So now that I've completed all 3 of the big summer open world games, I have to say that Red Faction is the best of them. It sort of has everything I liked about inFamous and Prototype but Red Faction has much better execution overall.
When you do a side mission in inFamous the baddies wouldn't spawn in that area any more, but you did sort of do the same missions over and over again. I liked the idea that Prototype wanted you to do skill based side missions, but you didn't really gain anything from them aside from EP which could be better farmed elsewhere in the game. In Red Faction everything you do has an effect on the environment and how you are perceived. There are no elements of the game that seem out of place. It understands what it is, knows where the fun is, and gives you complete access to it. At the start of the game they give you a sledge hammer and swinging that damn thing never stopped being fun whether I was rushing down EDF troupes or a tank, or trying to destroy a 5-story building with it because I ran out of remote charges.
Of the three main characters Cole, Alex, and Mason, Mason was the most likable. He was just a guy who went to Mars to be a minor and got thrown into the revolution after his brother was killed. He feels very grounded in the games reality and his actions fit with what that person would do under those circumstances. inFamous had moral choices built in so you never really do get to know the real Cole, but the glimpses you get from him show that he is conflicted about what he should be doing even when the game isn't asking you to choose good or evil actions. Alex isn't really a character and Prototype doesn't let you get to know the person your controlling. It doesn't even allow you to control the amounts of collateral damage you're inflicting when on mission.
There were several moments in all three games where you do something that makes you feel really awesome and powerful. For me in inFamous it was when I climbed to the top of the tower build by the Dustmen. Figuring out how to get up there was great. Also jumping off the roof of a building and hovering over to the middle of the street before dropping 20+ stories to the bottom setting off a huge electrical charge that blew up any vehicles and enemies in the blast area was very satasfying. In Prototype, I loved duking it out with the military and infected in the middle of Times Square. In Red Faction, looking at a giant structure or infiltrating a military base and figuring out how I wanted to destroy it to rubble, and then doing it exactly as I planned was the most awesome thing I've ever done in an open world game. Chasing down a tank that's running away from you and your sledge hammer while yelling "that's right you better run" at the screen was a close second.
Combat wise, I loved fighting the enemies of inFamous with both sets of Cole's powers. There's something to be said for being able to shoot lightning bolts from you hands, throw lightning grenades, and summon a giant lightning bolt from the sky and control its path toward a giant group of enemies. Having three different sets of enemies occupy each area of the city was cool and you had to engage them differently. They were also intelligent enough to do things like hide behind cover and flank you when you were trying to hide. You have some great skirmishes, and enemies didn't continuously spawn for hours on end like the do in Prototype. There's something to be said for beating the enemy so bad that they have to leave and regroup, or are forced out of an area. Prototype doesn't embrace this concept and enemies continuously come until you flee the area and hide from them. You fight the same character models all the time and they never change up what they do to make you think about how to engage. You will actually see the same character animations over and over throughout the whole game and the combat is pretty much a never ending slaughterhouse for Alex until you get tired. Once they engage you, you had better be prepared to fight all out too as there is no escalation. There is only enemies not knowing where you are or every enemy in the game is coming after you. Red Faction handles enemies similar to both games. The do spawn out of nowhere sometimes, but if you beat them all down, it'll be a while before they show up again, if they show up at all. There is a learning curve to the combat though where you have to break from what you normally would do in other games and charge in head on for some up close and personal melee kills or set traps for your enemies with remote charges or some of the other toys they give you to play with in the game. The enemies are intelligent and will do try to outsmart you. There is an escalation to how they engage you, and they do become stronger and get stronger weapons throughout the game to use against you. No two battles are the same in this game.
There was a lot of fun to be had in all three games, but Red Faction Gureilla never seemed to get old. Prototype and inFamous let you have super powers which every kid wants, but Red Faction's here's a hammer now go wreck stuff approach is akin to what happens when you buy a kid a shiny new toy and the kid has more fun with the box it came in. Who needs fancy powers when you have a sledge hammer?
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