Red Faction II Review

Game:  Red Faction II
Year (s):  2002 (platforms), 2003 (PC)
Company:  dev.  Volition, Inc., Outrage Entertainment (PC only)
            pub.  THQ
Engine:  Geo-Mod Engine
Type:  First-Person Shooter

Price (as of January 10, 2012)

Regular price on Steam:  9.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping):  ~$45

Game Time:  Six hours or less, first time, on normal.  I should get a free pizza.

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/324829/


Plot

After the Red Faction rebellion liberated Mars, the illegal nanotechnology that was uncovered was seized by Earth defense forces.  This led to the creation of super soldiers and a totalitarian state for all of Earth.  Now your renegade squad of super soldiers and the Red Faction fight to topple the evil empire.  The plot is at no point engaging. 


Geo-Mod Engine

It's the same engine as the first game, and doesn't look any better, though it is more stable.  Just like previously, many surfaces can be destroyed.  While this was just a waste of explosives in the first game, blasting through walls and floors is required in the Red Faction II campaign. 

There are a few flubs in the design.  Saving is check-point only, however, there is no notification when these saves occur.  I left the game paused for hours at a time so I wouldhn't lose progress.  Annoyingly, cutscenes cannot be skipped.  Scenes before boss fights are therefore enjoyed over and over every time you die and start over.  One last quirk is that if you have this as a game on Steam, it will only run if your DVD/CD drive is empty.  If anything is in it, the game launcher will prompt you to put in the game disc, and never launch.


Combat

Three are three types of combat situations in Red Faction 2: the usual, vehicles, and boss fights.  Usual fighting is corridor-based, against inaccurate enemies programmed to often run away and occasionally fire a shot.  Vehicle combat is generally fun, but also very easy.  Boss fights are tedious bouts of hopping out of cover to fire from afar, and then running away and/or finding cover.  Health will regenerate, but you have to away from bullets for maybe ten seconds or so.  You can carry up to three medkits, which are used automatically if you would die.  There is no sprinting.

The combat system has some problems, too.  Strangely, you can play matches with bots but not with other people.  For the first time ever, I had the problem of too many weapons.  Weapon selection is strictly by the mouse wheel, and having to scroll through three sniper rifles, three assault rifles (which look similar and are easy to mix up), a handful of handguns in both single- and dual-wielded options, and a handful of of guns just to equip a shotgun was a huge hassle.  Weapons do not change automatically if you are out of ammo.


Expansions / DLC / Sequels

This is the second of what is currently a four-game franchise.  The latest came out in 2011.  There are no expansions for Red Faction II..


Final Thoughts


Red Faction II is incredibly short, with laughable AI, lack of attention to detail, average to poor graphics for the time, and essentially no plot.  A fast-paced, action packed campaign with voice talent by Lance Henriksen (Aliens franchise) and Jason Statham couldn't save this mess.  I have the third game in the series, but now I'm certainly in no hurry to play it.  Don't bother with this one.