Of course there’s running, gunning and fighting to free Mars, and those bits feel a bit dated, though not as much as expected. There are even specific challenges in place that pit you against the sort of problem that MacGyver relishes, and they’re still the stand out feature. Brute force can solve most issues, but there’s something particularly satisfying about identifying a weak spot or supporting structure and surgically removing it to watch an entire building collapse. Mason’s remit as a guerrilla is to destroy, destroy, destroy and you’re given all the tools to go about it with aplomb. Aircraft shooting you from above? Disassemble one of their wings. Wall blocking your route to a prisoner? No problem. Because we’ve seen little else with destructible buildings outside the Battlefield series and the errant Crackdown games, it still feels good to demolish anything and everything in your path. Move on 9 years and that hook is still there, and feels relatively fresh even if other elements don’t. They built an impressive system and that’s what the game is all about – they knew their audience well. Right from the first playable section you’re taught how to destroy the buildings and pick up salvage (a money substitute), and the majority of missions revolve around that core mechanic. Switching to an open world meant a bigger playground to roam around in and more variety on offer in terms of game play, and they didn’t disappoint when virtually everything that appears on screen can be taken apart to its base components. Whilst the original two were more like corridor shooters with specific walls that could be demolished, Volition upped their game with Red Faction Guerrilla and introduced Geo-Mod 2, their proprietary software that enables the level of destruction on display. The key selling point in the games has always been the destruction of the environment to allow a sense of freedom rarely found in gaming. Only he can free the planet, one guerrilla action at a time. When up against overwhelming numbers and brutal firepower the best course of action is surgical hit-and-run strikes against infrastructure and facilities, and with Mason being a mining engineer, it’s a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, Dan doesn’t survive much beyond his role as establishing the backstory, and Alec is left to join up with the freedom fighters and start out liberating the small mining colony of Parker. The Red Faction is alive and well as a small rebel force and are actively working to oust the EDF from each inhabited region and free the people. Meeting up with his brother, Dan, he’s filled in on what life is really like out in the barren wastes and that the Earth Defence Force (EDF) have turned from heroes to oppressors since the events of the original two games. Set in 2125, Red Faction Guerrilla has you (as the aforementioned Alec Mason) arriving on Mars to start a new life. Those of us who have longed for a return to the simple ways of Alec Mason and sledgehammering a building to pieces can rejoice and be recruited into the liberation of Mars once again. Whilst updated versions of last gen games are all the rage, and some cynically point towards cash grabs and easy money for publishers, it’s fitting that this is here because it didn’t set sales alight at the time, and was overshadowed by the functional but far too linear goings on in the sequel, Red Faction: Armageddon. Arguably the best instalment of the four games, Red Faction Guerrilla ReMarstered is the entire open world destruct-em-up plus DLC after a lick of performance paint and some of the slowdown dust wiped from its edges. After nearly a decade since its original release, we’re revisiting the Red Planet vision created by Volition before they moved wholesale on to the Saints Row series, and the playable but soulless Agents of Mayhem.
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