Preview: Red Faction: Guerrilla (PS3)

Unlike the original Red Faction its sequel, this is a 3rd person, open world action shooter. Open world being the new big thing in the gaming world. Set on Mars, 50 years after the events of the original Red Faction, players will take the role of an insurgent fighter with the newly re-established Red Faction movement as they battle for liberation from the oppressive Earth Defense Force. The EDF in this game we imagine not associated with the awesome game of the same name. The open world is new for the series and this means you can rain down more destruction than ever before. The destruction you cause also becomes a major tactical asset. Find yourself being chased by EDF troops? Then why not blow up the stairway, blocking the way. You can set traps and ambushes, or even drive vehicles through crumbling debris. It’ll be like taking part in your very own action movie.

If you can bother with the ‘hassle’ of signing up to THQ then you can acquire a demo key for the PS3 and 360 versions, though they were said to be in limited supply when we got ours. Experiencing it for ourselves really shows us that Volition know what they’re doing. Using a truck to ram a building sending everyone flying never gets old and the turret sequence at the end is a nice diversion.

THQ is certainly banking on the games success. "Red Faction is one THQ’s most successful and critically acclaimed original franchises to date, with a huge global base of loyal fans waiting to join the new revolution," said Brad Carraway, director of global brand management, THQ. "With the game’s unique pairing of true physics-based destruction, fast-paced guerrilla warfare style combat, and a massive world to explore – Red Faction: Guerrilla will redefine the limits of open-world gaming.” Whether this will come to pass is still under scrutiny, many other games have promised so much with their open worlds, but inevitably failed to deliver. Mercenaries 2 being a prime example of this.

“Red Faction: Guerrilla expands the signature destruction elements of the series and pushes the boundaries of next-gen gaming on a massive, terra-formed Mars where gamers can literally tear down the enemy EDF presence brick by brick,” said Mike Kulas, president of Volition, Inc. ”With a new 3rd person perspective, a full cover system that allows for guerrilla style tactics and a diverse planet to explore we’re excited to revitalize the gripping world of Red Faction for high-definition platforms.” It definitely looks pretty with dust clouds and explosions galore, the only downside is wondering how many different environments you can get from solely being set on Mars. There’s only so much red terrain a guy can take.

Red Faction: Guerrilla will be arriving in June for PS3 and Xbox 360. We’ve already got our pre-orders, have you?

Words by Adam Gulliver