Pull out your rocket launcher and attack the brutal guards who
work on Mars. THQ's Red Faction is part of a second major wave of
releases for the PS2 game console. It offers something new for the
video game world.
RED FACTION
THQ's first person shooter, Red Faction, is, in a word, unique.
The game isn't just a first person shoot em up that is dedicated
only to online multiplayer gaming. In other words, the game has
a real story behind it. Forget the lone marine that is forever fragging
aliens. This time you have a purpose behind the madness.
The story combines the communistic view of a proletariat taking
over the ruling class with a story similar to the film Total Recall.
The game logo even looks similar to the USSR's hammer and sickle.
Basically, a company called Ultor has mining operations on the
planet Mars. Ultor promises adventure and great pay and naturally
many people decide to take them up on this "too good to be
true" offer. The miners, of course, find out that Ultor isn't
what it seemed to be. The living quarters are sub-standard and the
guards are simply ruthless employees of Ultor that are little more
than thugs who treat the miners as subhuman creatures.
A rebel group, the Red Faction (red because the miner's exo-suits
are that color), help ignite a revolution against the guards at
the beginning of the game. Due to the fact that the guards have
decided that to remedy the situation by shooting any miners they
see, you have not choice but to join the rebel ranks.
This theme of the underdog coming out on top against all odds is
constantly stressed throughout the game and with the unique spin
of the story taking place on Mars you end up with something that
comes across as, actually, different.
The game is incredibly realistic too. That is, if you don't have
a key to a door, 4 out of 5 times you can shoot the lock anyway
and get on with life. There is even a button to holster your weapon
so potential allies don't panic when an armed-and obviously disgruntled
person approaches them. Swimming, driving, digging equipment, submarines
and climbing ladders make this feel like a true epic where anything
can be used to achieve freedom.
The visuals are good as well, and the game is loaded onto a DVD
disc to insure quick load times. The only things that players might
find offensive and/or frustrating is the realistic violence and
occasionally the game can get hard or confusing.
The controversial viewpoints center around two things. One, which
might not be incredibly popular in the USA, is Communism. The game
does not come out and mention Communism directly but, as stated
above, a lot of Karl Marx type views on the abused class taking
over the ruling class are embedded in it.
The other point of potential concern is the fact that the game
supports the idea of using violence to get what you want. The miners
themselves are justified in this due to the situations presented
by the story, but perhaps those who are "not wrapped too tight
in the brain" might get the wrong message. But it's not an
indoctrination into communism by any stretch of the imagination.
Overall, though, it is worth taking a look at since the single
and multi-player parts of the game are both very well done. Red
Faction seems to promise that the future of the PS2 will be very
interesting indeed. It makes me anxious to see what will be rolling
out next. Will it be better?
Joshua
