Red Faction II
| Red Faction II | |
|---|---|
| GameCube cover | |
| Developer(s) | Volition |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Platform(s) | PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows |
| Release | October 16, 2002 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Red Faction II is a sequel to the hit game Red Faction and takes place on Earth as opposed to the Mars of the first. Red Faction II was developed by Volition and published by THQ on October 16, 2002 for PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox, and GameCube.
It takes place on Earth, telling the story of a group of super soldiers, including the main character, Alias. These soldiers were physically enhanced by a secret technology originally developed on Mars. Red Faction II does not support network gaming, but provides some multiplayer-style games with 'bots'. Lance Henriksen provides the voice of the squad leader, Molov, and Jason Statham voices the vehicle expert, Shrike.
Changes from Red Faction includes the removal of features such as interconnected levels, the ability to move bodies, and weapon groupings, giving it a more arcade feel. Also the GeoMod technology is of limited use in Earth's cities of Red Faction II compared to Martian tunnels of Red Faction. Additions include the use of dual weapons, an increased frame rate, and a substantially improved multiplayer. Red Faction II also creates a larger emphasis on explosive weaponry.
Storyline
Template:Spoiler In the sequel, a group of Nano-enhanced supersoldiers (using the technology advanced by Capek in the first game) lead a revolt against a dictatorial government back on Earth, the Commonwealth and its leader, the ruthless Sopot after being betrayed while on a mission for Sopot. However, the player, named Alias, after successfully deposing Sopot, is then betrayed again, this time by his own squad of similarly enhanced soldiers who take over the government in the interim, under command of their leader, Molov. The remainder of the game is spent trying to stop their plans, and in the end, save the world. The game is noted for multiple possible endings.
- EDF takes the remains of the Nanotechnology from Capek's labs.
- EDF starts to re-organize Ultor.
- Nano tech is stolen from the EDF.
- Nano tech is stolen many times.
- Nano tech is stolen by Sopot's forces.
- Sopot creates supersoldiers out of his best men, using the Nanotechnology.
- Sopot orders the supersoldiers killed. Replaces with the Processed.
- Some soldiers come together to form the Squad. They ally with the Red Faction.
- They chase Sopot and Alias blows him up.
- Molov orders that the Red Faction be slaughtered and he be the new chancellor.
- Quill, Shrike and Repta join Molov; Alias, Tangier and Echo do not.
- Echo gets a rail charge through him.
- Quill is shot out of a church.
- Tangier and Alias go to the Statue of Sopot, where the laboratory is.
- Alias shoots Repta off a catwalk into the industrial processor.
- Alias destroys the three generators powering the lab. The statue starts to crumble.
- Repta returns, having been reprocessed by the equipment.
- Alias shoot Repta. He gets a really bad migrane and explodes.
- Alias and Tangier race to the top of the statue.
- Shrike betrays Molov, saying "We don't start fights, we finish them."
- Tangier takes the Nano cell from Molov, and jumps off the statue, hurling a grenade his way.
- Alias kills Molov, while being rescued by Shrike.
- According to the best ending, Alias is decorated for acts of heroism and accepts a position as the military advisor to the new Red Faction Government, Tangier is rescued and elected Chancellor of the Commonwealth, and Shrike becomes a pilot for the reformed civilian air fleet.
- According to the second best ending, Alias becomes a military advisor to the Red Faction government, and when he finally retired, his memoirs stayed on the best seller list for 17 weeks, and were eventually made into a video game. Tangier travels to Mars and becomes security advisor to Ultor, and Shrike becomes a circus performer at a theme park built on the remains of Sopot Island.
- According the second worst ending, Alias is convicted of manslaughter and is scheduled to be executed, Tangier is found by a Garbage Barge, she falls in love with the captain, and lives happily ever after with her husband, two children, four dogs and three cats, and Shrike is kicked out of the Commonwealth and eventually shot down hauling bootlegged video games from third world countries.
- According to the worst ending, Alias is branded a mutant and a danger to the commonwealth and disappears without a trace in a daring escape moments before being executed, Tangier survives her fall, but is never found, and Shrike, due to odd appearance and unstable mentality, is now homeless and unemployed. In order to achieve this ending, the only way seems to be to kill every RF ally and civilian you meet and achieve no bonus objectives.
Multiplayer
The greatest improvement in Red Faction II from its predecessor is its far deeper multiplayer mode. Previously, players were not allowed to organize teams or special modes of play. Red Faction II features Deathmatch, Bagman, Arena, Capture the Flag, and "Regime" (an unlockable mode equivalent to Bagman), all available with team or individual play.
Players are also allowed to create their own bots. Bots, like the human players, are able to keep statistics pertaining to gameplay. This option is especially unique in comparison to other First Person Shooters. The game was also hailed for its plethora of levels.
Critics of Red Faction II often point out the game's lack of internet capability (extremely common among today's First Person Shooters), and its unsophisiticated AI. Unfortunately the PC version also lacked the PvP multiplayer of the console versions, instead replacing it with a bot match option. In addition, some argue that the game's emphasis on explosive weaponry makes multiplayer battles uneven: often creating a race to the explosive weapons available.
Speculation
The main character of the second game, Alias, has no background, but bears a striking similarity to the hero from the first game, Parker. Alias' red armor even looks like Parker's miner suit from the first game.
Victor Sopot
Chancellor Victor Sopot was the brutal dictator of the Republic of the Commonwealth in the video game Red Faction II. Sopot ruled with an iron fist and had an uncanny resemblance to Joseph Stalin and the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Victor Sopot ruled the Commonwealth for 15 years before being opposed by a group of freedom fighters known as the Red Faction, and a squad of disgruntled special forces soldiers who defected from Sopot's military and allied themselves with the Red Faction.
During his rule, Sopot endeavored to create an army that could not be defeated, and, using the nanotechnology developed during the course of events in Red Faction, he almost succeeded. However, during the uprising, the Red Faction cornered Sopot himself and trapped the dictator in a missile silo. Alias, a member of the special forces squad that had defected after being betrayed by the Chancellor, chased Sopot deeper into the facility and eventually caught him. The Chancellor was finally taken hostage at gunpoint deep within the silo. Alias then threw Sopot out of the room and into the missile chamber. While Sopot begged for mercy, Alias granted him none and instead launched the missile. Sopot's face turned to one of horror as the missile launched upwards and engulfed the brutal dictator.
Trivia
- In one of the Multiplayer Stages, there is a blood written easter egg that says, "Eos Rules!" Eos is one of the characters in the first Red Faction game.
- Also, in "Watch Your Step", a multiplayer level, there is a message that says "sucks to be you" underneath the main level area that the player can see while falling to his or her death.
- In the "Foreign Lands" stage when crawling around in the air vents the player can hear this ridiculous conversation between two guards:
"Hey, man, can I ask you a favor?" "Sure." "...Can you loan me..twenty grand?" "Twenty thou--What, are you crazy?!? No!" "Aw, c'mon, man, I'm trying to put down a payment on..." "I said no." "Well, can you at least give me a ride home this weekend? Hey wait...where are you going?"