Red Faction Guerrilla Re-MARS-Tered Review, An Experience Worth Revisiting

Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered is a remaster of a game that puts players into the role of Mason, a man thrust into a rebel force on Mars known as the Red Faction movement. When the team over at THQ Nordic announced their pun-filled remaster, I was instantly excited to pick up the hammer once more and jump back into a favourite. I was also curious as to how it would stack up to the enjoyment I felt when I first played the title back in 2009. I'm very happy to report that I enjoyed it even more the second time around, and that's saying something!

The journey begins when Alex Mason meets back up with his brother Dan on the Red Planet, only to have his entire life turned upside down when the EDF, the game's big government, ends his sibling's life. After losing everything he loves, Mason unwittingly finds himself aligned with the Red Faction when the EDF declared him public enemy number one. Considering the EDF has a huge policy of shoot first, ask questions later - not being their friend is a very bad idea, one that Mason himself intimately finds out.

Equipped with a hammer, detonators, and one badass attitude, Mason sets off on a course of revenge and a quest for justice. Not just for his brother, but for the tyranny felt underneath the EDF's thumb.

I remember the first time I played this game, the narrative instantly captivated me. With the revamped controls and enhanced graphics, that captivation was only magnified to make the experience that much more immersive. From Red Faction Guerrilla's open-world design and player freedom, to that of a loyalty-inspiring cast of characters, this remaster did the original justice in a way I honestly wasn't expecting. Were the graphics next level, or even this generation? No. Did that affect the feeling that this was a stunning remaster? Absolutely not.

A lot of this game revolves almost around fetch quests, but instead of fetching - you're just laying out total mayhem. With the hammer and other tools found along the way, Mason takes to the Red Planet to absolutely lay waste to everything the EDF conquered, and that was so much fun. Usually with games like this, having the same mission type come up over and over again can get monotonous, but not Red Faction. Red Faction feels fresh the entire way through, the various mission setups keeps players engaged, and the feeling of pride at taking back freedom one structure at a time is something that makes this title an experience to treasure.

The name of this game, despite its intriguing narrative, is to destroy. Destroy, conquer, and utterly pwn. That's what I love so much about it, and a big reason why this 'remaster' was one hundred percent necessary. This title wasn't given a proper chance when it first released, mostly because of when it was released. It launched right in the middle of E3, making it effectively invisible to the bulk of the gaming community. This remaster gives gamers a reason to pick up the hammer and get into the fight. Whether you want a story or just to destroy everything in sight, this game has the perfect balance to give everyone what they want.

The one way Red Faction Guerrilla shows its age is in the overly simplistic representation of Mars. We're used to games now that have 60 billion substories to every major narrative, making the cut and dry "search, raid, destroy, repeat" recipe of this game a little dated. That being said, players are equipped with exactly what they need to get the job done, with enough "in between" story fluff to make it work it. It's a game to beat, or it's a game just to knock around for a few hours. Once again, this is a game for every type of player.

For being a "remaster," the actual game itself seemed largely untouched. The graphics were better (a proposed 4K resolution with a revamp to the shading), though not by much, and the cut scenes themselves didn't seem that much different at all. Normally during a review, I would rip the hell out of a remaster for just a simple reskin, but there was so much work to how the game feels that honestly ... I was content with it. I would have loved to see the graphics updated to today's standard, but oddly enough - it didn't hurt the game like it could have. Like it should have.

Overall, the Re-MARS-tered edition gave a worthwhile title a second lease on life, one that was well-deserved. I genuinely hope that those that never gave the game a shot, do. For those that thoroughly enjoyed it the second time around, the 30 dollar price tag is more than worth picking it back up again. For those that owned it on Steam, congrats! You've got the remaster for free and should see it in your digital library. Regardless of how you play, this remaster is worth playing.

WWG Score - 4/5.