Red Faction 2

Red Faction 2 is nowhere near as good as the original Red Faction. It is however an okay FPS with very good mechanics, i.e. movement and shooting. Graphics and mechanics reminds me of Command & Conquer Renegade. It is prudent as relaxation, it is not interesting enough so that you have to beat it as fast as possible and it can be enjoyed enough so that you don't leave it completely.

It cannot get much worse. Ported from the PS2, the levels manage to be a convoluted mess of linearity (YES, that is possible!!!). The graphics are so ugly, with blocky charakters and stale textures, it cannot hold up to RF1 by ten miles off. The wepaons don't have any impact, the mech- and vehicle-section are totally overpowered and thus boring. The Enemy AI is super-dump and the story is braindead. There is no reason to play this game - even if it is just 6 hours long.

The early more tutorialized levels have you using destruction to flank turrets and make openings to objectives promising a degree of agency in how you approach the game. However, most of the time it feels incredibly narrow or even scripted where and when the destruction can be applied. Much more narrow than even the first game. The shooting feels a lot better in this sequel. Spread on automatic weapons does not feel randomized unlike the first game meaning the gunplay feels a lot tighter. Though with how abundant ammunition is I’m not sure why you would use anything other than the explosive weapons which seem to insta-gib most enemies. While also providing you an impressive variety of grenade and thrown explosive types. There are technical issues abound in the PC version of RF2 much like the first game. The mouse feels… weird. Like it’s emulating a console controller. If you have two monitors the game can sometimes permanently minimized itself to the tray after cut-scenes. There are also sound issues I ran into quite sporadically but when it occurred it’s pretty bad. Weirdly enough, I do actually have a lot of nostalgia for this game. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I replayed it as a young kid. But as an adult, I see Red Faction as a franchise more what it really is; through and through mediocre shooters that lean on their themes and gimmicks that themselves e executed average at best.

Playing this again put my nostalgia glasses to the test. In the end I found the game lacking, the writing is terrible, if entertainingly cliche. The gunplay is solid and the destructible environment is nice. The game really, really shows its age but is still a good "popcorn game"; don't go in with high expectations, and you won't be disappointed.

The soundtrack is awesome, I do like the scifi look and some of the character designs. What I remember the most is the fun multiplayer I had with friends back then; and I'm usually a person who focuses on singleplayer experiences...