John-ShepardRed Faction: Guerrilla was a sandbox game designed in the spirit of Grand Theft Auto along with the patented RF environmental destructablility
But next year's entry, Armageddon , won't really be an open-world, exploration-based sandbox adventure; it'll return to the franchise's roots, be more linear, and focus on the story. The reason? Well, first of all, one must consider the ongoing plot: a huge battle on the surface of Mars has forced the human survivors underground, so that's why you'll find yourself in tunnels below ground zero. Secondly, game producer Dan Sutton told NOW Gamer that Volition really wants to bring the storyline back into the limelight. Said Sutton:
"We’ve really been focused on telling an amazing story in Armageddon. We’ve wanted to travel back to the roots of the series and give it a sense of urgency that you can really only telling in focused gameplay. Darius Mason is searching for survivors and rising up against a new oppressor."
However, this doesn't mean the game will be entirely linear; i.e., you can only move in one direction at all times, and there's almost no reason to explore. That isn't an accurate assessment. Sutton doesn't want everyone to freak out and think the team has restricted all freedom of movement.
"Now before anyone panics, Armageddon does not take place in a constrained linear environment. We are giving the players plenty of ways to collect upgrades, salvage, and collectables. There will be great replayability. What we’ve mostly managed to get rid of is the tedious driving back-and-forth between worlds."
Red Faction: Armageddon is due out next year and we're not bemoaning the loss of the sandbox structure. We sort of like it when developers go out of their way to refocus on story and characters, you know?
"Attention gamers: our game is not as liner as FFXIII" That's what I read anyway.
…but as linear as FFX.
teehehe
X is a happy medium.
I agree, FFX is a great game.
I miss the ninja, we both know Squall is a crybaby.
Tidus' father passed away and he was sent hundreds of years into the future knowing no one around him and learning that he has to battle his father in order to save the world. Oh and on top of this that he's just a "dream" and will no longer exist.
Squall was an orphan, boo-f'n-hoo!
Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 9/6/2010 10:37:29 PM
But… Squall has the best hair 🙂
I'll give you that. Way better than Vaan's.
The problem with focusing too much attention on the story is when your story isn't that good. Best thing about Guerrilla was the open world and smashing things to bits.
The worst thing? A trophy for beating all Pro Times. They think I have time for this?
By first game do you mean the PS2 game or the PS3 game?
If only they brought back tunneling, that was my favorite part of the first one. If there was no cover shoot a wall and you can start tunneling your way to safety, where you could take full advantage of the rail gun. Which was my favorite gun in the first two, yet didn't appear in guerilla
its more linear, but its by no means a linear typical corridor shooter!
i mean name one other game that allows you to fire magnetic matter at a structure in the game, than fire another piece and anything and everything attached to the first shot goes flying to the second!
why shoot the 10 enemies on a balcony, when you could use said balcony as a wrecking ball!
Personally I enjoyed the "tedius" driving back and forth, just like I enjoyed riding my horse from place to place in Red Dead Redemption, or walking through the wasteland in Fallout 3. It gave me a chance to really soak up the atmosphere of the game, ponder my character's place in the fictional world, and pursue some minor side missions between the game's main missions. I think it's an extremely important part of any sandbox game.
That's not to say that a more linear structure would completely suck; you can certainly make a great non-sandbox game as well. I just think his dismissal of it as nothing but "tedius" is pretty shallow. We're not all twitch gamers you know.
Anyhow, I'm still very excited about this game. Really loved Guerrilla and Armageddon looks to (possibly) add a bit of horror to it as well, which would be right up my alley.
Translation. We put aliens in it….
Well, that's one step in the right direction. All they need to do is return Red Faction to its FPS roots. I'm REALLY sick of developers trying to make their beloved franchises into something else just to better compare to another franchise in another genre. I'm still hoping for an eventual Red Faction III.