Red Faction II - WTF?

[MKSheppard]

Ok, so I finished playing Red Faction I. It was a okay game. Very 2001 in many places; and was very hit and miss regarding subtitling -- cut scenes weren't subtitled, but in game radio conversations were.

And it did try to at least set an atmosphere of "Mars!".

Which makes Red Faction II even more of a literal W-T-F? It's now apparently a very very generic shooter -- you could replace it with SiN or any of the billion futuristic shooters out there and nobody would notice a difference.

Oh, and there's no subtitles anymore, not even for radio conversations. The controls are also horribly sloppy compared to RF I. The quick save system found in RF1 is gone now too.

Mind you, RF I was very limited, in terms of the actual destructiveness of "GeoMod" -- and there were some very dumbly executed stealth missions, where even if you got spotted and blown, you couldn't just grab anything heavier than a pistol off the corpses of guards to shoot your way to the mark.

But...yeah. Just a WTF here. I think I'll just skip RF2 and go to Guerilla rightaways.

[ShadowDragon8685]

RF1's stealth missions were OMG agonizing. That's why I was glad that the second stealth mission was entirely optional - you could skip picking up the scientist coat and tossing all your gear and just shoot straight through. And of course, the insanity of being stuck with a pistol even if your cover was blown...

But yeah, RF2 was mind-numbingly retarded. They handed the license to a third-party studio while they did something else, and that's very hit-or-miss, more miss-than-hit. Basically, just ignore RF2 and skip straight to RF:G with Alec Mason Thorring it up around Mars with the hammer Mjolnir.

[CaptHawkeye]

Those games follow the attitude of the gaming industry throughout the years so well.

RF1 - Try a bunch of new, if broken game mechanics. Set against the background of good yet never really serious campaign. Make sure to have shitty looking UI and weird controls consistent with most 2001 games. Game isn't very organized or consistent but is at least unique and fun.

RF2 - Make generic shooter.

RF:G - Make generic shooter, but staple shitty gimmicks to it.

[aieeegrunt]

Yep, that's about it. WTF was my reaction to Red Faction II as well, but I found it entertaining in an unintentional comedy sort of way.

[Chardok]

Of those RF:G is superior. While Hawk hated it. I actually didn't. Well, at first I didn't, then I did. I never did finish it, which I sort of hate myself for. That said - there is a lot of fun to be had with G, even if it is "ZOMG I TOTALLY KILLED THIS BUILDING WITH A CARBOMB LOL" and "LOL NANOZ". It's satisfying on a very basic level that many games today miss the mark on. The story is absolutely ludicrous, however, so be SURE to turn off your brain before playing. (I'll sum it up for you Spoiler

"zomg u killed my bro now I'm a terrorist lol.")

definitely don't pass it up, though, it's certainly worth the 20 bucks.

[Sarevok]

I liked RF:Gs sandbox elements. But the gameplay was too easy due to pitiful enemies with retarded AI. Elite Earth Defense Force soldiers my ass !

[Chardok]

I liked RF:Gs sandbox elements. But the gameplay was too easy due to pitiful enemies with retarded AI. Elite Earth Defense Force soldiers my ass !

The AI is hopelessly retarded and the devs tried to overcome that by simply flooding the screen with wave after wave of dudes to kill. This is a terrible mechanic, but again, it doesn't take away from the fun factor of having a giant sandbox where you can blow up everything in sight. Also it's got loads of collectibles, and you can upgrade all your gear (which for a OCD mofo such as myself makes the game ZOMGJAWSOMEFUNTASTIC)

Let's not forget the MP too - it was really, really good and a shame that it was almost universally ignored. if you can get into a mp game, take the opportunity because it's totally worth it, and a lot of fun (Even STRAK had fun with it )

[Stark]

Chardok liked RFG cause he's OCD and did the terrible minigames over and over. As a shooter or a sandbox game it fails; all the RFG games have sucked.

RFG 2 doesn't even really seem to be a Red Faction game, it's so different.

[Chardok]

Chardok liked RFG cause he's OCD and did the terrible minigames over and over. As a shooter or a sandbox game it fails; all the RFG games have sucked.

RFG 2 doesn't even really seem to be a Red Faction game, it's so different.

Don't listen to him. He has Gamerscore envy because his GS doesn't reflect that he can lob a det charge with perfect accuracy down a cliff to a building support 300 meters away that blows up a pattern of explosive barrels which causes a bolt to fall into the bed of a truck parked .5 KM away.

[Stark]

If only detpacks were useful in a world of game-ending nanorifles? :V I still remember you being upset at how terrible all the guns were after spending your hard earned cash on them.

[Chardok]

Awww, I forgot about that. Yeah, I was really, really disappointed. .

[Chardok]

Also: I never did beat the game. This has weighed on my mind for some time now - That said, I would like to issue a preemptive FU to STRAK and the rest of the dudes on my friends list and this is why: Yes; I did go out on my lunch break and buy RF:G with a gift card I got from my Secret Santa at work.

It was 8 dollars.


I will be playing it tonight. Or maybe not. GOD I have so many games to follow through on.

[Stark]

Look Chads the end is stupid, just forget about it. Don't be one of those nerds who can't let go.

[Chardok]

Dude, the whole story is stupid, but I found myself, after reading Shep's post, wanting to drive through some buildings and watch the HILARIOUS beginning. (which is FULL of hilarity). You should go buy it too, so me, you, and Shep can get in on some of those sweet, sweet MP cheevos.

[Stark]

Remember us playing multi? No way. Shep's got PC anyway.

[Chardok]

dude it's 8 bucks and even YOU thought the MP was hilarious fun. Plus, you know no other lobbys will be open, so I could open a room and you and I and whoever else would be automatically connected without being in a party (which would allow us to earn the cheevoz! Come on!

[Oscar Wilde]

Hang on, I'm confused. Is it 2002 again?

[Stark]

Shep always does this. You'll get used to it. Who knows what game he'll discover next? Hopefully something terrible like Sons of Anarchy.

[MKSheppard]

Shep always does this.

I tend to wait until games get cheap before getting them. Hence me discovering old games

You'll get used to it. Who knows what game he'll discover next?

You mean Battlefield Bad Company 2 Godzilla? It was predictably scripted and linear as hell but still amusing, since I only paid a few bucks for it.

[MKSheppard]

RF:G - Make generic shooter, but staple shitty gimmicks to it.

Don't forget tying loading/saving to having a Windows!Live ID required!

Way to make a sale there, Microsoft....

[Darksider]

[

Way to make a sale there, Microsoft....

Whatever you do don't pick up Dawn of War 2 then. It requires an unholy combination of GfW AND Steam. One I can deal with, but both?

[MKSheppard]

After playing some of RF:G; I have to go...

CHARDOOOKK says it all

Let's not get into how the game is forced third person -- and how it's basically GRAND THEFT AUTO: MARS with our super powered protagonist who can whack through concrete rebar walls with a single swing of his hammer.

At this point, I'm not even sure whether I want to actually continue with the game, given the shitty POV you can't change; and the terrible plot which is even worse than RF:II -- and negates any return to the Mars setting of the first game.

From a technical POV; this is probably the closest we've come to the original hype for GeoMod that swirled around it with Red Faction I; and it's still a terrible mess that doesn't even implement it well -- with sledgehammer swings being enough to go through concrete rebar in one swing.

[MKSheppard]

Played around some more, and it's even more terribul than I thought. You can't load a saved game from your hard drive; you have to be logged into LIVE! to load a save.

And apparently the super top seekrit RED FACTION base is right off a major highway with trucks and such passing through -- it's not even a long drive out of the way or through a cutout -- it's just a group of buildings off a main route.

[Stark]

I can't wait for you to see how absurd the finale is. People abandon functional mass drivers all the time!

[MKSheppard]

STRAK, I simply said fuck it and uninstalled to move onto a different game.

Bad Company 2 was more amusing and fun than this; but that's not too hard to do.