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Has RED FACTION already been forgotten?

T

TheJollyCorner

Member
I don't think even the most hardened Sony fanboy would deny that PS2 has been about 20 steps behind X-Box all generation as far as quality FPS go... but that still doesn't mean there weren't a couple gems here and there.

One in particular is THQ's RED FACTION.

It was released early in PS2's lifetime (and had a sequel a few years later) and was one of the first games that I can remember that had a pretty effective 'destructible environment' gloss to it. What was the technology called again? GEO-MOD or something?
Anyway, I remember being pretty impressed by this game in 2001... and even though I'm not a big FPS fan, I found the game to be a lot of fun. It had an excellent single player experience, IMO.

I also have fond memories of the multiplayer (by multi, I mean just two :p) 'sniper' duels I'd have with my friends during the summer of '01. This was when I learned I was a much better shot after 5 shots of Wild Turkey 101. Go figure. :D

So I remember enjoying RFII as well, but not nearly as much as the original. The graphics were an improvement, had some cool new weapons, and it also got released on NGC and XBox.

Anyone else a fan of this series? Any information I've missed about a next-gen update? I'd love to see a more advanced GEO-MOD on X360 and/or PS3.
VIVA LA FACTIONE!
06.jpg
 
Red Faction was my first FPS and enjoyed it very much. Geomod was very cool! The game is outdated now though :\

I didn't like RF2, it felt like a cheap sequel but I agree with everything else you said.
 
Fun game. I remember using a rocket launcher to blow out a hole over a steel door. I then used a grenade, tossed the nade through the hole, and killed two guards that were waiting for me on the other side.

It's a game feature no one has really picked up on to the degree the first Red Faction did. In fact, I think the sequel was even more limited in environmental destruction.
 
Goreomedy said:
It's a game feature no one has really picked up on to the degree the first Red Faction did. In fact, I think the sequel was even more limited in environmental destruction.
Click to expand...

Black.
 
I believe it was, yes.

The first game produced some brilliant, non-scripted moments just due to the destructability of the environments.
I really want to play Half-Life 2, since I hear it has a pretty good interactive environment and physics system. Too bad my PC is stone-age and I don't own an XBox.
 
Violation developed Red Faction, right?

The most recently made Punisher and they are working on Saints Row for X360...

They must have more than one team since they have been working on SR for around 3 years, I believe...
 
I thought it was a pretty fun variant on Quake. Some neat multiplayer levels and a cool single player campaign. Good choices on the voices too.
 
Violation? :lol

Red Faction had some interesting promise (and one hell of a menu system), but I have to admit it's pretty hard for me not to think of them as "The Freespace guys".

*sigh*
 
Is this game worth playing these days? A friend of mine recently loaned me Red Faction and a couple other games, but I didn't have much interest in it.
 
ManaByte said:
Black.
Click to expand...

Is it more than computer monitors exploding, debris, and chunk-out-of-walls decals? I haven't played Black, you see. If they're truly going for fully destructable environments, bring it on!
 
Volition developed the game. Also be on the lookout for their comical spin on the Saturday Night Live D&D sketch that features some of their characters from RF and other Volition developed games.

Red Faction's engine was pretty interesting but for the most part it was heavily constrained and the level design was pretty poor. I had fun with the game even though I kept cursing the complete lack of creativity and tons of missed opportunities. As expressed earlier it was an interesting Quake variant that had its moments.
 
i loved red faction 2, great single player, with lots of variety in the environments, and a less than typical cheesy story...

also great multiplayer with crazy maps and weapons and loved that geomod system!

weapons hidden behind walls and stuff, that was great.

and omg, the 'menu music' with the guy talking like a crazy dictator trying to hypnotize you!
 
A friend of mine from Outrage Entertainment (the now defunct sister company to Volition, who jointly made the Descent games), told me that there was a LOT of cooperation between the two companies on Red Faction, particularly the Geomod technology.

From those conversations, I'm pretty sure that they pulled some sort of software patent for the destructable terrain element. Not sure whether that was granted or not, but it definitely got them some clout for a time.
 
redfaction_a.jpg


I really liked Red Faction, it had an interesting story for an FPS ("Better red than dead"), and a cool seamless envrionment. Pretty challenging, too

IMO, The sequel was a terrible disappointment.
 
A C+ grade fps. Without the gimmick, it was a really, really weak game. Also the stealth levels were pure bs.

There was a lot of efforts but it wasnt enough
 
Decent enough game, for a launch title-I played it all the way through and finished it. However, it's hard not to think of what Volition game you COULD have been playing instead-Freespace 3, the never-made sequel to the best PC game ever made. :)
 
One of my first favorite multiplayer games this gen, I was just playing the sequel just the other day. Whole lot of fun, great variety of weapons and maps too. Hopefully there will be a sequel next gen.
 
Yea, I enjoyed Red Faction 1 very much.

Two was alright.

They made another sequal, though......


















It's called Geist.
 
Naked Shuriken said:
A C+ grade fps.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with that. I'd say most reviewers felt that way, as well, judging from the scores it received (at least on the PC side of things).

I forgot about it 10 minutes after I played it.
 
Red Faction is okay. I was really interested in the destructable environments feature, but it wasn't really used enough. It was pretty disappointing after Freespace..

Plus there were the 'civilians.' "Don't shoot! I'm on your side!" who immediately proceeded to shout "Guards!"...
 
I recently bought this game this past week after buying it ages ago in 2001... I really, really enjoyed it back then. Now, it's more nostalgia, but it has some pretty cool gameplay elements.
 
2nd game I played on PS2 (right behind Star Wars Starfighter). I have great memories of staying up all night and beating it while listening to the comedy stream on Radio@netscape (or Spinner as it was called at the time). I was soo tired the next morning. That and Timesplitters are still some of the best FPS experiences I've had with the PS2. Just a really fun game overall.
 
BirdySky said:
Didn't RF2 have halo's only innovation years before halo 2 was released, duel wielding?
(ps2-born Innovations +1)
Click to expand...
:lol I always laugh when Halo fans mention that "innovation". Too bad it was on N64 7 years earlier.
 
BirdySky said:
Didn't RF2 have halo's only innovation years before halo 2 was released, duel wielding?
(ps2-born Innovations +1)
Click to expand...

Innovation? I remember dual wielding shotguns in Marathon back in the mid-1990s.
 
[Opening a can of worms]So it had no innovations at all then? Why is this the best fps ever again?[/opening a can of worms]
 
TheInkyVoid said:
Innovation? I remember dual wielding shotguns in Marathon back in the mid-1990s.
Click to expand...
Marathon, Rise of the Triad, Goldeneye

meh

I'm pretty sure there are a thousand more...fuck...Duke 3D depending on how loosely you use the term
 
BirdySky said:
Didn't RF2 have halo's only innovation years before halo 2 was released, duel wielding?
(ps2-born Innovations +1)
Click to expand...

shogo on pc got that before rf too,and on console goldeneye
 
I beat Red Faction 2 just a few months ago, USB mouse support for the win. Hopefully it won't be the last console FPS to have mouse support. :/ There's still a few bits of artwork I don't know how to unlock though, the faqs out there are incomplete. Anyone manage to beat it 100%?
 
Red Faction 1 was excellent. A very soundly produced sci-fi FPS that is likely very playable even now. Just allow for some ugly character models and the rest is good, including story and vehicle sequences. I even a couple months ago checked out the PC version and am aiming to pick that up as soon as I find it cheap.

Red Faction 2 looked better but everything else felt weaker. Played RF2 on Xbox where it looked better than other versions, but still can't remember much about it despite actually finishing it. Jason Statham as the voice of one character is all I positively recall.

I always recommend players skip RF2 and go with RF1 on PS2 (or PC).
 
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