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REVIEW: Red Faction II Developer: Volition Publisher: THQ Console: PS2 Players: 1-4 In a year when many great first-person shooters have been released, many people may not notice Red Faction II and look for flashier, more-followed titles in the genre such as TimeSplitters 2. But those who don't give the game a try will miss out on one of the year's best action titles. Red Faction II starts out with a boom and doesn't stop until it's through; in this game, you'll blow up more stuff than you could ever expect from even the most action-packed game. Although this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it hurts the game in a few areas. For one, the story (almost nonexistent) takes some heavy damage. You practically won't even notice the little bit that's there. But it's not like you'll care when you're having this much fun killing everyone and blowing through walls. The gameplay is excellent, and the graphics range from average to absolutely amazing. The level design is especially good here. I'll describe the story as best I can. You're part of an "elite squad of soldiers" known as the Red Faction; they're not human, but rather biologically engineered to meet their creator's needs. You're fighting for revenge. But all the odds are against you. Enemies are on the lookout for you everywhere, and you don't have much support...only your fellow soldiers. In addition to the mediocre storyline, another shortcoming of Red Faction II is, well, just that: a shortcoming. It won't take even a casual gamer much longer than ten hours of gameplay to finish the game. But as short as it is, you're having a really fun time all the way to the very end. What is here is very good. Plus, Red Faction II sports one of the best multiplayer modes in recent memory. You'll find yourself staying up all night playing death-matches with your friends. The multiplayer maps are done well, too. This is probably the game's strongest area. When you've beaten the single-player mode a million times, then you've got loads more replay value in multiplayer. It's worth buying a Multi-tap just for this game. RFII's sound is simply OK. The weapon effects are great, but the music isn't anything you'll want to listen to for more than a few minutes at best. The voice-acting is horrible as well, and you'll hear some of the cheesiest phrases in gaming while sitting through some of the game's cut-scenes. |
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Overall, Red Faction II is an excellent first-person shooter. It's extremely fun to play, and the multiplayer mode is a huge bonus. I recommend this over TimeSplitters 2 as one of the best FPS this year.
OVERALL SCORE: 8/10 Review by ForestRanger |