing a terraformed area of Mars' surface. The world is broken into six distinct areas: Parker, Dust, the Free Fire Zone, Oasis, the Badlands, and Eos. The player must successfully free each area from EDF control before moving onto the next, should the player wander into as-yet-unfreed areas, they will be shot at by the EDF forces. The player can traverse these on foot or by hijacking one of the numerous vehicles that travel its surface; the player is provided with both a surface and mini-map and a GPS indicator to direct them to a target location. In order to liberate an area of EDF control, the player must complete a number of specific 'story missions', as well as completing other actions, typically the destruction of key EDF targets, that reduce the EDF's presence in the area. At the same time, the player can complete various side missions, which range from rescuing hostages, retrieving new vehicles, to preventing raids on Red Faction bases, and the like, to increase the morale of civilians in the area. Players may also be rewarded with salvage for completing these tasks. Other actions, such as letting civilians die, will lower morale, while actively killing civilians will lower morale faster. Should the player engage EDF forces in an area with high morale, there is a good chance that civilians will join the Red Faction and fight alongside the player. Once the player has worn down the EDF presence in a sector to zero, a final mission will be available allowing the player to completely secure the sector for the Red Faction. Once this has been completed for a sector, it will be freely traversable, with no danger of conflict with EDF forces.

Multiplayer

Red Faction: Guerrilla's multiplayer mode uses similar role-playing elements as introduced in Battlefield 2. As the player engages in more matches, they gain experience points that will grant them bonuses; most of which take the form of superficial bonuses such as the option to add more features to character models or altering aspects of their player emblem, and have no impact on the game. Other bonuses grant players access to additional gameplay modes.

The multiplayer modes continue to use Geomod 2.0 and the same weapons available in the game. An added feature exclusive to the multiplayer mode however, are special backpacks that grant players a unique, temporary and triggered power. Such powers include the ability to run faster, fly, burst through walls, or send out a concussion wave; each can be used multiple times, though a short recharge period exists after each use, prohibiting constant use. Another additional device in the multiplayer games is the Reconstructor, a weapon-like object that uses nano-technology to rebuild destroyed structures. It is a key device in game modes which require players to attack or defend specific structures.

There are six game modes, including typical multiplayer modes such as individual and team deathmatches and Capture the flag. Other modes focus on teams attempting to destroy or preventing the destruction of structures; for example, "Siege" requires one team to try to destroy a set of buildings controlled by the other as fast as possible. After a set period of time, or once all targets are destroyed, the roles are reversed, and the attacking team becomes the defender. The team that manages to destroy all targets the fastest during their time as attackers wins the round.

Along with online Multiplayer, there is an offline only "pass the controller" multiplayer game mode for two to four players called "Wrecking Crew". Wrecking Crew features several different modes, all of which are based around causing as much damage by oneself in each round with a set amount of resources (such as ammo, time, or both)

Plot

Red Faction: Guerrilla takes place in 2120. The Earth Defense Force (EDF), the allies in the original "Red Faction", have become the main antagonist of Guerrilla. Although initially supportive of the Martian miners, Earth's natural resources have run scarce, and as a result, its global economy has collapsed from rampant speculation of commodities and lack of production. Under pressure by Earth's corporations and leaders to acquire the resources of Mars at any cost and at a pace to meet Earth's high demand, the EDF has forced Martian society into a permanent state of unfree labour. The newly-reformed "Red Faction" arises to rebel against the EDF, drive them off the planet, and begin fairer negotiations with Earth.

Alec Mason, the player character and a mining engineer, arrives on Mars to reunite with brother Daniel and begin a new life, only to learn to his surprise that Daniel is now a member of Red Faction. While on work detail, Daniel testifies about the EDF's cruelty to the Martian people and asks Alec to join their cause; he is soon after gunned down by air support from an EDF assault team. Alec is rescued by Red Faction guerrillas and becomes a reluctant freedom fighter for the group along side avid inventor "Sam" Samanya, rambling psychotic Jenkins (who believes that Mars should be "purified"), and commander Hugo Davies. Between Davies' command and Alec's skill and bravery, the EDF are quickly driven out of an entire sector, "Parker", for the first time.

While the campaign against the EDF continues in the "Dust" sector, Alec is eventually assigned by Davies to routine surveillance of the "Marauders", a mysterious and violent warrior tribe living in the inhospitable "Badlands", in hopes of recovering stolen weapons. Instead, Alec winds up tracking them to an abandoned Ultor Corporation base that promptly comes under massive assault from the EDF. During the fracas, Alec steals a strange device called the "Nano Forge" and escapes. This in turn brings attention to General Roth, commander of the EDF forces on Mars, along with Admiral Kobel of the Hydra (The Hydra is the most powerful and largest space warship ever built), who declare Alec Mason a wanted man following this incident. General Roth turns his attention to Dust and the EDF responds by pulling out of the Dust Sector and ordering the artillery base in the "Free Fire Zone" sector to bomb the town of Dust into oblivion. Alec is then tasked with saving key members of the Red Faction and vital information on the EDF from the bombardment, which he succeeds in doing.

Alec seems to temporarily lose faith in the movement, citing that no matter how determined the Red Faction efforts are, the EDF will simply bomb them to submission. However, Sam analyzes the Nano Forge and discovers it can create catastrophic nanites that can disintegrate any object. A prototype "Nano Rifle" is built from the device, which aids Alec in his quest to liberate the remaining sectors under EDF control, while Davies declares it a vital bargaining chip against the EDF. A successful suicide run against an EDF artillery base is commenced, allowing the group to begin hostilities against the EDF in their own central territories. Unfortunately, Jenkins' obsession with the "purification" of Mars deludes him into betraying the group, resulting in the annihilation of the Red Faction's command center and the death of Davies (Alec kills Jenkins later on but it is a side-mission only in Eos, but regardless the player can still play the activity "collateral damage"). Only Sam, Alec and a handful of other fighters survive the assault; they learn afterwards that the star ship Hydra under the command of Admiral Kobel is nearing Mars, with the Hydra's command intending to use it's massive fighting power to put an end to the Red Faction once and for all. They also plan to elminate all life on the planet, as said by Kobel himself, calling the civilians "Expendable".

Sam declares that they will need support from the Marauders if the campaign against the EDF is to continue; when Alec remains dubious, she reveals that she is a former Marauder herself, joining the Red Faction because the Marauders were consumed with anger and hate, and did not want to be a part of the lifestyle they endure. The pair head to a Marauder stronghold to meet with their ruler, Vasha, Sam's sister. Sam requests the usage of the Marauders' particle accelerator technology, with plans to combine it with the Nano Forge, creating a superweapon capable of destroying the Hydra. Vasha agrees to let the Red Faction use their technology in exchange for possession of the Nano Forge once the war is finished. While inside the Marauder stronghold, the player can also discover a "radio tag" found on an old corpse that implies the Marauders are the descendants of former Ultor Corporation scientists.

After capturing a broadcasting station and using it to regroup the Red Faction, Sam and Alec lead a successful final assault on the EDF's central command alongside teams of Red Faction and the Marauders, driving the EDF out of their own territory. The two groups converge on Mt. Vogel to begin utilizing the Marauder's accelerator; however, a surprise EDF blitzkrieg lead by General Roth wipes out the Marauder crew guarding the summit end of the accelerator and Vasha along with them. Alec single-handedly storms the mountain with a modified missile-pod tank, defeating Roth's entire army and personally killing Roth. Sam's plan succeeds and the accelerated Nano Forge is successful in vaporizing the Hydra in space. As the surviving people of Mars celebrate, Sam says the war is over, but Alec knows that the EDF will come back. While Sam says that will be awhile, Alec responds with "We'll be ready for 'em". Alec and Sam approach the crowds of civilians who cheer for them, and Alec raises his sledgehammer in the air, showing the sign of the Red Faction and their long-waited victory.

Development and Marketing

In February 2008, it was announced that the third installment of the Red Faction series was coming to multiple platforms. Few details were released at the time of the games announcement. On July 15, 2008, Rick White, a producer at Volition, debuted a demo at the E3 gaming expo in California (see below). The title was confirmed at the 2008 Game Developers Conference (GDC '08), and in mid-2008, a private multiplayer beta was released on Xbox Live. Among the details revealed at (GDC '08), were a new and fully upgraded Geo-mod system (Geo-Mod 2.0). It was also confirmed that the game would take place in an open world environment.

A live demo of the game debuted at E3 2008, with narration by Volition producer Rick White. Many of the game's features were presented during the demo. These features include: multiplayer, the upgraded Geo-mod system, new weapons, vehicles and a brief plot preview among others.

At the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo, a demo of the multiplayer element of the game was shown. The demo showed off the game mode "Team Anarchy", and "Damage Control", as well as some backpacks that the player can equip for certain powers.

In mid-2008, Volition opened a private multiplayer beta to Microsoft to see what needed to be fixed or added. Friends and family codes were sent to survey participants on July 30, 2008. Volition confirmed that IGN had distributed up to 25,000 codes to expand the beta further via paid public membership. Public keys for the Xbox 360 version were released through Fileplanet.

On August 25, 2008, Volition's Community Manager, J Goldberg (V-Singular) announced on the official Red Faction community forums that he was giving away the last few remaining beta keys in his possession. On August 26, 2008, the last Red Faction: Guerrilla Xbox 360 Beta activation key was given away.

The Red Faction: Guerrilla Beta on Xbox Live came to an end on August 29 at 3AM EST.

In February 2008, preview screenshots of Liran were leaked to the Internet, causing members at various game forums to come to consider one weapon shown to be an "Ostrich Hammer" based on its shape. Over one year later, on April Fools Day 2009, Volition released a video commenting on the forum posts, and jokingly implied that the Ostrich Hammer would be a weapon in the game. However, due to the positive response to that video, Volition has announced that there will really be an Ostrich Hammer weapon present in the game.

On April 23, a single player demo was released on both the Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Network.A multiplayer demo was released on May 21 on both platforms Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Network.The multiplayer demo was removed from the Playstation Network soon after it was made available due to problems connecting to games. The multiplayer demo was never re-released, and at the time of its removal, there was no official communication from Sony or THQ to let consumers know that it was removed, only comments about the demo's non-functionality.

On July 28, 2009 at the Q1 earnings conference call THQ boss Brian Farrell confirmed, that Red Faction: Guerrilla has now sold more than 1 million units.

Downloadable Content

It was announced on the 30th of June 2009 that Red Faction: Guerilla would have three downloadable expansion packs.

The first part of these is Demons Of The Badlands which is set in a new area named Mariner Valley. It contains new demolition missions, 8 new weapons (including the Pick Axe from the game cover) and 3 new vehicles (1 of the vehicles is a heavy "walker" with flails connected in the hands). The story focuses on Sam's past, and was released on August 13. It also has 10 new achievements and trophies (for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, respectively). The expansion was bundled with the Windows version of the game.

On August 12, 2009, it was confirmed that the two follow-up downloadable content packs would focus on the two other modes of the game: Wrecking Crew and Multiplayer. Volition has released information on the second DLC which is focused on multiplayer. It includes two new gamemodes, Bagman and Team Bagman, based on the gamemode from Red Faction 2, where the objective is to hold the bag as long as possible, while getting extra points for killing enemies when it is held, and 8 new maps meant for the new gamemode, but can be played with any custom match gamemode except siege. The new maps are restricted to only the Bagman and Team Bagman modes when playing in online matchmaking. The second DLC was released on September 17, 2009, with the third coming out October 1st.

Collector's Edition

On September 10 of 2008, a Red Faction: Guerrilla Collector's Edition was announced. The collectors edition would have included bonus items such as:

• A 20-inch tall(7-inch wide), hand painted Walker with pewter handrails

• An exclusive Red Faction: Guerrilla art book

• A bonus DVD (Xbox 360 version)/Blu-ray disc (PS3 version) (contents unknown)

• First 4 Figures created a Walker figure as part of a pre-order gift with GAME in the UK

The Red Faction: Guerrilla Collectors Edition was (presumably) canceled, but various elements that were slated to be included in the Collectors Edition were made available as preorder bonuses from specific stores.

Comic

A Red Faction: Guerrilla handbook was released by THQ alongside the game's release. A comic strip made by DC Comics contained within the book featured a prologue to Red Faction: Guerrilla, detailing how Dan Mason came to be a Red Faction member (his uncle, Ray Mason, fought alongside Parker in the original Red Faction). The comic also follows a mission involving Dan, Samanya and various other Red Faction members, who are fighting against the EDF and encounter a small, orphaned boy who joins the Red Faction, only to later betray them.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	85%

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A-
GameSpot	8.5/10
GameTrailers	7.9/10
IGN	8/10
X-Play

More than one million units of Red Faction: Guerrilla have been shipped as of THQ's June quarter 2009. Reviews have been mostly positive; the Metacritic score for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 are 85 out of 100. The game received frequent criticism for its "weak story". GameSpot reviewer Randolph Ramsey praised the physics and realism of the game but also criticized its repetitiveness and plotline. GameTrailers criticized the game's pace, environment, and difficulty particularly in the later missions: "you'll be lucky to get out of the most heated battles alive. Often to its detriment, Guerrilla imparts the desperate feeling of being one man struggling to rip apart an army at its foundations. ... Maybe the point was to make you feel like a fragile, puny man staring Goliath in the maw. In any case, don't feel ashamed if you have to tune the difficulty down for a particularly brutal mission." IGN reviewer Charles Onyett rated the game an 8 out of 10, citing the fun gameplay, but saying that the storyline, graphics, and voice acting were weak. 1UP.com reviewer Justin Haywald graded it an A- noting the weak storyline but lauding the "degree at which you can destroy environments."

External links

• Red Faction: Guerrilla Official Website
• Developer's Website
• Publisher's Website