Revolutionary? Maybe not, but still...
Erm, no.
That's not to say Red Faction is a bad game. Not by any means. But the GeoMod system makes the game anything but revolutionary. Fact is, Red Faction is a quite generic first-person shooter with very little apart from said environmental destruction. That said, it is a well-done generic shooter, with a quite capitivating story and immersive atmosphere. And the GeoMod system provides for some interesting game situations. While it doesn't really provide for much tactical innovation, it is interesting to see how situations arise. Hidden areas in levels can be revealed from just about any direction possible. It's just a shame that these areas are vastly underwhelming. Enemies bombard you with rockets, blasting the ground and walls from around you while you dodge your way around them. Revolutionary, no, but certainly intriguing.
You play Parker, a simple miner in the mines of Mars, run by Ultor, an oppressive corporation that practically makes slaves out of its workers. One day, at the end of Parker's shift, one of the belligerent guards gets into a fight with a miner, resulting in the miner's death. This seemingly innocuous event triggers a series of events that results in the miners revolting against their oppressive employers and a whole lot of gunfightin'. For me, at least, it brought back memories of the classic film Total Recall.
The game does a good job of making you feel like a small cog in a larger machine. Whereas most first-person shooters place the player in the role of a one-man army, Red Faction's radio transmissions and scripted events make it clear that the rebellion is more than just one man. It makes for an intriguing story that keeps you going just to find out what happens next.
It's not all good news. Some of the weaponry is a little underwhelming. And without the Pure Faction patch, the game doesn't natively support widescreen, but these are minor niggles in a game that, while not rocking the Earth, at least shakes up Mars a little.