Standard shooter fare
The original Red Faction was a pretty decent if somewhat soulless first person shooter akin to a modern version of Doom but with destructible environments for added action. Many gamers however were left unsatisfied by the way this mechanic was only used in a very limited fashion, along with a few other issues. Unfortunately, this sequel actually proves even more disappointing than its predecessor and is easily skipped unless you desperately need another unimaginative shooter in your life. Like the original, this one starts out well enough with a pretty good story which avoids the usual cliches of sci-fi and tells an intriguing tale of rebellion and revolt on Mars which follows on from the first game and which thus makes more sense if you have played that one. In terms of gameplay, this is pretty standard shooter fare, but with the added feature that you can blow merry hell out of the environment, and which allows you to take out enemies by blowing up doors and suchlike, while you can also jump in vehicles to add to the fun. In most ways, Red Faction 2 is a standard shooter and it's only the environmental destruction which really sets it apart from other similar games. And fair enough, for a while at least, this is a fun game. However, you soon realize that things like level design are pretty bland and uninteresting and which make this less interesting than it should be. The addition of team mates also adds a little to the gameplay, while the visuals and controls are solid enough but overall, this just doesn't have enough to make it truly shine.
