Red Faction Hands-On

Volition and THQ's second PS2 game is Red Faction--a Half-Life-inspired first-person shooter that uses a dramatic mix of storyline and groundbreaking technology to create an incredibly realistic and believable world. We had the chance to play through a rough build of the game and were able to explore almost every part of Red Faction.

Parker in a futuristic Jeep.

It's pretty obvious that Red Faction has been inspired primarily by Half-Life, the revolutionary PC first-person shooter that puts you in the shoes of a lone scientist who must fight his way through a sprawling government facility riddled with deadly traps and crawling with alien monsters and trigger-happy marines. Red Faction looks and plays very similarly to Half-Life. The game is set on a futuristic Mars--you play as Parker, an everyday miner employed by the corrupt megacorporation Ultor. Like in Half-Life, the story is told entirely through a first-person perspective. The story begins at the end of your shift in the bleak Ultor mines on Mars, and you soon witness a miner revolt that puts you in the middle of a bloody war between Ultor and its own employees. The Ultor miners, who have been mistreated by the Ultor corporation, are being infected by a horrible plague. The Red Faction, an organized miner underground, thinks that Ultor is responsible for the plague and revolts when Ultor refuses to pull the workforce from the mines and investigate the plague. Faced with a violent revolt and hoping to cover up its involvement in the plague, Ultor orders any miner to be shot on sight and dispatches its sizable and well-armed security force to roam the Ultor complex and quell the uprising. As Parker, you start the game sympathetic to neither cause, but as you progress through the game, you'll find yourself working with the Red Faction to stay alive and, eventually, to uncover the Ultor scandal.

Parker discovers a miner mutated by the plague.

Most of the plot takes place through the game's first-person perspective. As Parker, you view the events unfolding around you in real time through the in-game graphic engine. Though they weren't in the build we played, cutscenes will set up some of the levels and break the action for the sake of storytelling. Still, there are plenty of events that will happen while you're actually in the game, and you'll have to react to these events appropriately. Hendrix, a technician who's on your side, will constantly monitor your progress and update you through a small video unit in your miner's suit. Other characters, like Eos, the leader of the Red Faction, as well as Capek the evil scientistwho's loyal to Ultor will contact you at various times throughout the game. Additionally, characters will talk to you directly, enemies will attack you, and transport malfunctions and traps will all effect you in real time.