Red Faction: Armageddon - OnLive Review!

The following review pertains specifically to the OnLive version of Red Faction:  Armageddon.

Opening

It seems as though Volition, Inc is having an identity crisis with its Red Faction series.  The franchise started out as a first person shooter, later was changed into a third person open world action game with the release of Red Faction:  Guerilla, and now – with the release of Red Faction:  Armageddon – has been converted into a linear third person shooter.  In one hand, Volition can be applauded for trying to fully explore their franchise to discover what works best for it.  In the other hand, though, one can’t help but to observe how Volition is potentially alienating portions of the series’ fan base with each new release.  This is especially true for Red Faction:  Armageddon, which has angered many fans with its evaporation of its predecessor’s open world gameplay.

Welcome to Mars.

Is the removal of the open world gameplay really a bad thing, though?  Is a game instantly labeled with a massive “Fail” just because it’s “linear?”  I dare to say not.  In fact I welcome this approach with open arms, and I’m willing to bet most other gamers will as well.

Story and Presentation

Ok, let me say this right now:  I like this game.  Because of this fact, I hate starting this review by discussing the one area where RF:A really struggles; Story and Presentation.  Regardless, this is where I’m going to start.

RF:A is set on Mars fifty years after the events of Red Faction:  Guerrilla, and stars Darius Mason; the grandson of Alec Mason and Samanya, of RF:G fame.  The game starts off with a group of cultists – led by a psychotic man named Adam Hale – capturing with the intent of destroying a terraformer that controls all weather on Mars.  Darius aids Red Faction forces in a counter offensive aimed at recapturing the terraformer.  Of course, this offensive fails, and the terraformer is destroyed.

The explosions are spectacular!

With the terraformer destroyed the Martian surface becomes overrun by destructive weather, forcing everyone to relocate to the underground mines of their ancestors.  Over the course of ten years, the people of Mars rebuild their civilization in this underground world.  However, little did they know that the cultists that forced them there would return to unleash an even greater terror.  This new threat is an alien race that could potentially wipe out all human life on Mars.  Good thing there’s a Mason there to save the day.

I won’t ruin any more of the plot, but I will say that the overall story is decent.  That said, the way the story is presented is very poor.  RF:A is an extremely intense game (more on this later) and many times the story sequences do not transition in and out of the gameplay very well.  You will have a rather mellow cinema one moment, and then the next be starting a new stage in a vehicle surrounded by enemies with no clear indication of how you got there.  This can be very jarring, at best, and really pulls you out of the game.  It’s too bad the developers didn’t take a little more time to clean up these transitions and help them to make more sense.

Salvage acts as the game's currency.

The poor transition between scenes is the worst aspect of the story telling.  The voice acting is strong, and the writing is typically pretty good.  Had it not been for the way the story was presented, it would really not seem very bad.  Let’s hope that this issue is cleaned up in future Red Faction games.

In all other areas of presentation, things aren’t quite as bad.  The only thing that I really have a gripe about is that the game does not seem to be correctly keeping track of my “Weapon Stats”.  I don’t know if this is just an issue with the OnLive version, or if it is affecting people on other platforms as well.

Graphics

Graphically, this game is pretty impressive.  The main draw to the Red Faction series is destruction, and RF:A does this better than any other game I’ve played.  Buildings and objects can be blown to pieces in incredible detail, and the effects backing the explosions are very good.

Character models are decent, but the real star of the show is the alien design.  The aliens have a very unique look, and are superbly animated.  It is also impressive how many of these buggers can be on screen at once.  The engine allows for the screen to be filled by aliens, all while everything around you is literally being blown to pieces.  It’s impressive, and looks great.

The intensity rarely lets up!

If there is anything negative to say about the graphics, it would be that the texture work isn’t quite as awe inspiring as everything else.  None of it is terrible; it’s just that nothing really stands out as being great.  It gets the job done, but nothing more.

All said, RF:A is probably the best looking game for OnLive right now.  It runs very smoothly, and just looks crisper than other games.  If nothing else, this is an indication that developers are starting to take the OnLive platform more seriously than they had previously.  Let’s hope that this is followed by other developers going forward.

Sound Design

RF:A boasts good voice acting.  Occasionally Darius slips in an overly humorous – for the situation – one liner; but the delivery by the voice actor is always good.  Likewise, the sound effects used are all good, especially for the aliens.  There isn’t really anything negative to point out in the sound design but, like the texture work, there really aren’t any show stealers either.

Gameplay

The absolute best aspect of RF:A is the gameplay which, in the end, is really the main thing that matters.  The game is unapologetically intense, featuring action sequences as intense as any I’ve ever encountered in a game.  It’s like taking the most chaotic moments from a Call of Duty game, placing them in a fully destructible environment, and tossing in dozens of rabid aliens.  It’s intense, and undeniably fun.

The Nano-Forge sometimes makes you feel like a Jedi.

As mentioned earlier, RF:A is takes a departure from the game that preceded it by being a linear shooter.  In my opinion, this was a good decision as the game feels a lot more focused than RF:G.  This also helps with keeping the game constantly intense.  With the exception of a few slow stages early in the game, the action is pretty much non-stop; and each stage becomes more intense than the one before it.  It’s an experience that I just do not feel would have been possible in an open world setting.

With great action comes great guns, and the guns in RF:A are some of the best I’ve seen in a shooter; with the Magnet Gun being the coolest.  Each gun is well designed, and offers a different strategy for fighting through the various encounters.  Hell, you can even unlock a unicorn that shoots rainbows out its ass.  It’s a bit bizarre, but can be hilarious to use.

In addition to the guns, you have a device called the Nano-Forge that can be upgraded with different abilities; including a destructive shockwave and a protective shield.  In addition to its offensive and defensive capabilities, the Nano-Forge can also repair anything in the environment that has been destroyed.  This is important since you will often have the passage required to advance destroyed in a fight.

Aside from upgrading the Nano-Forge, you can also upgrade your character with other perks and abilities.  You can collect salvage as you destroy objects, kill enemies, and explore the environment.  This salvage acts as the game’s currency, and is used to upgrade your character and Nano-Forge.

Longevity

The single player campaign will take you 8-10 hours to complete, and there’s a “New Game Plus” that allows you to replay the game with all of your upgrades.  In addition to the campaign, there is also a four player cooperative mode called Infestation, and a single player mode that focuses on causing as much destruction as you can in a minute called Ruin.

Blowing shit up is awesome!

Unfortunately, it has been hard to find enough people playing multiplayer on OnLive to have a lot of time with Infestation mode.  As of this writing, I have only been able to play one match, and that was only with one other person.  From what I played, the mode seemed to be a lot of fun; it’s just too bad that there haven’t been a lot of people playing it yet on OnLive.

With a lack of attention given to Infestation, Ruin mode has been what I’ve spent a lot of time with.  This mode reminds me a lot of the Mercenaries mode seen in Resident Evil games, with the exception that you are destroying buildings instead of enemies.  The mode boasts an online leader board, and is insanely addicting.  It seems that there are a lot of people taking to this mode, which makes fighting for a top spot on the leader boards even more challenging.  It’s a fun mode, and should offer some replay value to people who enjoy it.

With it being difficult to find Infestation matches on OnLive, and the fact that there are no competitive multiplayer modes, it’s hard to say how long people are going to stay interested in RF:A.  Ruin mode is great, but it won’t be for everyone, nor will it be strong enough to keep a long term community.  Hopefully more people will start playing Infestation, because it is the only thing that will help to greatly extend RF:A’s life.

Closing

Red Faction:  Armageddon is one of the most intense games I have ever played.  It’s a white knuckle experience that should not be missed by fans of action games.  It suffers a little from a poorly presented story, and the OnLive version suffers from a severe lack of a multiplayer community.  That said, I highly recommend that everyone at least gives this game a try.  If you like the single player, and have friends who play multiplayer, then it is definitely worth a buy.  And if you happen to buy it for OnLive, make sure you look me up (Cody64), as I’m definitely willing to play some mp!

Bottom Line

TGO Score:  4/5