Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered

A great get for those who may have missed it the first time around, or anyone who might want to revisit (and re-destroy) the red planet. It may not add any new content to address the empty open world and bland story, but it does perform well, and everything I loved about Red Faction: Guerrilla is still front and center and looking better than ever.

Red Faction: Guerrilla is one of the most beloved games of the extinct THQ action series. This edition Re-Mars-Tered allows us to enjoy a game that makes explosions and the destruction of structures its strongest point. We will find a solid remaster, which gives us a good handful of hours thanks to its open world full of things to do and all the additional content released to date.

In 2009, Red Faction Guerrilla proved that just one mechanic can elevate a game to be something much more than it actually is. And surprisingly, in 2018, Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered proves that that still stands.

Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-Tered is one of those remasterizations needed to rescue a classic. When you're at the controls of the game you notice that it looks better, feels better and plays better.

For a game that’s almost ten years old, the ideas and gameplay in Red Faction: Guerilla has barely aged, and there’s still nothing like it on the market. It’s unfortunate that the engine and performance can’t do this fantastic game justice, but it remains an essential play for anyone who missed it the first time.

It’s hard to truly overlook the game’s performance issues, or indeed, issues that arrive as a product of the original’s problems, however, it’s still a well rounded experience nevertheless. The story is decent, the pace is well struck and the environmental destruction remains second to none. Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered is a patch away from greatness, but in its current state, it fails to meet that end.

A delightful, violent sandbox occasionally hobbled by so-so missions. [Sept 2018, p.84]

Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered brings back the best destruction in gaming. It also opens the door for another game in the series. Let’s hope Volition remembers what made this game so great and doesn’t go the way of its actual sequel Armageddon. That featured more linear progression and not nearly as much destruction. This was a great step into the past and thankfully the things that made it great still hold up today.

Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered won't be winning any awards for Remaster of the Year, but blowing stuff up is still so much fun that it works. The explosive gameplay brings enjoyment to side, story and DLC missions. Re-Mars-tered is a nice way for new or returning players to experience everything Guerrilla offered a decade ago — well, almost.

Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-Tered is a steady remastered version, which never really shines. Any player who had never given it a try should consider it now, keeping in mind that it’s a 9-year-old game.

While not necessarily a great example of how a remaster should be done, Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered still serves as a reminder of how enjoyable it is to bash buildings to rubble with a big sledgehammer. We recommend you get your ass back to Mars sharpish.

Red Faction Guerrilla: Re-Mars-tered Edition doesn't do anything to fix the problems in the original game, but its physically simulated destruction still feels fresh and funny, resulting in a decent open world experience.

Red Faction: Guerilla Re-MARS-tered is a fun distraction if you want to turn off your brain, but don’t let the title fool you, this is as shallow as a remaster comes, as it’s simply a new thin coat of paint on top of the same experience we had almost a decade ago. There’s no need to play again if you’ve already have, but it’s an entertaining experience to destroy everything in sight if you haven’t.

While this remaster succeeds in bringing the positive aspects of Guerilla's gameplay to a modern-looking experience, it also brought the negative ones as well. When you factor in the unacceptable performance flaws, it's disappointing. The game is decent... but it could have been so much better.