Red Faction
August 1, 2000
Before I owned a PS2, I had an N64 (I still do). And the one reason which pushed me to get one was Goldeneye, a FPS which helped pave the way for other FPS on consoles, such as Perfect Dark, and Turok 3. Now a new FPS takes that stand for innovation, and will definately pave the way for new FPS in the future, and that game is Red Faction.
You play as Parker, lured to Mars by the Ultor Corporation’s promise of a better life, thousands of others have come to seek their fortune and work for the massive mining company. But all is not as it seems. A deadly plague is sweeping through the barracks, and miners suffer daily abuse at the hands of Ultor guards. Is a revolution on the horizon?
I’d say it’s a pretty interesting and original story, and it does a good job for this type of game.
Features:
Wage through 20 vast levels
Hijack 5 fully armed land, sea and air vehicles
Unleash 15 weapons of mass destruction with secondary fire
2-player multi-player mode
Geo-Mod Technology
The Geo-Mod Technology is quite something, and this is the one feature that will hopefully be passed on to other FPS in the future. Geo-Mod Technology is a feature that lets you destroy environments in real-time. For example, say you are in a level, and you want get to the other side of a locked door but you can’t because you don’t have a key. Well, all you have to do is blow a hole through the wall with you rocket launcher, and walk right through the hole. Not all environments are destructible during 1-player mode, but in multi-player almost everything is.
In multi-player it’s even more enjoyable. You can blow walls out just like in story mode, but this time there may be secrets hidden within those walls, and new areas open up. For example, in the multi-player level Lobby, you can blow through a wall in the hallway on the top floor and end up being on the roof of the level, which is very cool, opening up a whole new area to battle in.
Another feature that makes this game even more realistic is that when you find an item, such as health, it won’t just be laying on the ground in the middle of no where, you will find them in lockers and cases usually in small rooms, like a bedroom.
One very important feature that I think all FPS should have which Red Faction does is the ability to save whenever you want. So after you pass a hard part of a level, you don’t have to wait till you pass the whole level to save, you just save right there.
You are also able to drive 5 unique vehicles, which are as follows:
All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)
The ATV is unique in that it offers you two separate points of entry and control. Entering the ATV near the front of the vehicle allows you to drive through the environment. Entering the ATV towards the rear allows you to control the mounted machine gun. Fairly fast for getting around, but not as durable as most of the other vehicles.
Driller
The Driller is a relatively slow but heavily armored vehicle that allows you to slowly dig through the environment. It is a great source of protection for Parker but does not possess any form of fire-power. Use the shoot button to engage the driller bits. Pressing the alternate shooting button will cycle through the four points of view: Front, Left, Rear, and Right.
Aesir Fighter
The Aesir Fighter is an extremely agile craft used in aerial combat. It offers both heat-seeking missiles, which are the alternate fire, and a gatling gun, which is the primary fire. Use the Jump and Crouch buttons to slide the vehicle up and down.
Submarine
The Submarine offers heat-seeking torpedoes for fire-power. To fire a torpedo use the primary fire button. Like the fighter, the jump and crouch buttons will slide the sub up and down.
Armored Personal Carrier (APC)
The APC is a heavily armored and powerful vehicle that offers a mortar, which is the alternate fire and a chain gun, which is the primary fire. Although not as quick as the ATV, the APC is quick enough to run down a fleeing mercenary.
The graphics as well as the frame-rate are top notch. Though, sometimes in multi-player the frame-rate slows down, not for a long time mind you, usually at the most for a half a second. The game looks great, and you actually feel as if you are in a mine on mars. The textures look almost real, varying with many colours, and adding to the mood.
The sound is incredible, with guards having many sayings along with other characters. Each gun has its own realistic sound, along with the exploding walls and environments that come with them.
The music sets the mood just right, for the various types of levels and environments. We aren’t talking about Grammy award winning music here, but just the type of music that you would want for a game of this type.
The controls for FPS on the PS2 will likely stay the same for all games. These controls are no different then the ones for say TimeSplitters, with the exception of the jump button. This game also does not support a keyboard and mouse, but in my eyes its not a big deal.
The default controls are as follows:
Fire – R1
Alternate Fire – R2
Use – X
Jump – L1
Crouch – L2
Holster Weapon – Left D-Pad
Reload – Triangle
Next Weapon – O
Previous Weapon – Square
Fine Aim Mode – Up D-Pad
Message Log – Right D-Pad
Center View – Down D-Pad
Walk/Sidestep – Left Analog Stick
Pitch/Turn – Right Analog Stick
Note: All of these controls are customizable.
If you love FPS like I do, then I highly consider that you buy this game. The controls are tight and customizable, the graphics are great, and the frame rate runs at a constant 30fps with no slowdown. The only beef that I have with this game is that its not 4-players (it does have bots though), so I guess we will have to wait till Red Faction 2 for that, but even though its not, the multi-player experience is a ton of fun.
CVG Report CardRed Faction
Rating: B-
Platform: PlayStation 2
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