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   atomicpoet (atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org)'s status on Tuesday, 19-Mar-2024 05:39:15 JST atomicpoet

   Released in 2001, Red Faction is a first person shooter (FPS) that’s inspired by Total Recall. It is the first game in the Red Faction series.

   In this game, you play a fellow moving to Mars in search of a better life. Soon, you find yourself in appalling working conditions, working yourself to the bone in a mine. Exploited and abused by the company that “employs” you, soon you find yourself in the middle of a miner’s rebellion against the Ultor Corporation.

   For years, I’ve owned this game on PlayStation 2. I’ve always enjoyed it but had the nagging suspicion that it could be better. Yesterday, I finally took the plunge and bought it on Steam. Nagging suspicion confirmed: Red Faction is much, much better as a PC game.

   No longer constrained by a Dual Shock controller, I’ve discovered that Red Faction is a joy to play with keyboard and mouse, or even with a touchpad on my Steam Deck. And this is a game that demands accuracy because the AI of the enemies is actually quite impressive. You can’t just stand and shoot. This game is all about accuracy while strafing.

   I’m happy about the improved controls because those guards are real bastards. I hate them. They are the biggest cowards I’ve ever encountered in an FPS, continually running away from my fire, pleading with me not to shoot, and then shooting me when I take pity on them. It therefore fills me joy to shoot them, burn them, or explode them in every which manner.

   That’s one other good thing Red Faction has. It’s got a wonderful assortment of fun weaponry. I got pistols, shotguns, flamethrowers, and rocket launcher. But I also got bombs with remote detonators that often uncover secrets areas on the map. And I love detonating these bombs!

   The other big improvement over the PS2 version of Red Faction is in the graphical department. This should shock nobody because, out of the gate, the PC version of Red Faction had higher resolution and a better framerate even back in 2001. Nevertheless, on a modern flat panel display, experiencing this was a treat.

   Sadly, the sound design is not as good as the graphics. The voiceover work was okay for the time, and I like the ambient effects all right. But it’s quite jarring when you hear music, you’re grooving to it, and then a loading screen pop ups and the music completely disappears.

   My biggest gripe with this game is saving. Simply put, there is no auto-save. You must save manually, and do it often. This often takes you out of the flow of the game since, in the thick of action, you have to remind yourself, “I better save or else I’ll lose my progress should I die.” In fairness to Red Faction, autosave was rare in 2001, so I’m not too upset with this.

   Red Faction runs on most modern PCs. You need a Pentium II 400Mhz CPU, 64MB of RAM, and 8MB of VRAM. While it was released natively on Windows and Mac, Linux can run it great via Proton. It’s quite playable on my Steam Deck.

   In addition to PC, Red Faction was released for PS2, PS3, and PS4.

   There are no micro-transactions nor DLC for this game.

   Volition developed Red Faction, and this was their first major hit. Afterwards, they made the Saint’s Row series, Homefront, and Agents of Mayhem. Sadly, the studio became a victim of Embracer Group and was forced to close its doors last year.

   Red Faction on Steam has an 86% positive rating based on 2,059 reviews. Meanwhile, GOG.com gives this a 3.5/5 rating for verified owners. Most people agree that this is a classic FPS that’s fun to play even now. A few detractors feel that this is a buggy game that doesn’t play nice on higher resolution monitors.

   On my Steam Deck, I don’t mind the 1024x768 resolution since I’m using a 780p 8” screen anyway. But if you want a better experience for modern displays, it’s probably better for you to install the Dash Faction mod, which will allow higher resolutions and fixes a few glitches.

   The regular price on both Steam and GOG.com is C$13.99, although the GOG.com version is DRM-free. However, as part of Steam spring sale, Red Faction is currently -80% off, and is being sold for C$2.79.

   When Red Faction first game out, it was a big hit. And while it often gets lost in the shuffle when we talk about great FPS games, I think it deserves to be played. Red Faction has a whole lot of attitude and action.

   I definitely recommend Red Faction. When I first installed this game on my Steam Deck, I expected to fiddle with it for five minutes before trying something else. But soon Red Faction brought me deep into its world. Red Faction is pure fun, and I enjoy it immensely.