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PS2 | Action | Red Faction II

Boxart for Red Faction II
Red Faction II 45 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.5
  • SOUND: 3.5
  • CONTROL: 5.0
  • FUN FACTOR 4.5
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.1
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.4
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: Red Faction II

Review by AIRHENDRIX | 10/15/2002 | 15:17:23 PM PST

The original Red Faction helped kick the PS2 into high gear almost 18 months ago with absorbing, smoothly playable first-person combat in a compelling sci-fi setting, and the same holds true for this sequel.

Set five years after the first game, Red Faction II follows a disgruntled squad of spec-ops troops as they rebel against a scumbag dictator. You play as the squad?s demolitions expert, and your NPC mates show up at key moments to fight alongside you, snipe sudden menaces, fly choppers, and so on.

The gameplay falls squarely into the all-action, all-the-time camp. There?s no sneaking or subtlety here, you just whip out your biggest gun and annihilate everything in your path. Calmer interludes come in the form minor puzzles like escaping from maze-like sewers, but this game is mostly an exciting, adrenaline-soaked fragfest on foot and in a selection of vehicles ranging from tanks to mechs. On the multiplayer side, RFII comes out swinging despite its lack of online play as up to four players can deathmatch in split-screen action on 40 maps.

Tight tweaks make sure that RFII feels a lot like the original game (in a good way) while still providing shiny new toys. The use of the GeoMod engine has been greatly improved, adding cool moments like enemies who explode through a ceiling to ambush you. The A.I. fights a lot more smartly, and new gizmos like nightvision are a blast.

Sadly, the original?s PC-like save-anywhere function has been replaced by saving between levels only. The good part is that you now sit through load times only between levels, and you can replay old levels whenever you like. The game?s only major downside is that the graphics and sounds don?t excel, and their merely average showing prevents the game from being truly compelling.

RFII isn?t a landmark game or an astoundingly innovative one, but it sure is a lot of fun to play. If action-heavy combat plasters a silly grin across your face, you should definitely sign on for this revolution.