Guerilla
by phill
There’s something Zen
about laying down fourteen or so remote mines on the integral supports of a structure and then pressing the ‘B-for-boom’ button. And that’s a very fortunate thing, since the act of destroying buildings in a wide spectrum of thought-out and frantic ways is the main gameplay mechanic in Red Faction: Guerilla. The way that the building sways gently under the initial shock wave, then comes tearing down as metal bends and glass shatters appeals directly to my physics background, as well as being a mechanic that encourages the kind of gleeful holyshitlookwhatIdid giggling that has been missing in most of the single-player games I’ve played since Burnout 3. If you like blowing shit up, then the equation for your next car trip is simple: shopping centre – $100 = RF:G + hours of entertainment.
Of course as in all video games there is a glass ceiling of meaningful statistics to assign to various industry-standard attributes. In RF:G’s case, while it rolled a strong 8 in Gameplay, it sucked out on the Story and Voiceacting stats, a mere 2 and 3 in each. The wunderkind engineer that fixes up all the new weapons you use to do the aforementioned blowing of shit up is the most offensive. Or should I say ‘aww-fensive’, as she’s somehow developed a very bloody posh British accent despite being a self-confessed Mars-born baby. Unfortunately she acts as a gateway between your character’s initial measley remote charges and assault rifle and the thermo-friggin’-nuclear rocket launcher and quantum singularity charges that you receive later in the game. So you’ll have to excuse her, or be prepared with the mute button everytime you approach her workbench.
The feel of an open world is maintained to relative success, with changes to the environment (read: great big holes where buildings used to be) persisting throughout the game. As you complete objectives and liberate the downtrodden Martians you will gain more and more ground support, which leads to objectives becoming easier to complete. Abuse that gift by letting citizens die and you’ll find yourself alone versus an army of special forces quite intent on ripping you limb from limb with the power of bullets alone. The AI is actually quite tough and your character can die quickly when out-positioned, so if you don’t use your environment effectively for cover and large-scale destruction, you’re in for a lot of replays.
Not that it matters much. Between rigging a suicide death truck with ten remote charges and watching it roll up to a guard post to detonate, engaging a mechanical walker complete with jetpack to run through building, and deconstructing enemies atom by atom with the nano death-ray (which I take special privilege to LOL at given my degree in nanotech), you’re not going to care if you have to replay the occasional mission. It’s a solid game with a distinguishing mechanic that pushes it beyond a generic idea to something that is genuinely enjoyable to play. I’ve yet to really push at multiplayer but I’m assured it’s a blast. Ho ho. Four out of five compromises of structural integrity from me.
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Comments
I may have to get this game…
Ahh, Burnout 3. That $65 million crash.. the stuff of legend.
What console you playin’ this here game on? I’m considering a purchase.. mayhaps.
@TheMightyGinge It’s definitely good fun. It does wear thin after a while (say, four hours of continuously playing), but give it an hour or so and you’ll be itching to get your hands on it again. I just got a motherfuckin’ jetpack, so I’m raining multiple-heat-seeking rocket death on all my foes. >:D
@Cian Hah, I remember that! Classickkkk. :P I’m playing it on mah Xbox 360. It’s on PC as well I think, though it might require a bit of a beasty one given the look of it. I bought mine a while ago when a friend was working at JB-HiFi and I could get a really good deal (:
Oh okay. I was considering a PS3, so I’d get the Blu-ray, but I don’t have a hi-def TV, so it seems a bit pointless. Not sure how much I’d actually play games as well. Though I have realised recently that my laptop is around 3 years old now.. getting concerned it might die on me, may need an upgrade. :/
Hahah, do you remember a random car just swerving off the road, but a good 60m away from the crash zone? Fecking brilliant.
Yes! A good thirty seconds after the final big crash too. Ahhh, lovely.
A hi-def tele is definitely a must if you’re going to get a ps3 or xb360. It’s just so much better playing the games with no ‘fuzz’. Unless your laptop dies, dw about replacing it, they’re a bit expensive :/