DoctorFinger
02-08-2009, 10:00 AM
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3513/3263563890_5d5e8f1bed.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/colonyofgamers/sets/72157613478414049/)
Click on the image to see the rest of the screenshots
At the New York Comic Con this weekend I got some extensive hands on time with the upcoming Red Faction Guerrilla, by THQ and Volition Inc. After playing several multiplayer matches I'm willing to predict that it will end up as one of the sleeper hits of the summer.
Fans of the original Red Faction games will find some familiar elements here. You still have the highly deformable environments, the interesting arsenal and the storyline set against the Mars revolution. But in an attempt to keep the series fresh, they've also added some new features to the game. The claustrophobic environments of the original are (mostly) gone, replaced with larger, more open spaces. But there are more changes afoot.
RF:G is no longer a first-person shooter, instead the developers have gone to a third-person view to better show off the new backpack system in the game. Each player gets a backpack when they spawn, with other 'packs located in nodes stationed around the map. Each pack puts a new strategic ability at the disposal of the player. Some give powers to the player, like the Jetpack (limited flight), the Stealth pack (temporary invisibility) or the Vision pack (thermal sight). Others induce changes to the environment, like the Quake pack and the Sonic disruptor. Then there's the Rhino, which lets you charge through buildings and players alike in a quick burst of speed and aggression. Each of the packs have a built in recharge time, so you can't use them indefinitely. They're also a visual clue as to what your opponents may have planned. These accessories provide a nice layer of strategy to the game. Which pack you use and when you use it will be key. In the demo a few of the packs felt a little overpowered - the stealth pack used in concert with your melee hammer was particularly devastating - but the developers told me they're constantly tweaking these items to produce the proper balance.
The weapons themselves are essentially the sci-fi shooter staples, with some minor tweaks and twists. The control listing for the game indicated the presence of vehicles, but they were not in the demo and the developer would not say if they would be in the final multiplayer modes. Gameplay was very fast and frantic, moving more like a chaotic scrum than the more methodical shooters that have risen to prominence lately. It felt a lot like the old Tribes games at times, particularly when using the jetpack accessory. The environmental destruction the game engine was capable of also changes the dynamics a bit. While you can't destroy everything, you'll quickly find that hiding is a lot tougher than in most shooters when someone hammers through the wall you were using as cover.
Red Faction: Guerrilla isn't on the radar of gamers as universally as some other titles, but based on this demo it should be. I can't speak for the single player, but the multiplayer is a frantically paced good time.
Click on the image to see the rest of the screenshots
At the New York Comic Con this weekend I got some extensive hands on time with the upcoming Red Faction Guerrilla, by THQ and Volition Inc. After playing several multiplayer matches I'm willing to predict that it will end up as one of the sleeper hits of the summer.
Fans of the original Red Faction games will find some familiar elements here. You still have the highly deformable environments, the interesting arsenal and the storyline set against the Mars revolution. But in an attempt to keep the series fresh, they've also added some new features to the game. The claustrophobic environments of the original are (mostly) gone, replaced with larger, more open spaces. But there are more changes afoot.
RF:G is no longer a first-person shooter, instead the developers have gone to a third-person view to better show off the new backpack system in the game. Each player gets a backpack when they spawn, with other 'packs located in nodes stationed around the map. Each pack puts a new strategic ability at the disposal of the player. Some give powers to the player, like the Jetpack (limited flight), the Stealth pack (temporary invisibility) or the Vision pack (thermal sight). Others induce changes to the environment, like the Quake pack and the Sonic disruptor. Then there's the Rhino, which lets you charge through buildings and players alike in a quick burst of speed and aggression. Each of the packs have a built in recharge time, so you can't use them indefinitely. They're also a visual clue as to what your opponents may have planned. These accessories provide a nice layer of strategy to the game. Which pack you use and when you use it will be key. In the demo a few of the packs felt a little overpowered - the stealth pack used in concert with your melee hammer was particularly devastating - but the developers told me they're constantly tweaking these items to produce the proper balance.
The weapons themselves are essentially the sci-fi shooter staples, with some minor tweaks and twists. The control listing for the game indicated the presence of vehicles, but they were not in the demo and the developer would not say if they would be in the final multiplayer modes. Gameplay was very fast and frantic, moving more like a chaotic scrum than the more methodical shooters that have risen to prominence lately. It felt a lot like the old Tribes games at times, particularly when using the jetpack accessory. The environmental destruction the game engine was capable of also changes the dynamics a bit. While you can't destroy everything, you'll quickly find that hiding is a lot tougher than in most shooters when someone hammers through the wall you were using as cover.
Red Faction: Guerrilla isn't on the radar of gamers as universally as some other titles, but based on this demo it should be. I can't speak for the single player, but the multiplayer is a frantically paced good time.