Red Faction
| Red Faction | |
|---|---|
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| developer |
 Volition
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| Publisher |
THQ (until 2013) Syfy Games (2011) / THQ Nordic  
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| Platform (s) | Windows , Xbox , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , macOS , GameCube , N-Gage |
| Genre (s) | First person shooter , third person shooter |
Red Faction (English for "red splinter group") is a computer game series that was developed by the American studio Volition and published by THQ between 2001 and 2011. The first title was the first person shooter Red Faction 2001, the successor Red Faction 2 came on the market a year later. June 2009 appeared as the third part of the third-person shooter Red Faction: Guerilla . In 2011, the last part of the series was released with the title Red Faction: Armageddon . After THQ was dissolved, the Swedish publisher Nordic Games acquired the rights to the brand.
Red Faction was the first 3D game in which you could change your surroundings with the help of your weapons. For example, it is possible to either open a door with a key or to blow away the wall next to it.
Red Faction
| Red Faction | |||
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| Studio |
Volition Monkeystone Games (N-Gage)
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| Publisher |
THQ
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
PlayStation 2: May 22, 2001 June 22, 2001 Microsoft Windows: September 17, 2001 September 28, 2001 N-Gage: December 10, 2003 December 12, 2003  |
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| platform | Windows , Mac OS , PlayStation 2 , N-Gage , mobile phone | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse , gamepad | ||
| medium | CD-ROM | ||
| language | English , German | ||
| Current version | 1.2 | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | Indicated in Germany until October 2016. | ||
action
The action takes place in the not too distant future. The company Ultor Corporation owns all mineral rights to the Mars , which is now being exploited by the lack of raw materials on Earth. Ultor attracts young people to the planet as miners with the prospect of quick earning opportunities. But the conditions on site are inhumane: The workers have to live in narrow quarters and violence and humiliation by the guards are on the agenda at work. There is also a mysterious plague that kills one miner after the other. One day when the young Parker witnesses a worker being arbitrarily killed by a guard after an argument, he joins the resistance group "Red Faction" and becomes one of the main rebels against Ultor. The game ends with the armed forces of the earth taking the facility and the workers being able to return to earth.
Characters
- Parker
- The main character in the game is the miner Parker, who is taken over and controlled by the player. Parker came to Mars because he didn't want to go to Harvard - as his parents wanted - but wanted to experience adventure. He applied to work as a miner at Ultor Corporation, but after arriving on Mars quickly discovered that conditions were different than expected. One day when he witnesses a miner being shot by a security guard, he defends himself with a captured weapon, which sets off the long-planned revolution of the Red Faction.
- Hendrix
- Hendrix is Ultor's chief security officer. His parents died from the mysterious plague rampant on Mars, and he blames Ultor for their death, even though his parents were always on Ultor's side and refused to criticize. He became one of the Red Faction's most important allies. It provides the rebels with internal information and enables access to protected areas. This is also made possible by his good hacking skills.
- In the game you only meet Hendrix twice in person, but most of the time he supports the player with helpful instructions over the radio. He eventually dies in an action in one of Ultor's shuttle hangars by mercenary troops .
- Eos
- Eos is the leader and founder of the Red Faction. As a child she also lost her mother to the epidemic and suffered from the inhumane conditions in the mines.
- Orion
- Close confidante and representative of Eos.
- Dr. Axel Capek
- Head of Ultor's Scientific Laboratories. Experiment with the novel nanotechnology , which he tests on both animals and humans, which affects their DNA . As it turns out later, his experiments are also responsible for the epidemic. Capek has improved his body in many places with implants , so that one can call him a cyborg . He has also succeeded in developing energy shields.
- However, Capek is eventually killed by Parker in his laboratories.
- Davis
- Ultor Mines Administrator , killed by Parker while attempting to kidnap Ultor's Assistant Administrator .
- Richard Gryphon
- Deputy Administrator. As one of the few leaders of Ultor with integrity, he later cooperates with the Red Faction and provides them with information about the epidemic created by Capek.
- Masako
- Leader of the mercenary troops requested by Capek. She too dies at the end of the game fighting Parker.
technology
For the first time, the new GeoMod technology was used here, with which it is possible to destroy large parts of the environment. During the development period, Volition advertised the new possibilities of this technology. It should be open to the player, for example, to look for a key for a locked door or to blast his own way with rockets. However, since the levels are built quite linearly and thus ultimately a certain path is given, the GeoMod technology does not have a particularly strong effect on the gameplay . In multiplayer mode , however, GeoMod is more often used tactically. Unlike other engines, GeoMod does not show the effects of an explosion through soot and debris graphics, but creates pre-modeled hollow structures. The engine first displays the undamaged geometry and, after the explosion, cuts the corresponding prefabricated mesh from it.
Another special feature of the game was the integration of various vehicles that the player could use in the course of the game if necessary, including off-road vehicles, submarines and space gliders.
release
In Germany, the game was not approved for young people by the USK despite cuts in terms of content according to §14 JuSchG. The game was indexed on March 21, 2003, banning the public display, promotion and sale of the game to people under the age of 18. The indexing was lifted in October 2016 at the request of THQ Nordic, which removes these advertising restrictions.
The English-language version was approved for ages 15 and up.
Red Faction II
| Red Faction II | |||
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| Studio |
Volition Cranky Pants Games (GameCube) Outrage Games (Xbox, PC)
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| Publisher |
THQ
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
PlayStation 2: October 16, 2002 November 15, 2002 GameCube, Xbox: April 1, 2003 June 6, 2003 Microsoft Windows: April 7, 2003 June 27, 2003 |
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| platform | Windows , PlayStation 2 , GameCube , PlayStation 3 , Xbox | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse , gamepad | ||
| medium | DVD-ROM | ||
| language | English , German | ||
| Current version | 1.2 | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | Unabridged version indexed in Germany until February 2017. | ||
action
After the Ultor Corporation collapsed in the first part, many of the former slaves fled back to earth. But conditions there are by no means better: the dictator Victor Sopot brutally suppresses the Commonwealth Republic. With the help of a nanotechnology stolen from Mars , he created an army of super soldiers, which he later had eliminated by his elite soldiers for fear that they might rebel against him. Only six survived and joined a resistance movement, the well-known Red Faction, which has set itself the goal of overthrowing Sopot.
The background story of the sequel has only a few connections with the original. The name of the resistance group is the same and on the official English language site you can find a few small connections.
There are also different endings depending on the karma you get during the game.
Characters
Since the second part of the Red Faction series has only limited connection with the predecessor, none of the people from the first part appear.
- Alias
- Explosives expert. The protagonist of the game who was involved in the theft of nanotechnology from the Ultor laboratories, but later turned against Sopot and joined the Red Faction.
- Sopot
- Victor Sopot is the Commonwealth Chancellor who practically takes on the role of a dictator. Sopot himself had super soldiers manufactured with the nanotechnology stolen from Mars, but he was then afraid and tried to destroy them with his elite units. He died in a missile silo fighting with Alias.
- Molov
- Molov is the leader of the nano-engineered super soldiers who turned against Sopot after he ordered their extermination. After Sopot's death, however, Molov turns out to be a traitor who usurps power. He is eventually killed by Alias in a statue that represents Sopot (and which has a no coincidental resemblance to the American Statue of Liberty).
- Shrike
- Shrike is the vehicle expert on the team. He's only interested in speed and that's why he's a little crazy. Except in the videos and the team-internal radio calls, he never appears in the game, but he controls the battleship and the tank while Alias operates the guns.
- Tangier
- Tangier was an orphan who was brought to the Commonwealth after the Mars rebellion. Because of her good technical skills, she came to Sopot Intelligence Services . However, after Sopot wanted to destroy his nano-soldiers, they sided with the Red Faction.
- Quill
- Sniper. However, after the fall of Sopot, he sided with Molov, who was building a new dictatorship. She is killed by Alias in a cathedral .
- Repta
- An expert in heavy weapons and the only case where the nano cell reduced IQ. Killed by Alias in the nano lab.
- echo
- A member of the Red Faction who was shot while talking to Alias von Quill after Sopot's death and Molov's subsequent seizure of power.
technology
While it was possible to destroy the majority of the virtual environment in the first part, the possibilities here are much more limited, the GeoMod technology can only be used in a few designated places. The tactical advantages that arose in the first part are hardly available here.
release
The game was cut by the manufacturer for the German market and is approved by the USK from 18 years of age according to §14 JuSchG.
Red Faction (N-Gage)
In December 2003, THQ Wireless released an implementation of the first Red Faction game for Nokia's portable game console NGage . The game developed by Monkeystone Games under the direction of John Romero was the first first person shooter for this platform. The 12-level plot largely adhered to the structure of the original game, but the developers completely dispensed with the destructible environment. Two players could compete against each other in a deathmatch mode via a Bluetooth connection .
The ratings of the game were very divided. GameSpot complained about the controls, animations and the low refresh rate. GameSpy.com and IGN , on the other hand, praised the game as a successful implementation. The website Metacritic calculated an average rating of 55%.
Red Faction: Guerrilla
| Red Faction: Guerrilla | |||
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| Studio |
Volition Kaiko Games (Re-Mars-tered)
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| Publisher |
THQ THQ Nordic (since 2013)
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3: June 2, 2009 June 5, 2009 Microsoft Windows: September 15, 2009 September 18, 2009 Xbox One, PlayStation 4: July 3, 2018 |
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| platform | Microsoft Windows , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , Xbox One ( X ), PlayStation 4 ( Pro ) | ||
| genre | Third person shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse , gamepad | ||
| medium | Blu-Ray , DVD-ROM , download | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | Unabridged version indexed in Germany until March 2017. | ||
The third part of the game series was developed by Volition for the game consoles Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 and for Windows . For the consoles, the title was released on June 5, 2009, the PC version was released on September 18, 2009. Unlike the two previous titles, the character in Red Faction: Guerilla is shown in a pursuer's perspective, so it is a third -Person shooter . The series-typical destruction of the game world again plays a major role. The surroundings can be explored freely ( open world ).
In December 2014 Nordic Games released Red Faction: Guerilla on the Internet distribution platform Steam for Windows. The "Steam Edition" supports DirectX 11 , renews the multiplayer mode and removes the online copy protection Games for Windows Live , as the service was discontinued by Microsoft a few months earlier. The new release is fully adapted to the Steamworks system and contains digital rewards such as achievements or trading cards .
In July 2018 THQ Nordic brought a technically improved new edition of Red Faction: Guerilla called Re-Mars-tered Edition for Xbox One , PlayStation 4 and Windows on the market, which is available at 60 frames per second and on the consoles Xbox One X in 1800p and runs on PlayStation 4 Pro in 1500p . The "Re-Mars-tered Edition" was developed by Kaiko Games and was released uncut in Germany with the age rating from 18 years.
action
Fifty years after the Red Faction rebellion, Mars is under the military administration of the EDF (Earth Defense Force). Originally called for help by the workers on Mars to join forces with the rebel group Red Faction to fight the suppression of the Ultor Corporation, the EDF is now suppressing the people on the red planet. The protagonist Alec Mason wants to start a new life on Mars as a miner. But when his brother is killed by the EDF, Mason joins the Red Faction and the guerrilla movement is brought back to life. This time the enemy is the EDF and it is up to you to fight for your freedom.
technology
Similar to the second part of the series, in Red Faction: Guerrilla only a limited use of the GeoMod technology is possible. Extensive changes to the landscape are almost impossible; only buildings and objects can be destroyed. In contrast to Red Faction II , however, you can tactically use the destruction of cover or entire buildings, for example to bury incoming enemy groups under a building, or to cut them off by destroying a bridge.
Red Faction: Armageddon
Red Faction: Armageddon was again developed by Volition and published in June 2011 by THQ in collaboration with the television station Syfy . Similar to its predecessor Red Faction: Guerrilla , the game is held in the third-person perspective , but the open world has been reduced to linear game sections. The action takes place in the year 2170 on Mars, where the protagonist has to protect the colonists from the earth from hostile Martian creatures.
Due to the low sales figures and moderate response to the fourth part, THQ decided to discontinue the series in 2011.
Red Faction: Origins
Red Faction: Origins is a 2011 TV movie set between the games Red Faction: Guerrilla and Red Faction: Armageddon . 25 years after the events of Red Faction: Guerrilla , Alec Mason's son Jake discovers a secret EDF base on Mars and tries to free his sister Lyra, believed to be dead, and prevent a war. The leading roles in the science fiction film are played by Brian J. Smith , Robert Patrick and Tamzin Merchant . The first broadcast of Red Faction: Origins took place on June 4, 2011 on the Syfy channel , shortly after the release of the fourth game.
background
- The development company Volition emerged from the company Parallax Software, which became known with the development of the spaceship shooter Descent (1995). Before starting work on Red Faction , Volition reported on preparations for a fourth installment in the Descent series with a main character named Parker. In the lore of Descent a powerful mining company (which also plays post-Terran Mining Corporation ) play an important role. Apparently some elements of this never finished game have flowed into Red Faction.
- The name of the "Ultor Corporation" goes back to the nickname of the ancient Roman god of war Mars Ultor .
- The logo of the game, which is also the symbol of the resistance group Red Faction, shows a raised fist , the one miners pimples embraces. The logo of the second part shows a similarly designed fist with broken chains. In part three the fist has a hammer in its hand.
- The dictator Sopot from the second part is outwardly similar to the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin . A red star is also often used as a symbol of Sopot.
- After THQ's bankruptcy and subsequent break-up, the rights to the series went to the Swedish publisher Nordic Games after an auction on April 15, 2013, along with 150 other titles for a total of 4.9 million US dollars . The previous developer of the series, Volition, was acquired by the German publisher Koch Media . THQ Nordic , formerly Nordic Games, today Embracer Group , took over Koch Media again in 2018.
- After the indexing of Red Faction , Red Faction II and Red Faction: Guerilla was lifted, THQ Nordic published a complete edition for PC called "Ze German Ädischn" in Germany on June 30, 2017, which contains all four parts in full.
Web links
- Red Faction series at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b THQ-Games.com: Red Faction: Guerrilla - PC ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Red Faction has been deleted from the index schnittberichte.com, accessed on November 30, 2016
- ↑ How Red Faction's Geomods Work , article by John Slagel, developer at Volition ( Memento January 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Red Faction II no longer indexed schnittberichte.com, accessed on February 28, 2017
- ^ Metacritic.com: Red Faction .
- ↑ Red Faction: Guerrilla no longer indexed schnittberichte.com, accessed on March 30, 2017
- ↑ Red Faction Guerrilla Steam Edition goes live on eurogamer.net (accessed on July 15, 2018)
- ↑ Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered Runs at 1800p @ 60fps on Xbox One X and 1500p @ 60fps on PS4 Pro on n4g.com (accessed July 15, 2018)
- ↑ http://www.pcgames.de/THQ-Firma-15801/News/THQ-Das-Aus-fuer-Red-Faction-Publisher-stampft-die-Serie-ein-836097/
- ↑ Interview with Volition about Descent 4, 1998 ( Memento of the original from February 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved on April 24, 2013.
- ↑ Christoph Holowaty: Well, THQ will be smashed. (No longer available online.) GamesIndustry.biz, January 24, 2013, archived from the original on May 5, 2013 ; Retrieved April 26, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Red Faction »Ze German Ädischn« (sic!) - All uncut classics in stores on gamestar.de (accessed on July 15, 2018)
