Red Faction

by THQ

Product Features

• Sony PlayStation 2
• M - Mature
• ction, Adventure, First-Person, Shooter

Product Details

• ASIN: B00005BIG7
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (208 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,953 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Preview

The first-person-shooter genre has grown by intermittent leaps since the days of Wolfenstein 3D. Since then, games like Doom, Quake, Half-Life, and Unreal Tournament, among others, have added several technical enhancements to the visceral thrill of playing a video game through a gun-toting character's eyes. Huge advances in 3-D graphics, sound, and processor speed, as well as the addition of network multiplayer gameplay, have favored the genre, and now Red Faction's Geo Mod technology promises to take the first-person shooter to new heights.

Geo Mod, short for geometry modification, allows formerly permanent elements of a game's background to change in real time. For example, if a player were to shoot a rocket at a stone wall, the wall could crumble or have a hole blown clean through. The best that previous games could do is change the texture of the wall and leave it looking charred.

While most gamers would applaud any advance in realistic graphics, Geo Mod also looks to influence the way first-person shooters are played. If the world of the first-person shooter can be altered, the game makers point out, then the world itself becomes a weapon at your disposal. More than just shooting opponents through walls, players should be able to cause a ceiling to collapse on an opponent. With the right tools, players will be able to destroy bunkers, block escape routes, and otherwise flush players out of their well-defended positions.

Obviously, it's Geo Mod that has gamers so excited, so other game components might be easy to overlook in the excitement. Red Faction's story is set on a Martian mining colony, where workers, buffeted by abusive guards and a deadly plague, revolt. In the single-player game, you'll commandeer fully armed land, sea, and air vehicles--not to mention up to 15 devastating weapons--to make your way through the game's 20 levels. The PlayStation2 version also features two-player split-screen deathmatch and Geo Mod-specific modes. --Porter B. Hall

Product Description

In Red Faction, players find themselves in the middle of a rebellion on the hostile surface of Mars fighting for their freedom against the evil Ultor Corporation. Featuring a sophisticated physics engine, five fully controllable vehicles, a variety of unique natural environments, and Volition's proprietary Geo-Mod Technology, Red Faction is one of the most advanced second-generation titles ever released for the PlayStation 2. Geo-Mod technology supports the real time, arbitrary modification of the geometry that makes up the game's environment. This means that players have the full ability to destroy whatever they want. Just point a weapon at an object or structure and shoot -- total destruction always follows.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 22 year old reviewer., May 23, 2001

By 

Lance Hegefeld (College, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Faction (Video Game)

It's about time a great game to the PS2. Yes, I know there have been some good games coming in slowly but this is one that want have you saying.."It's over....just like that." Ex. Onimusha and ZOE. Both pretty good, both pretty short. Okay, on to Red Faction.

First thing I noticed.... well the graphics weren't what I was expecting. I was expecting Half-Life PC. Anyway, once you get into this game and explore a little, you come to find the graphics to be very well done, especially the textures. If you have the game be sure to look down at the ground..close up. Don't mistake me..this isn't Metal Gear Solid 2. But that's okay because a game like this you need depth and gameplay. Both of those make a bigger hole in the wall than you can even think of blating. Yes, the Geo-Mod is very, very cool.

Depth.... you actually feel part of this world. It's a movie and you're the lead role. Plus some 60 levels. This game is huge and their is always something new to try. Instead of just shooting enemies, get into vehicles to run em' down. Hell, take over a gun turret and mow 'em down. Blast a hole in the bridge by an unsuspecting guard and watch him fall. The environment is very interactive. The bottom line.....if you want a game you can spend time with, explore and not get bored of....Buy Red Faction.

Onto gameplay...Okay, this is where I thought it would fall apart. Me, I'm used to having a mouse and keyboard to be my eyes and feet. Okay, can't do that here unless the usb keyboard and mouse work...haven't heard. But that's okay, The control is tight and the game moves at constant frame-rate. The load times are short and the save times are shorter. The games' multiplayer feature is good if you want to shoot up on some friends or some bots. Though, this is designed to be a single player game...and if you're like me....that's the one you'll be playing.

Alright that's about it. RED FACTION is a great all-around game. No other game out there now comes close. So proud PS 2 owners....go do yourself a favor. Pick this one up and join the revolution.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, yeah..., May 23, 2001

By 

Dustin Robert Frankel (Plano, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Faction (Video Game)

When I first played this game I thought it would be another of those FPS who have great ideas, but really stink. I was so surprised. Everything looks realistic. The guns are sweet, the graphics are great, the sound is awsome, and, the best part, you can blow right through walls. Don't have a keycard? Just blast a hole in the wall and you have just done the soon-to-be-famous technique, wall-be-gone! You can destroy bridges, pilot vehicals, and snipe victoms from a distance. Is there a big tank coming your way? Just pop a hole in the ground and down it goes! This is defenitly a must buy.

---Realistic Blood--- ---Realistic Violence--- Mature users recommended

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite a Killer App... But Close, June 5, 2001

By 

Curt Whitacre "Curt Whitacre" (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Faction (Video Game)

Now THIS is more like it. PS2 games of late have been plagued by the curse of brevity. After a string of INCREDIBLY short games, such as Onimusha, ZOE, Crazy Taxi, and Starfigher, PS2 owners finally have a reason to use their memory cards. Red Faction goes a long way towards remedying the "beaten in one sitting" trend with a long storyline full of twists, turns, and a huge variety of environments to explore. What starts out as a revolution in the mines of mars eventually sees you raiding Ultor's corporate offices, piloting submarines, fighting HUGE mutant worms, sneaking aboard a space ship, and blowing up a huge space-station. And that's not even the game's brutal, down in the trenches, finale! Red Faction is a long game and, just when you think it's going to end, you're surprised by yet another twist in the plot. It's also a fun game and, with the inclusion of a variety of vehicles and the "Geo-Mod" technology, a fairly innovative one.

Speaking of which, a lot has been made about the Geo Mod technology. While it is very rewarding to blow the bridge out of personel transports and take out guard towers at their foundations, Red Faction hardly capitalizes the possibilities of being able to alter the environment.

The "revolution" has also been a major tag line for this game. While that is all well and good for the storyline, don't expect any of the other members of Red Faction to help you (ala the martians in "Perfect Dark"). Your fellow rebels are really nothing more than cannon fodder, pretty much dying without fail seconds after you encounter them. While this isn't a huge problem, a huge battle between your fellow proletarian miners and the brutal security force would have been very cool and was, in fact, expected based on the previews.

The multi-player game is also somewhat disappointing, but that's okay. Red Faction replaces the pointlessness of FPS's like Time Splitters with a fairly entertaining story that actually rewards you for continuing on. It's certainly no Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, but it's definately a start for shooters on the PS2.