Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered

One critical component for a multiplayer game to have longevity is LAN multiplayer capabilities. This game is supposed to have it but it does not work. All players connect to the game lobby but as soon as the game is launched everyone is disconnected with an error. GOG support was useless and I'm guessing the developers aren't going to be fixing it. I posted a bug report on their official bug reporting website, but it has not yet been acknowledged. Because of this critical component not functioning properly I'm only giving it 3 stars because single player is a repetitive grind and is not all that fun. And without LAN multiplayer working properly its life will be much shorter than it should be. I hope the developers will fix the LAN issue but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Somehow I thought this would be more fun than it actually ended up being. While the whole "destroy anything" gimmick sounds great in theory, there are only so many vacuous cookie-cutter structures I can demolish before it starts losing its appeal. The combat gameplay is serviceable but not all that exciting, the story is relatively mediocre, and I never once cared about any of the characters in the game. Overall, Guerrilla feels decidedly average; something to pass the time with if no other games are on hand.

Red Faction: Guerrilla always has been, and still is, the very best demolition game in existence. I know because I've looked far and wide, being a physics-obsessed gamer, but none even come close. As a result, RFG has a remarkable replay value and a powerful, unique gaming experience. In no other game will you see buildings realistically collapse in such a thoroughly simulated and accurate manner. No other game will convey the sheer awe of toppling a giant structure or the sheer danger of standing too close. You will die when debris smacks you in the face, and it will be hilarious every time. My only qualm with the game, and this is common critique, is poor firefights. Due to a simple flaw in the game's XML tables, much of the game was spent shooting baddies who refused to go down. This is easily solved, however: I strongly suggest you check the latest mods after getting this game. You'll probably notice I'm a modder myself, so apologies if this seems like self-advertising, but the game missed much of its potential due to time constraints - constraints which I managed to circumvent by collaborating with other modders and taking my time throughout the years. On top of that, the remaster is excellent. Forget lazy retexturing, this is a real remaster with substantial new features and graphics. With this in mind, I cannot recommend RF:G RMT more. It deserves to be among the most popular games even today, in 2021.

For me this game above all other RF games made me feel like I was in the world of the movie Total Recall. The original with Arnold. Of course if know that movie you know that there aren't THAT many common set pieces, but whatever :p This game is a third person shooter with heavy melee part. With a variety of weapons/tools you can not just shoot the enemies as in most games, but also hit them hard. Where this gets different than other similar games is that in this game you also get to hit buildings. Destroying them. Bit by bit. If it is a building on the surface, it can be destroyed. You can destroy them by blasting them or hitting them hard. You can destroy them slowly piece by piece or you can destroy the load baring walls/columns to force them to collapse. etc. Destroying them gives you bonuses which you can use to upgrade/purchase etc. It is also part of the story. Say you have a mission to destroy thingy A or kill person B, why do it the old fashioned way and not just destroy a pillar which will make the building fall on the target? etc. Other than the lots of fun destroying of buildings, you can shoot with a variety of weapons, which all feel very good, and/or use vehicles. Anything from "jeep" type vehicle to Aliens type of Walker. The whole game oozes of quality but more importantly of fun. You enjoy destroying, doing missions, not just to reach the ending but because the gameplay at its core is FUN. I don't know if it is the best action game of its generation, but it is certainly up there with the other best.