You've never seen explosions like this before.

At it's heart Red Faction:Guerrilla is a GTA clone, you can run around a sandbox world and jack martian cars. Where the single player differs is in the incredible destructible environment. Every man made object in the game can be broken down into bits, and fall apart in a glorious display of physics.

The game captures some of the spirit of GTA by allowing you to roam around, picking targets to destroy, missions to complete or just harassing those darn EDF troops. While destroying everything in sight is supremely thrilling and entertains me to no end, the single player story can become repetitive. There are probably only 5 or 6 different mission types, and it can get frustrating when the EDF roll in with overpowering force and kill you over and over. This game really emphasizes the hit and run tactics that real guerrillas use, no standing in one place and fighting off waves of enemy troopers...you will die.

When you get tired of blowing up AI opponents you can get online and find some intense online matchups. The 2 most notable things that make the Red Faction matches stand out is the destructible environment (again) and the use of a backpack system. There are about 10 different backpacks all with different abilities. Some like the Jetpack and Stealth are pretty straightforward while others like Rhino (which will propel you forward through any wall obstacle), or Thrust (which is basically a jetpack which shoots you straight up to smash through the roof of buildings).

The combination of different weapons and backpacks lends to some intense frenetic action that will get your pulse pounding. The variety of deaths and seeing the map collapsing from the intense combat is addicting. Is someone sniping you from that tower? Just throw some charges and level the tower...no more sniper tower. Worried about getting surrounded? Just set up some charges around the base of the building and lure someone in only to level the building.

I highly recommend this game, it exceeded all my expectations and introduces the most beautifully rendered collapsing buildings you've ever seen.