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The original Red Faction was a surprise hit from Volition and THQ when it launched on the Playstation 2 and PC last year.
The sequel is placed five years after the initial rebellion on Mars. The Red Faction is under a corrupt rule of Chancellor Victor Sopot. His corrupt rule has led the Red Faction to chaos and a relentless war with the United Republic. A group of soldiers are trying to save their world now. That’s the plot of the Playstation 2 hit. This sequel is now available for the Gamecube, Xbox and PC.
Red Faction II, for the most part, is similar to other FPS games. A minor change comes in the form of your teammates. They will stay beside you and help you out. In the missions where your teammates’ help is vital, the AI comes through and truly helps you out. That said, the game handles comfortably. The controls aren’t mind-boggling and are actually very easy to get the hang of. You have the standard shooting, running, and jumping here.
Red Faction II’s most unique feature is still its Geo-Mod engine. As in the original, the engine will let you destroy a large part of the game’s environments. While the engine was hyped in the original, it truly shows what it was made for in this sequel. Destroying the game environments is very amusing and a great change from the indestructible environments of other games. Shoot at a wall, you’ll notice the bullet marks, shoot a rocket at a wall, and you’ll blow a hole in it, keep shooting at it and it will eventually crumple. Although not everything in the game is destroyable, such a large part of it is that you’ll have fun just destroying things. Another change is that the engine is no longer “just for show” and you’ll need to know what to destroy in order to go on.
A shooting game depends on its weapons and this is no different. Here you will encounter measly pistols, to machine guns, Uzi’s, shotguns, and rifles. A rocket launcher, grenades and bombs also added for your enjoyment. If you happen to get two of the same weapon, you’ll be able to control both of them. You’ll control each of them independently, which gives you even more controls. There are some parts in the game where you will go inside a tank, a Mech or other vehicles. Each of them has their own special weapons, which you can use.
The graphics engine also does its job and pulls its weight. The graphics are very smooth and have a great “look” to them. The textures are crisp and there are plenty of textures to be found in the game. The graphics are noticeably improved over its Playstation 2 counterpart. Unlike the Xbox version, Gamecube owners don’t get 480p Progressive Scan for HDTV owners. The environments are very varied and you will advance through streets, military bases and train stations. Considering you can break a whole lot of the environments, they look even better. Little details like breaking glass add spark to the game. The actual rooms are also varied and are all distinctive. Your model and the enemy models are done rather well and all animate perfectly.
The sound effects in the game do their job very well and you’ll hear everything around from bullets to missiles to enemies and just about everything you see. The soundtrack also does a good job and does a good job at heightening the tension. Voice acting is also provided and does add to the game’s story.
Once you beat the game’s story, you can enjoy its multiplayer mode. Four-player split screen mode is offered for you and your fellow FPS-gaming buddies. The multiplayer levels are very good and have a lot of secrets in them. The Geo-Mod engine is put to use since you’ll need to uncover the stronger weapons and better power-ups. As you can imagine, THQ did not include online play for any of the game versions.
Even with the minor quirks, Red Faction II remains a great FPS games for everyone to enjoy. If you loved the first one, this one is much better. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- May 12, 2003
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