Here's our first impressions of the latest title in the Red Faction universe
24 August 2010 | By Joe Robinson
Despite claiming to have nothing to do with Dead Space - "the only thing we have in common is shooting and aliens" - Red Faction: Armageddon is looking a lot like Dead Space. Or maybe Dead Space is looking like Red Faction, since the latter was around first? Does it really matter? Of course it does.
No matter who's looking like who, it's important to know what you're getting into when you consider what game to get next, and at the moment, it's hard to pass any kind of concrete judgement on this game. Based solely on what we saw at this year's GamesCom - that is, a twenty minute presentation involving one part of one level - it looks like Volition is moving away from its more sandbox revolution to more a linear story driven experience. That's not to say it doesn't look good mind: the engine is looking in top shape, the destruction engine is still in its 2.0 version, but still very impressive and fun to work with, especially with the Magnet Gun.
Which brings us to what the point of the presentation was - showing off the new toys you get to play with. Some of these were shown at E3, but since we weren't at E3, you can just feign surprise as this is our first look at the game. Coming back to the Magnet Gun then, it does look like it could be fun - in case any of you don't know what it does, you basically fire one magnet at an object, and then another magnet at another object (or enemy), and the first object goes hurtling towards the second through the power of magnetism. With hilarious results. You cause chunks of wall and masonry to go slamming into aliens, you can cause aliens to go slamming into chunks of masonry, and everything in between. If we're going to stick with the Dead Space 2 comparison, then already this is looking like it's going to be way more fun, provided the set up is right.
The next gun we were shown was the Singularity Cannon, which simply creates a mini-black whole, sucks some shizzle in, and then releases it in a controlled explosion. I'm sure they're some scientists somewhere either laughing or shaking their heads right about now, but whatever - it's a fun gun to use, and the way it interacts with the destruction engine looks like it has a nice feel too it. It would be funny to see what happens when you set it on a building.
Finally, we come to the EXO suite. They say the way to a man's heart is through his exo-suite, and well... they were right. If you like feeling like a god, or like someone out of Starship Troopers (the book, not the film... well, unless you count the third film) then the LEO exo-suites in Armageddon are going to be right up your alley. Rapid-fire Railguns, Heat-seeking missiles, armour playing, ramming... it's raw power, pure and simple. We suspect this particular 'toy' is going to be limited to certain set-pieces or scripted events, but that's to be expected.
Another neat little device, which is a carryover from the last game, is the NanoForge. Simply put it's a tool that allows you to reconstruct anything you've just destroyed. In the demo we were shown, it was an objective to tear down an infested building, but you could feasibly use the NanoForge to rebuild it again afterwards. Under enemy fire and need some cover? Make some! If you're standing by a pile of rubble that looks like it could have been something at some point, set your NanoForge on it and voila, instant cover. This tool will have limitations, such as energy or uses, to prevent you going crazy, but it should be interesting to put into action none the less.
Red Faction goes beyond the new Armageddon game though - THQ are really experimenting with this franchise, and we think this deserves some respect. Between the Battlegrounds mini-game, the Origins TV show, the DLC, and the integration between everything, this next instalment of the Red Faction franchise is going comprise of a lot more than just a new game. Whether it will all pan-out or really work as well as THQ hopes, only time will tell, but the company can't be faulted for at least trying.
On its own though, it's hard to see what will distinguish Armageddon from other third-person action shooters. The IP is strong, and there's a history there, but that's not always enough. What we've seen so far looks promising though, and there's definitely a 'fun factor' here that could draw people in, but until we get our hands on a playable build it's all a bit up on the air right now. Red Faction: Armageddon is slated for release in March 2011 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Most Anticipated Feature: Not sure at the moment, but the various weapons and gadgets we were shown look like they might be fun.
 |
| I'm the boss |
No matter who's looking like who, it's important to know what you're getting into when you consider what game to get next, and at the moment, it's hard to pass any kind of concrete judgement on this game. Based solely on what we saw at this year's GamesCom - that is, a twenty minute presentation involving one part of one level - it looks like Volition is moving away from its more sandbox revolution to more a linear story driven experience. That's not to say it doesn't look good mind: the engine is looking in top shape, the destruction engine is still in its 2.0 version, but still very impressive and fun to work with, especially with the Magnet Gun.
Which brings us to what the point of the presentation was - showing off the new toys you get to play with. Some of these were shown at E3, but since we weren't at E3, you can just feign surprise as this is our first look at the game. Coming back to the Magnet Gun then, it does look like it could be fun - in case any of you don't know what it does, you basically fire one magnet at an object, and then another magnet at another object (or enemy), and the first object goes hurtling towards the second through the power of magnetism. With hilarious results. You cause chunks of wall and masonry to go slamming into aliens, you can cause aliens to go slamming into chunks of masonry, and everything in between. If we're going to stick with the Dead Space 2 comparison, then already this is looking like it's going to be way more fun, provided the set up is right.
The next gun we were shown was the Singularity Cannon, which simply creates a mini-black whole, sucks some shizzle in, and then releases it in a controlled explosion. I'm sure they're some scientists somewhere either laughing or shaking their heads right about now, but whatever - it's a fun gun to use, and the way it interacts with the destruction engine looks like it has a nice feel too it. It would be funny to see what happens when you set it on a building.
 |
| Is there or is there not voice activiation with Kinect at launch? MAKE UP YOUR MIND!! |
Finally, we come to the EXO suite. They say the way to a man's heart is through his exo-suite, and well... they were right. If you like feeling like a god, or like someone out of Starship Troopers (the book, not the film... well, unless you count the third film) then the LEO exo-suites in Armageddon are going to be right up your alley. Rapid-fire Railguns, Heat-seeking missiles, armour playing, ramming... it's raw power, pure and simple. We suspect this particular 'toy' is going to be limited to certain set-pieces or scripted events, but that's to be expected.
Another neat little device, which is a carryover from the last game, is the NanoForge. Simply put it's a tool that allows you to reconstruct anything you've just destroyed. In the demo we were shown, it was an objective to tear down an infested building, but you could feasibly use the NanoForge to rebuild it again afterwards. Under enemy fire and need some cover? Make some! If you're standing by a pile of rubble that looks like it could have been something at some point, set your NanoForge on it and voila, instant cover. This tool will have limitations, such as energy or uses, to prevent you going crazy, but it should be interesting to put into action none the less.
Red Faction goes beyond the new Armageddon game though - THQ are really experimenting with this franchise, and we think this deserves some respect. Between the Battlegrounds mini-game, the Origins TV show, the DLC, and the integration between everything, this next instalment of the Red Faction franchise is going comprise of a lot more than just a new game. Whether it will all pan-out or really work as well as THQ hopes, only time will tell, but the company can't be faulted for at least trying.
 |
| I hope someone is going to clean that up afterwards... |
On its own though, it's hard to see what will distinguish Armageddon from other third-person action shooters. The IP is strong, and there's a history there, but that's not always enough. What we've seen so far looks promising though, and there's definitely a 'fun factor' here that could draw people in, but until we get our hands on a playable build it's all a bit up on the air right now. Red Faction: Armageddon is slated for release in March 2011 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
Most Anticipated Feature: Not sure at the moment, but the various weapons and gadgets we were shown look like they might be fun.
