Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC) review "Bang and scrap."

What initially captivated me about Red Faction: Guerrilla was a mere minute of YouTube footage showcasing a player demolishing a building to smithereens with industrial equipment. This adrenaline-pumping action was enough to pique my interest, and when the game went on sale, I couldn't resist picking it up. Despite some less-than-perfect aspects, the open-world, mission-based demolition sandbox proved to be a thrilling experience, well worth the price of admission.

I had no idea it was about open revolt against an oppressive government, and I didn't care much when the heavy-handed writing began setting up the framework. The structure is robust, but the accents are mixed with well-crafted mechanics and rushed design. There is enough story to justify the guerrilla assault on the authoritarian Earth Defense Force and enough variety to keep you interested for long play sessions.

Volition demonstrated a working knowledge of task switching to keep you awake and playing. So, what are your Resistance toolsResistance? As a miner–on Mars, no less–you are granted access to a rich assortment of explosives, launchers, guns and more to hobble the enemy in EDF-controlled sectors. From remote bombs that will cling to any surface you lob them at, a rocket launcher, a circular blade launcher, an electricity gun, to a quantum singularity generator. RF:G has its fair share of "traditional" guns, ranging from the waste-binnable pistol to the nanotech rifle that eats its targets in a shimmery yellow haze.

The weapons and tools are fun, but you'll have a blast with the mechs you're eventually tasked with piloting. It also helps that some of the vehicles are useful tools for destruction. Hop into something I call the caterpillar truck, and you'll have a handy barrier rammer. Grab a many-tonne dump truck: They'll wreck a few buildings before their thickly armoured carcasses explode from all the abuse.

Let's talk about the missions that serve as the game's tactical backbone. They're as diverse as the challenges we face in the real world, but here, you're at the center of the action. As the frontman for the ResistanceResistance, you'll be rescuing fellow fighters, destroying EDF installations, and performing hit-and-run assaults on vital communications hardware. The game keeps you on your toes, ensuring you're always a busy little guerrilla, deeply immersed in the game's world.

The Steam Edition of Red Faction: Guerrilla runs smoothly on most PCs, but it's important to note that the recommended specs should be taken seriously. The game's physics acceleration is easily handled by modern video cards, but the high volume of building pieces, debris, dust, and weapons fire can impact your frame rate. However, the Steam Edition of the game offers selectable graphics presets and individually controllable options, allowing you to find the right balance between performance and visual quality for your system.

Once you've found your desired balance between frame rate and… sepia-based pretty… rush on out there, jack a vehicle and find yourself a mission. No, wait. There is no "theft" in RF:G; fellow miners may complain, but you're given a lot of latitude as their change representative. While assaulting EDF property, wandering NPCs may pick up a weapon and join in the action, but they should keep an eye on losses as morale dips with each rebel killed in action.

As you progress in the game, you'll be introduced to a variety of missions that add depth and variety to the gameplay. These include courier chases, EDF caravan assaults, multi-wave base defence, and mech free-for-alls. The game also features a range of mech types, from small cargo lifters to slow but nigh unstoppable monsters. One even sports a jet system for leaping like a great mechanical frog. This mission variety and the inclusion of different mech types add to the game's replayability and depth, making it an engaging experience for players.

Volition has done a good job creating a GTA-on-Mars clone, but I wonder at the necessity of the Mature rating. Was the "strong language" and "blood" necessary? Not that you're going to see any - I sure didn't. Would it have been taken any less seriously without them? Granted, the grand-scale violence and damage warrant some… rating consideration, but I have thought it could have managed without the M content, which is debatable anyway.

Some things could be improved with consistency that are more than nitpicks. For instance, a main protagonist, who you are put in the shoes of in bonus missions, has hair that doesn't match her cutscene renderings. Was it bad communication, crunch time or both? Three teams worked on this title, so something is bound to slip through the not-so-proverbial cracks. As mentioned, tearing a building down stays that way except when reset by associated missions and objectives. That's fine, but what would it have been like to have a mission frustrated by a prematurely demolished target structure?

Ironically, this game about consequences concerns something other than cause and effect. The primary goal is to smash a lot of hardware, amass a formidable toolset and liberate the Martians from the oppressive Earth Defense Force. It would only be all bang and scrap if there were a third faction involved, and by mid-campaign, you'll be facing off against the earliest settlers of Mars. They've formed a nomadic society that builds cool-looking scrap vehicles and hardware. In the bonus campaign, you'll also have a chance to play with some of that equipment.

As with all games of this type, the missions increase in scale but not nuance. Likewise, the nomads are situated in an area ripe for background story and mission exploration, but it is abundantly clear that the development team had a deadline to meet. The bonus missions explore some of this territory, but the story has a different depth than the main campaign.

It is worth mentioning that the four-state alert system, which gauges how much the EDF considers you a threat - and how much force they'll use to kill you - can be manipulated pretty easily. Usually, if you can find a cubby hole, the alert will drop back to idle – green – and you can frolic amongst the troops just seconds ago pot-shotting at your shaven head. Who knew the EDF were secretly goldfish in their shiny helmets?

RF:G was released in 2004, and I mention this because it has a multiplayer component that is all but dead. Not that it suffers, because the game is all about destruction, and that urge will be satisfied by its lengthy single-player track. Its age and the depreciation of multiplayer do have a knock-on effect that suggests its retail price also takes a hit. With that said, slap it on your wishlist and grab it on sale. You can also pick it up in a bundle containing others from the franchise at digital retailers like IndieGala and Humble Bundle.

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Community review by hastypixels (May 28, 2017) Wisdom comes from effort and mistakes.