A solid adventure, exuberant explosions and wonderful vehicle bits are what you can expect here. A story? Not so much.
I tell you this because I feel like I've betrayed the brand--I didn't buy Armageddon when it came out and only decided to get it on the super cheap from Steam. It didn't appeal to me at the time, for what reason I can't say other than I was preoccupied with other games. I should've shown some product loyalty to this brand that had dutifully entertained me for a decade long.
Armageddon is a really tight corridor shooter that manages thrills in just about every firefight, gorgeous explosions, destructible...everything and a gripping narrative that rivals anything you've ever seen. All of those are true save one. It's the important one. The story. It's totally forgetful and serves nothing more than a set-up for lots of explosions, a black guy who is 'too old for this (expletive for poop. Fool censorship) and tons of squishy aliens to explode in all manner of ways.
Another reason I've enjoyed the Red Faction is the slightly proletariat slant it often takes. The workers rising up against their oppressors in revolution can provide the backdrop for a gripping narrative, but the series has never plunged those depths let alone attempted them. Slight nitpick, but story is very important for me, context for actions and all.
Fortunately, Armageddon knows that story isn't the game's strong suit, but that the gameplay is. It is here that Armageddon provides a very enjoyable nine or so hour excursion into the Martian depths to fight cultists who really should know better and insects that may or may not be native to the planet.
You're Darius Mason, a descendent of the Mason from Guerrilla, who begins as a member of the Red Faction military organization. Following a disastrous attempt to halt a madman from destroying the terraformer that keeps Mars sustainable for humans, the game goes underground where humans can continue to live. No time is spent here though as Darius soon screws up again and unleashes the alien hordes.
The first few levels all do a good job of showing off the various skills you'll need: the dodge ability being a necessity in some fights, the magnet gun that can tether two objects together and send them careening into each other, the destructibility of anything and that your wrist-mounted nano-forge can also repair anything. Cover being blown to bits? Whip out your nano-forge and repair it brand new. Bridge been destroyed by a particularly spiteful brute? Nano-forge solves all yet again.
The nano-forge can also be upgraded by collecting scrap. Scrap coming from buildings you topple or canisters you collect. The normal stuff here: more health, better weapon damage, usw. You've seen this before.
The nano-forge also has four tricks that can come in handy during a pinch: The push ability that does as it says. Fully pimped out and it can send a handful of enemies a dozen meters into stone walls resulting in gooey explosions. The shockwave that captures near enemies and suspends them in air allowing for easier shots. The berserk that enhances damage and the bubble shield that comes in very handy when being harassed by the game's numerous agile foes.
The allure of the Red Faction games has always been the geo-mod engine that simulates the destruction of buildings and all sorts of things better than any game. The same is true here. The first obstacle you encounter is a wall that begs to be smashed down with your hammer. The whole sale destruction isn't as widespread as in, say, Guerrilla, but the drab areas humans live in can be destroyed splendidly. The magnet gun is also extremely useful in these areas. Plug an enemy with one end and the other end onto a building and watch as half the building comes screaming at your now clobbered foe. It's manically laughing good stuff.
Another thing that can easily result in laughing like a complete and utter fool were the vehicle sections. You're absurdly overpowered while piloting the Crusader exo-suit or the Scout walker. Nothing stands in your way, but still the baddies try. What to do? Why not lay waste with the Crusader's wrist mounted rocket launcher or the Scout's lance cannon that can eradicate anything you're looking at. This is what vehicle sections should be: You and the vehicle versus an army that doesn't know they're dead yet. Throw in tons of buildings that can be obliterated at your whim and it's a good time for everyone...except the bugs or cultists.
There's two more vehicle sections, but I'll leave that for later. Suffice to say the last vehicle you pilot is nothing short of God-like.
It's during these bouts of careless destruction that you'll notice that Armageddon is a stunningly pretty game. The lighting is always a nice touch with some impressive shadows. These shadows help build suspense before you encounter the bugs, but not so much after that first encounter. What you can't see is always the scariest, I wish the game took advantage of that more. The explosions, as I have gushed already, are a wonderful show of orange and smoke, debris and bits.
I sincerely hope that Armageddon isn't the end of the Red Faction series as the news sounds from THQ. The series deserves more. Armageddon is a solid adventure full of great moments and superb vehicle sections. Give it a shot and, hopefully, enough people can guarantee future Red Faction games.