Red Faction: Armageddon Review

The only other Red Faction game I’ve played was Guerrilla, but I really liked the mechanics of that game. Guerrilla’s open world was also pretty fun, though I didn’t necessarily need another open world going into Armageddon. I was totally okay with smaller, more linear levels as long as the same weapons and destruction were there. Unfortunately, they went too small and linear. The majority of the game takes place in dark, cramped, underground caves with not a lot of buildings you can tear down. Worse yet, the main enemies are generic aliens. What I liked about Guerrilla was infiltrating an enemy base and outsmarting the guards as I ripped apart the walls and floors. You don’t get much of that here. It feels like a huge waste of the game engine.

To be fair, there are still some fun moments of destruction. I liked using the plasma thrower to melt obstacles that were in my way or to quickly drop down a level. The new magnet gun is also fun to use; you can tear chunks of a building off with it and slam them into enemies. But, again, you’re rarely presented with larger buildings that require any thought in their demolition. Whenever the levels do open up, it’s because you’re piloting a (clunky) vehicle. There’s just so much more they could have done with this game. I’m sure budget constraints played a part, but even then… why go with generic aliens? Why make 80% of the game take place underground? At face value, this is an okay shooter with a few neat ideas, but knowing those neat ideas were the hallmark of a better game makes it harder to enjoy.

Reviewer

Clark
I love gaming so much, I wrote a book about it.

Published by

Clark

I love gaming so much, I wrote a book about it.