Go on, blow up that wall. You've dreamt about it for years! Enthusiastically marketed, not quite revolutionary, Geo-mod engine powers this long and varied treck through the barren, Martian wasteland that, on reflection, gets by on the sheer volume of weapons, environments, vehicles and post-Half-Life, cinematic narrative that gleefuly mimicks every gaming impulse, saturating the FPS genre at the time. Ultimately, much less than a sum of its parts, Red Faction is stil a game with scope and ideas, crammed inside with a shovel, secured with a duct tape of glitching sound effects and music, simple animations and blocky models. Don't get frustrated if modern hardware polishes the edges too much, rendering it occassionaly unplayable and persevere -- there's a satisfying if bluntly B-movie type experience to be had with Red Faction, an unlikely franchise with one killer gimmick. Why open a door when you can blow a way through a wall? Because Geo-mod is not nearly as prominently featured as advertised on the box, that's why.
The middle finger of the Build engine shooter trifecta holds up, even in this free, non-redux version that is more than worth your time, if sprite genocide is, or was, your kind of thing. Expect enemies that will test your skill, weapons that in experienced hands deal death and destruction like one would hugs on a sunny day and a long, challenging campaign that consistently borders on frustrating and intoxicating. There's plenty of variety on offer, with gore and profanity cranked up to 11 in racist, stereotypical pastiche of Hong Kong carnage and cartoon splatter that makes expert use of the famously interactive engine, culminating in several, intricate maps that rank amongst the best (and most destructive) of that era. Dual wield UZIs, shred enemies with one of the most badass shotguns in FPS history and unleash a 'nucular' strike before finishing the leftover ninjas with a karate chop to the groin. GOOD OLD SCHOOL FUN!
This is occassionaly tough as nails, turn of the century, WWII shooter that benefits from its melodramatic score more than it does from spikes in difficulty and merciless enemy placements. Its most infamous moments are intact - bombastic, exciting and frustrating - and are deftly punctuated by the cinematic roar of the expertly cranked up sound design. Turn up the graphics in the advanced options and it doesn't feel particularly ugly either, though level geometry and AI are decidedly of the dated variety. Shame about the expansion packs (for which you pay for with this version) that, try as I might, did not launch once. The base game is still long and varied enough and definitely a treat for any shooter fan not completely spoilt by snap-aim fluidity of modern FPS games.
