Further to my first review, I now own the full version. And I'm writing this fresh from spending an hour destroying one /very/ large bridge with nothing but a few detonation packs and a sledgehammer. Something that was unashamedly fun, and probably won't be beaten for sheer enjoyment value until the games allow the protagonist to shove the less fortunate down stairs.
Red Faction Guerilla is the best in the series to date. First person has been traded for third person – An unconvential move to make midway through a game series, but one that has worked. You start as a miner who ends up working for the Red Faction because he has no other option left to him, and then begin your fight to liberate Mars. Something which can be done with a lot of explosives and a reckless disregard for others, or with a little bit of tact and help. Or a mixture of both.
Civillian Morale has an impact in both profitability of missions as well as Guerilla recruiting, which the game takes care of for you, and can be acquired through doing missions to benefit civilians or destroying the oppressive EDF propaganda. Control for each of the main sectors of Mars is represented by how active the Red Faction is, and the assets that EDF have in the area – Meaning that instead of a menial ‘defend this’ mission or a ‘defeat ten thousand enemies’ mission, one need only find an building the EDF likes, take up a position far enough away and have at it with a rocket launcher.
Destruction is unprecedented, the only downside that I've found so far is the inability to actually destroy the ‘ground’, which can be forgiven with the amount of buildings there are to be reduced to nothing. The protagonist is hardy enough to have a building land on him without dying, most of the time, so getting up close and personal upon a building with a sledgehammer becomes that much more satisfying, but he is still vulnerable to bullets and large vehicles, so the game still has interesting difficulty.
The ability to tear down pretty much everything is this games main selling point, though, despite suitable music, a great plot, easy controls and an fun assortment of womans. While not wholly realistic, damaged buildings can and will fall apart on their own, causing more damage to themselves and those around them. Cover wears down under explosive fire, and any game that allows you to tear down a barracks with nothing but a sledgehammer deserves some hefty respect.
This game is a perfect example of everything that a modern game should be. It's well worth it's price, it's replayable, interesting, polished, well structured and has one hell of a wow-factor. But if that's not enough for you, I'll say this once again.
I spent an hour destroying a bridge. (IN hindsight, I could probably do it in about five minutes, but I'd need some of the equipment you only get in the latter stages of the game.) That is to say, that I blew up the tarmac, drove vehicles through several of the girders and then detonated them, and then hacked away with a sledgehammer to sever as many sections as possible. I didn't feel like I'd spent an hour working at a stupid, optional in-game task. I felt like I had actually achieved something. And I haven't been moved like that, by a game, for a very long time.
And chances are, when I've destroyed everything on the map, and enjoyed the ending once or twice more? I'm going to start it up again, and head back to that one bridge.