Developer: Volition Inc., KAIKO
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered – Review
More and more ports and remasters of older games are coming to this gen’s consoles and this time it’s time to have a look at Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered, specifically the Switch version. The original one had a great reception with some minor faults in gameplay, but nonetheless it was a great game. Liberating Mars from the Earth Defense Force and destroying everything that you encounter when doing so should give you enough to do for quite some time. This game’s all about environmental destruction and you can destroy any building.
Story
Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered is set on the planet Mars fifty years after the events of the original Red Faction. Its population of mine workers is now oppressed by the Earth Defense Force or EDF. You’ll be playing as an insurgent fighter called Alec Mason. After the murder of Alec’s Brother, you are forced to take his place in the Red Faction and fight against the oppressors. The EDF has taken control of the entire planet and you need to free the planet area by area. The story progresses steadily when you complete missions and free areas. When finished in an area, you will move up to the next one.
Graphics
One of the greatest changes this remaster has made from the original are the graphics. Well, not entirely on this version of the game as it will only go up to 1080p in docked mode and the console versions can go up to 4K resolution. Aside of that, the game looks really great on the Nintendo Switch in both handheld and docked mode. You can clearly see more detail in characters, shadows, lighting and overall textures. With the addition of these better graphics, you can’t really say that this puts a heavy load on this console. Sure, when destroying a lot of things in a short time, you will notice some slight slowdowns here and there, but they won’t cause the game to be unplayable or something like that.
Sound
The game uses all the original sounds and music of the original game. This was good and still is great. The game is fully voiced, just like the original. In handheld mode, the voices are still clear and sound great. The music will change a bit from when you enter combat and it will stay this way until you are out of combat and not searched for by the EDF.
Gameplay
Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered is a third-person shooter in which you play as Alec Mason and you join the Red Faction on the planet Mars. In gameplay, the game hasn’t changed a lot since all upgrades in this remastered version are purely visual. Returning players won’t find anything new in this game aside of the bundled-in DLC. It could have been a great addition to the game if they added new weapons, missions, challenges, especially for returning players. Aside of this, this game is still one of the leading games when it comes to environmental destruction and it will reach an even bigger crowd with this remastered version.
When you start playing, your most used weapon for destruction is a sledgehammer that you can use to literally tear everything down to bits. You’ll also have weapons like sticky remote charges, mines, and a rocket launcher to prolong your streak of destruction. Other weapons like the assault rifle, shotgun Peacekeeper are more specialized in killing enemies.
While progressing through the story of this game, you’ll get access to more weapons and upgrades for your weapons, armor and a jetpack. You’ll unlock these weapons after finishing missions and clearing areas of the EDF. These upgrades can be bought with salvage. Salvage is collected when destroying buildings and such. These will lie on the ground and will flash red when you look at them. The more you destroy, the more salvage you’ll collect.
The aiming in this game is something that could have been done a lot better. The original also had this problem and you can solve it by tweaking the camera settings a bit but it will never really feel great in handheld mode and your best experience will likely be with using a Pro Controller. Luckily, for the handheld mode, you can enable the gyroscopic motion controls like in Zelda Breath of the Wild. This will surely make it a lot easier to aim, especially in combat.
The game also gives you access to a backpack after you progress some more in the story. This backpack has a lot of different versions and these can all be bought with salvage. Some are designed for total destruction while others will heal you or provide support. A jetpack version of this backpack will allow you to reach more places that you normally couldn’t reach without it. It will also make the navigation on foot a lot easier as you can and fly over small hills like it’s nothing. Choose the right backpack for your plans with your next targets.
Luckily, just like in the original version, the story isn’t the only thing you can do in this game. This game also provides the Wrecking Crew mode and all the multiplayer action the original version had. The Wrecking Crew mode is a single-console multiplayer mode that lets you compete with your friends in various modes to test your skills. The online multiplayer offers playlists for each game mode available. These vary from a simple Free-For-All mode to Demolition where one player is a destroyer while the others are his protectors. The Destroyer needs to destroy everything while the Protectors need to keep him safe while doing so. It has a lot to offer and can keep you busy for quite some time even after you’ve completed the story.
Conclusion
Red Faction Guerrilla: Re-Mars-tered is still the game we loved back in the days. You can still enjoy the story, destroy everything in your path and play online with friends and strangers. The online multiplayer offers a lot of game modes that will definitely keep you busy for some time. Aside of the graphics, there aren’t any additions to the game, sadly. Especially returning players would’ve appreciated some additions to this already great game. For those who haven’t played this game yet, it’s definitely a great recommendation to purchase this remaster. For those who already played this game, it’s nothing new, so don’t expect it to be new, but if you’d like to relive this game with better graphics, it’s still the same great game so go ahead!
Red Faction: Guerilla Re-Mars-tered - Review,
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