I’ve been interested in buying Red Faction but I just can’t seem to decide if it is worth it or not (and that’s after playing the demo).
While I like the fully destructible environment I can’t decide if this is just a gimmick and to just stay with Quake III and Unreal Tournament and Tribes 2.
I guess the thing that is really stopping me so far is the $60 price tag. For years new, top line PC games have cost $50 or less. I really don’t want to encourage my store and/or the publisher to think they can get away with the price hike (especially in these uncertain times) unless the game is truly something special and not just hype.
well,i’ve played the demo too, and i think i am getting it. the destructability is just a gimmick, but they use it well (as in, that one bridge you can shoot out. take it down, and the last room is mostly empty. though, there is a scripting bug; destroy the tank and the troops, but dont smash the bridge and they appear later anyway.)
the story for the first little bit, and what i know of it, looks ok, and (hopefully) ther’ll be a dearth of jumping puzzles.
really, i think i am going to get it anyway.
but, then again, i have the money to spend without straining my finances, and there’s nothing better looking like it’s coming soon, and i’ve already done all the bargain bin games that interest me.
I’ve played both the SP demos, and it seems OK, but the voice acting is just terrible, and it seems to be a tad “plot-light”… But then, I’m one of those people who like to have intrigue and everything while the buildings/planets/universes are blowing up in a pyrotechnic orgasm…
For pure unadulterated testosterone, I bet it will be great fine. Drivable vehicles, controllable weapons turrets, destroyable terrain should all prove to be exciting and the MP will be great if the terrain destroying cap is removed…
60 bucks seems a lot, if that’s US… Here in Aus, where our dollar is worth about 50 US cents, new games are generally $80 - $90…
The part of the demo that amused me the most was the “glass house” thingie to showcase just how destructible the terrain was. The glass panes sure shattered nice and purdy, but the really fun part was utterly destroying the entire floor area–and noting how the now-glassless house floated immovably in midair. I liked that; in one very small room, they demonstrated both the power and limitations of their engine.
One thing reviews keep mentioning, however, is that the single-player game is quite short, on the order of 8-10 hours at most. That’s the deciding factor for me; I’ll wait till it hits bargain bins.
Can you order from Compuexpert (www.compuexpert.com) or EBGames (www.ebgames.com) or if you’re in Canada, Microplay (www.microplay.com)? I never buy games in the stores because these sites are almost always cheaper.
And I’m enjoying Red Faction, but I’ve just started it.
I bought it on the strengths of the demo… and now I can’t play it. For whatever reason, my frame rate sucks, and it will occasionally lock up. There’s no patch, yet- and Volition is being remarkably quiet on whether there’s going to even BE a patch. There’re a lot of unhappy players on the message board- and I’ve uninstalled my copy until they release a patch that makes it playable.
In single player, the destructible environment is really just a gimmick- you never really know what you can destroy, and what you can’t. A quick guideline is that if it’s made out of rock or concrete, you can destroy it- but if it’s made of metal, you can’t. But even that’s not “set in stone”- sometimes there’s rock that you CAN’T destroy.
In multiplayer, the maps are small- very small. THERE ARE NO VEHICLES IN MP. There’s no weapon balance- it’s always a rush to get the heavy machine gun, 'cause it’s just the best gun. One-shot-kills are common.
Basically, I can’t suggest it. Maybe once Volition releases a patch or two- but even then, the game’s only 8 or 10 hours long, any way. There will likely be a lot of user-made maps, though.
$60 and only 10 hours long! Bah…I’ll wait till it’s in the bargain bin as well.
I played Max Payne and liked it but still felt ripped off at its 10 hour timespan. Going to a movie is cheaper than that on a per hour basis. I also like a more open plot so Max Payne’s exceedingly linear format was also a turn off. Still, I have to admit I had a few John Woo/Matrix moments in bullet time that were almost worth the price of admission.
Give me Deus Ex or System Shock (1 or 2) anyday. The graphics don’t hold a candle to some other games but for depth and time spent in game they win hands down.
Thanks for all the input. Any other opinions are still welcome. While off the OP does anyone have any opinions on Giants: Citizen Kabuto? I know its a bit on the old side (a few months old but that’s a long time) but I played the demo and thought it was hilarious and fairly good looking. It’s gotten decent reviews but it seems to be one of those games that didn’t succeed anyway and that makes me wonder why.
BTW I downloaded and played Return to Castle Wolfenstein MP-demo last night and gave it a quick spin. It looks very nice but from the admittedly little time I played it I can’t say I was very impressed. Some snipers kept picking me off willy-nilly making the delayed respawn annoying (although I think it is a decent feature for multiplayer…just sicks when you spend more than half your game time staring at your dead body). Anyone else give this a whirl yet?
I was pretty impressed with the demos for “Giants,” (far moreso than Red Faction’s) but passed on it because of one thing: no in-game save. Which is a way to lengthen playing time, granted, just not a very good way.