Written by I’ll open up by saying I’ve never played any more than a demo for any of the other Red Faction games. I know that gaming universe has a good sized and dedicated following, so there may be an appeal here for those folks. I couldn’t see one. The game has a very bright, sharp and colorful look about it, but when the camera zooms in on the action you’ll notice that some textures fall flat. The vehicle handling had a frustrating floaty feel to it, and aiming took time as your turret swiveled around to match the orientation of your vehicle, something that doesn’t feel responsive in a twin-stick shooter. In the same vein, there is an armor mechanic that indicates that your front is more heavily armored than your rear, and the loading screens urge you keep this in mind and keep your front facing the enemies. Like the slowly swiveling turrets, this goes against how we are taught to play in twin-stick shooters. I’m not saying that it’s bad to try and change things up, but I am saying it didn’t work for me. Going slowly in reverse didn’t feel natural, and I repeatedly found myself reverting to my old twin stick ways and getting clobbered (or, “perforated” in the game’s vernacular).
The best moment for me was probably the first time I blew something up. The explosions in the game are very pretty, very intense, and they have a wide area of effect; many times I was caught in a blast that I was trying to inflict on an enemy. I believe destructible environments have been a hallmark of the series for at least the most recent iterations, so this looks to be keeping in that theme/mechanic. Even so, I would just as soon pass on this one, and wait for the next true release.
Played through the training missions demo twice. Didn’t look into the multiplayer because I wasn’t compelled to after playing what I did.