It may take a back seat from it's pervious FPS outings, but that makes Red Faction Guerrilla in a league of it's own.
Red Faction Guerrilla has no doubt been one of the great games I have played. The transition from FPS to open world third person action shooting was in my opinion a good decision by Volition.
Story - Alex Mason goes to the red planet Mars to start making a living. On arrival, he meets up with his brother Dan and instantly he warns him of the worst to come. The Earth Defense Force (EDF) - the new corporation to rise from the ashes of Ultor Corporation from the first Red Faction is now in control of the workings of the planet. Like Ultor, the EDF is once again a brutal regime that punishes and work the people on Mars like slaves. Once again, the resentment of the people causes the uprising and re-birth of Red Faction. Mason didn't want any involvement, but the death of his brother by the EDF early in the story forces him into warfare with the EDF. Mason, and a whole lot of guerrilla now task themselves in bringing down the EDF and liberate Mars.
The story does sound a tad cliche, and the game actually doesn't seem to work the story much at all. You will see the few cutscene as you do the main mission, but the cutscenes themselves don't tell much. It's just 'you are here - go here and blow stuff up' - end of story.
Graphics - very well done, although you will see the color red a lot in the game. The textures and character designs are very well done. The games main party piece however is it's incredible physics engine. Everything man made can be destroyed and how break into something determines what happens to it. Break the foundations of a building, and the weight on top will cause the entire building to fall apart. Explosions is also another thing to love, the game is full of them, and every single one is done to perfection.
Sound - a standard soundtrack of vehicles, gunfire, and music to set the mood (such as running away while being chased by the EDF) but the explosions are a bar above with it deep resonating booms.
Gameplay - as said, it's a third person action. If you have played other of Volition's games such as Saints Row, you will feel comfortable immediately. The control scheme is perfect and feels right allows quick multi-tasking between actions. The game is broken into areas in which you must liberate each one. This is done by doing little tasks such as guerrilla raid on EDF buildings, rescuing people, destroying buildings and so on. This in turn increases the faction's influence in the area and at the same time brings down the morale of the EDF. Once the morale of the EDF is brought to zero, the main offensive (i.e. the main missions) can be done to liberate the area. This structure of the missions can be repetitive to some, however the little side missions are fun (apart for one of two of them)
Multiplayer - great, great multiplayer. It packs in the standard fare of modes such as team deathmatch and capture the flag, but it takes a different take on each one. The inclusion of backpacks that have different functions such the Rhino pack allows players to become battling rams to break through walls, jetpack to fly to higher places, healing packs and more. This means that tactics and strategies can come into play to allow teams to find the best way to attack the enemy.
Overall, Red Faction Guerrilla has been an awesome game to play. If you like Volition's past games such as Red Faction and Saints Row, then you will love this one. Even if you are a newcomer, this game will require no knowledge of the previous games (although the game does throw in one or two references to the first RF game, you won't feel lost). If you have an itching to blow stuff up and cause mayhem, then this is the game for you.