Kotaku
is reporting on the first details for
Red Faction: Armageddon and Machinima.com has the reveal trailer. The game takes place fifty years after the events of
Red Faction: Guerrilla, and focuses on Darius Mason, the grandson of Guerrilla protagonists Alec Mason and Samanya. In the intervening half-century the atmosphere processor broke down, forcing all of Mars' inhabitants into underground cities. Darius is a successful business owner, until he's tricked into unleashing a catastrophe. He reforms the Red Faction to deal with the crisis, which happens to be a whole new element for the series: aliens!
I thought RF: Guerrilla was a fantastic game, easily one of the best sandbox titles of this generation, and the geo-mod 2.0 engine was what really distinguished it from GTA4 and Volition's own Saints Row series. I was a little disappointed that geo-mod didn't apply to cutting rock and terrain deformation like in the old games, but Armageddon will take place in subterranean tunnels so it looks like Volition is applying geo-mod to the whole environment now. My only concern is with the story--the Red Faction has always been a rebellion of some kind against an oppressive company or government, but it might be cool to see it as an informal militia that responds to disasters and such. I can't wait to see what Volition has planned for E3.
