The hallmark of a good franchise exists within its ability to transcend genres. Not many games do this because it's either deemed too risky, or the concept doesn't necessarily lend itself to any sort of gameplay metamorphoses. But those that do make the leap, usually end up faring for the better.

A few names spring to mind - Super Mario (Mario 64 is the obvious example here), Metroid (the Prime series is a pinnacle of transcendence) and Resident Evil (Resi 4 changed the face of the series forever) have all made successful transitions to new gameplay stomping grounds, and now amidst that, and one of the originals in the first place, Red Faction, is once again set to redefine itself with a more focused gameplay direction, a different set of player tools, an entirley new setting with new enemies and all infectiously tied together with that single destructive bind that has set this series apart from so many others since inception - GeoMod.



So events begin some two generations after the last game, Red Faction: Guerrilla. You play Darius Mason, a direct descendent of the Masons who continually foil the best-laid plans of those that would rule Mars with a Ronny Cox-shaped fist, but like everyone else on the red planet, Darius has been forced underground as the Martian surface has become hostile and uninhabitable. However, underground the humans find a threat much more dangerous than any faction conflicts - an ancient, unyielding threat the likes of which the human race has never faced before.

Did you guess aliens? Because if you did, you get a Ridley Scott-shaped star. So Red Faction: Armageddon shifts gears and opens up into realms of myriad creepiness with alien art-direction and enemy-design, as well as shooter bottle-necks infested with... you guessed it, aliens. Thankfully, this isn't just Guerrilla with aliens. The game's pacing has shifted to reflect the new enclosed environments, while weapons and destruction have also been reformed to work with the game's new xeno focus. What's interesting is that alien culture and technology will actually wind up integrated into your own technology; shifting the static upgrade system of the game to one of a more organic and progressive nature.

We haven't seen every example of the sort of new weapons and items you'll be using, but we do know that two of them are absolute game-changing in the Red Faction franchise. The Magnet Gun and the Nano-Forge were stand-out items showcased to us behind-closed-doors, with the former offering players something of the magnitude of Godzilla in a weapon. Basically you point the magnet gun at something man-made, fire and then relocate your cross-hairs to any desired target. Fire again, and your ammo becomes the first thing you pulled the trigger at. If that happened to be, say, a building, then the building is your bullet and your target will be sorry. We've been told this weapon will essentially work on anything destructible in the game, no matter the size, which not only opens up the extent of GeoMod destruction, but also the magnitude of fire-fights, and enemies respectively.



The Nano-Forge on the other hand, is almost the antithesis to the Magnet Gun. This device is designed to reconstruct chaos to a solid form. You can use this device for tactical cover, to solve progressive puzzles and essentially advance the game. Apparently these devices will upgrade as you progress, and thus offer new abilities beyond what we've seen in action - but on their own, these two items are already big factors in differentiating the gameplay experience of Armageddon to that Guerrilla.

Not content with giving you the God-like abilities mentioned above though, Volition are also clearly fans of mech-anised empowerment, with the option to jump into the EXO; a giant mechanical suit not too dissimilar to Ripley's Alien Queen-smashing rig of James Cameron's epic xenomorph sequel.

In demonstration for us fine gaming folk, we were shown its "Hulk Smash!" abilities as Darius squished aliens under robot foot like cockroaches, and even smashed through the side of an infested building to bring it, and its infestation, crashing to the ground. Exterminators should look out for this piece of machinery at their next product convention, but in the meantime, it's another compelling argument for the looking forward to of this game, along with what appears to be a much deeper and darker narrative.



We haven't been given too much in the way of story, though Comic-Con has revealed an expansion in Red Faction lore with comics alongside the recent announcement of an original live action two-hour movie to be produced by Syfy. Red Faction: Origins (working title) will span the time-line between Guerrilla and Armageddon, tying together any and all loose-ends (hopefully) for fans of the series' narrative.

We do know that Armageddon is set in the year 2170 and that the game's protagonist, Darius, is responsible for reopening a long sealed shaft in a Maruader Temple which inadvertently sets loose the game's new cannon-fodder; an ancient and evil race of aliens. Thus the sub-title, Armageddon. While the majority of the game will take place in Mars' underground caverns, there will be portions that take place on the surface, but little has been revealed about how these will work thus far.

Alongside the deep single-player narrative, a new four-player multiplayer mode has also been revealed called Extermination. It's essentially a Horde mode, where four players fend off increasingly more difficult and dangerous waves of enemies, as is becoming a staple in the multiplayer world of modern gaming.



On a visual level, everything is looking very cool. Action has been turned up to 11 here, and while we only saw roughly 20-minutes of gameplay, it didn't disappoint. It would have been easy to just throw players back onto the surface of Mars against other factions, but the new game-world has really allowed the art team to flex some creative muscle and it shows. The engine isn't looking nearly as old as you might expect and proves Volition were the right choice to pick up the Red Faction mantle.

Red Faction: Armageddon is due to hit PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2011. Stay tuned for more info and media as it becomes available, right here on AusGamers.