RED FACTION II

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Volition

Publisher : THQ

Engine : Geo-Mod Engine

Genre : Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter

Release Date : April 9 , 2003

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows 2000 / Windows XP

CPU : AMD Athlon Classic K75 / Intel Pentium III Processor

Memory (RAM) : 128 MB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 8.1 Compatible Video Card with Memory 16 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce 3 Ti Series
ATI : Radeon 8500 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 1.1 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

Red Faction II is a sequel to 2001's popular PS2 first-person shooter. It's got all the stuff that made the previous game a hit: lots of powerful weapons, lots of enemy fodder, and a number of vehicles you can ride in. Unfortunately, it's not difficult to tell that Red Faction II was originally designed for the relatively less powerful PlayStation 2, as this port seems somewhat watered down, with its fairly plain graphics, small levels, and lack of multiplayer support. The game's single-player campaign is also pretty short, but Red Faction II can still offer some good shooting action for fans of the genre. Red Faction II takes place in the same universe as the first game: the 22nd century, where humankind is ruled by an evil dictatorship, and only the freedom fighters who call themselves the Red Faction are able to stand in its way. Parker, the hero of the first game, is nowhere to be found here, so no previous Red Faction experience is required or even expected. Instead, this sequel introduces a nanotech-enhanced soldier called Alias, whom you'll play as during the course of the single-player campaign. Alias is part of an elite squad developed to suppress insurgents like the Red Faction, but the squad has turned its coats and now seeks to rid the world of Chancellor Sopot, the man at the root of the Commonwealth's strife and poverty. In your mission to assassinate Sopot, and then quell an even greater threat, you'll travel by air, sea, and land while taking on droves of enemies and numerous challenging situations in a diverse and tightly paced series of levels. Most single-player first-person shooters aren't very long, and Red Faction II is no exception. Even though you'll run into several very tough boss battles when playing through the game at the normal difficulty setting, expect to get through the campaign in approximately seven hours. As if to make up for the relatively short length of the campaign, the designers apparently tried to make sure that there's never a dull moment in it. The very first mission has Alias blowing an enemy base to bits using a weapon that fires both rockets and grenades, and things never really let up from there. Much like in the first game, the variety in Red Faction II comes largely from having an occasional in-vehicle sequence to break up all the action on foot. Each of the four vehicles in Red Faction II is remarkably powerful, and they all make for some entertaining shooting sequences. The vehicles aren't simulated with the same level of realism. When you're flying high through the air between skyscrapers in the gunship or crashing through war-torn city streets in the tank, the game effectively becomes a rail shooter--you're just the gunner, and your job is to blow up any enemies that get in your way as Shrike, your squad's vehicles expert, steers you through some seriously hostile territory. But when you're in the submarine or the battle armor, you actually get to navigate as well as shoot. All the vehicle sequences are fun while they last, even though they're relatively easy and simple compared with the standard action.

Explosive or not, just about every weapon of yours has an alternate firing mode or some other special ability. The precision rifle points you to enemies in the vicinity when you're looking through its scope. All this hardware packs a satisfying punch and looks good in action, though the weapon that will likely get the most use is the NICW, an assault rifle with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a built-in targeting system, evidently modeled after the US military's next-generation objective individual combat weapon. An all-purpose firearm, the NICW can get you through virtually any encounter. You'll appreciate that this and most other weapons in your arsenal are so effective, though you might find it odd that you can carry all the game's weapons simultaneously. Too bad the game doesn't support online play. However, Red Faction II does offer a fully featured botmatch mode, which can be reasonably entertaining for a while. Eight different botmatch game types are available, ranging from standards like deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag to variants like regime, in which one player is the "dictator" and must try to survive as long as possible while all the other players try to bring him or her down. The cutscenes still aren't particularly good looking, though the one played when Alias finally catches up to Sopot is memorable. At least the game loads quickly and runs smoothly. The original game's settings mostly consisted of bland tunnels and sterile laboratories, while the sequel's rundown urban environments and sophisticated military installations tend to be a little more colorful. Enemy characters are brought to life using motion-captured animations, and not only do these animations look good, but you also won't notice much repetition in them as you keep shooting down bad guys. Red Faction II's audio holds up better than the graphics in translation. Though the cries of enemy soldiers repeat a bit too often, and some of their lines are pointlessly profane, the sounds of all your various weapons and explosions are loud, clear, and effective. A high-tempo electronic music score pumps in the background beneath the near-constant roar of your firearms and helps maintain the game's high intensity level. Red Faction II is a pretty good shooter overall, offering up a short but sweet single-player campaign and a decent botmatch mode for a little extra lasting value. The game's not long on looks or replay value, but it's got no shortage of action.

GAME REVIEW :-

7/10

Red Faction II Trailer :-