Game Project #1 - Red Faction: Guerrilla

This post didn't start out as what it ended up being, the first entry of 'The Project,' but I'm glad it did. Hopefully it spurs me on to other games, and topics...

Revisited Red Faction this evening for a bit, and discovered that I can get it to play at a reasonable framerate by dialing down most of the settings and playing in windowed mode. Most of the time, I wouldn't be happy about playing in such a 'neutered' state, but with this game high quality graphics take a backseat to the destruction. Fortunately the havoc you can wreak comes through loud and clear, regardless of what video card resides in your computer.

I've played probably 45 minutes to an hour of the game, long enough to complete one mission, one guerrilla action, as well as demolish 5-6 EDF controlled targets not associated with any mission. During this time, I messed around with the remote charges and the sledge hammer as my primary weapons, and briefly toyed with the rifle and the pistol. It's pretty clear that the shooting mechanic plays second fiddle to the destructible environments, as I far prefer to go into a fire fight swinging my hammer wildly. Killing an EDF soldier with the sledge hammer feels incredibly satisfying, as if there's actual weight to the weapon. Not only that, but there's the added bonus of damaging nearby buildings and structures with a missed hammer swing, which should help contribute to the overall goal of demolishing the target.

Speaking of demolishing, I have never played a game where the destruction felt so good. During the tutorial mission, I spent probably 5 minutes or more destroying the starter building from the inside out. Even though the walls, ceilings and other structural elements break away in 'gamey' chunks, it's the sum of the parts that really shines here. I watched a building teeter back and forth like a wobbly top before folding under the weight of the second floor (I had nearly wiped out the first floor). As it crashed to the ground with a groan and flurry of dust and debris, I couldn't help but smile and think, "I did that." At that moment, I think I discovered what caused so many people to enjoy it when it first was released last May. Giving the player total control of the mayhem is a genius move on the developer's part. There's just enough story to provide a framework to the demolition, but it's not complex or in your face to have to think too hard about it. Just go and trash stuff, and you're most likely going to succeed at this game.

Long story short, as what can be considered the inaugural entry in my Game Project, I would recommend this game to anyone, whether it be on the PC or console. It also seems that I could jump in and out of this game while playing other games, and not feel lost or need to 'catch up' on the plot, which could add to its longevity in my gaming rotation.

Now, at some point I'm going to have to define the parameters of this Game Project in more depth than my original speculative post, and that should happen over the weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to dig through the archive and choose the next target to install and experience. Hopefully it will be as fun as this one.