Red Faction: Armageddon
A linear shooter set in Mars' underground tunnels.
Red Faction: Armageddon is a third-person shooter that came out in 2011, developed by Volition and published by THQ with help from the TV network Syfy. It was the fourth and last game in the Red Faction series, hitting Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in June of that year. Critics appreciated the new weapons but were confused by the switch from an open world to a linear shooter, which abandoned what made the previous game strong. Poor sales led THQ to stop making Red Faction games and hurt their financial quarter. The series rights ended up with THQ Nordic, then moved to its sister company Koch Media, which put it under the Deep Silver label in 2020.
**Gameplay**
Like its predecessor Red Faction: Guerrilla, Armageddon is a third-person shooter. You play as Darius Mason, a descendant of Guerrilla's Alec Mason. The story takes place 50 years after Guerrilla, mostly inside a tunnel complex filled with alien creatures. The Geo-Mod feature lets you destroy the landscape, as in earlier games. Here, you can also use a Nano Forge to repair structures like stairs, opening up paths through the caves. Audio logs scattered around give backstory when played. Vehicles include a mine cart and a barge, and you can pilot mech suits at certain points.
**Synopsis**
**Setting**
The game happens on Mars in the year 2175, 50 years after Red Faction: Guerrilla. After Mars was liberated, the surface became unlivable because the main antagonist, Adam Hale, destroyed the massive Terraformer machine that gave Mars its Earth-like atmosphere. This caused super-tornados and violent lightning storms to cover the planet. To survive, colonists fled into the underground mines built by their ancestors, creating a network of habitable caves and setting up colonies there. The game starts five years after that move, in 2175, following Darius Mason, grandson of revolution heroes Alec Mason and Samanya from Guerrilla. Darius runs a profitable business in Bastion, the underground hub for colonists, doing mining, scavenging, and mercenary work. Few sane people go to the ruined surface, except contractors like Darius and smugglers moving goods between settlements. A fanatical Marauder priest tricks Darius into reopening a huge shaft in an old Marauder temple, which awakens a long-dormant race of Martian creatures, causing an Armageddon on Mars.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Red Faction: Armageddon
- Developer
- Volition
- Publisher
- THQ / Syfy Games
- Designer
- David Abzug
- Composer
- Brian Reitzell
- Series
- Red Faction
- Released
- NA · June 7, 2011 · AU · June 8, 2011 · EU · June 10, 2011
- Genre
- Third-person shooter
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows / PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game takes place on Mars in 2175, fifty years after Red Faction: Guerrilla. The planet's surface became uninhabitable after the terraformer was destroyed by antagonist Adam Hale, forcing colonists into underground mines. Players control Darius Mason, grandson of Alec Mason, who runs businesses in the colony of Bastion. Tricked into opening a sealed shaft, Darius releases a dormant alien race called the Plague, triggering an Armageddon. He must join the Red Faction to clear his name and save Mars. The plot involves cultists, a Marauder friend named Kara, and a final confrontation with the alien Queen. The game ends with Darius repairing the terraformer using a Nano Forge, restoring the atmosphere and killing the Plague.
Reader's Guide
Red Faction: Armageddon is significant as the final entry in the Red Faction series, marking a controversial departure from the open-world design of its predecessor. Critics praised the new weaponry, particularly the Magnet Gun, but were puzzled by the shift to a linear, close-quarters structure, which abandoned the strong points of Guerrilla. Poor sales led THQ to stop releasing games in the franchise and negatively impacted their financial quarter. The rights to the series were later owned by THQ Nordic and transferred to Koch Media under the Deep Silver label in 2020. The game's legacy is tied to its Geo-Mod destruction mechanics and the Nano Forge repair tool, but its linear campaign and forgettable story were seen as missteps. A downloadable expansion, Path to War, was released in August 2011.
Did You Know?
- The game was promoted with a Syfy network direct-to-television film titled Red Faction: Origins.
- A downloadable vehicle-based multiplayer game called Red Faction: Battlegrounds was released in April 2011.
- The Windows version received 'generally favorable' reviews on Metacritic, while console versions received 'mixed or average' reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Red Faction: Armageddon?
It is a third-person shooter released in June 2011 that serves as the fourth and final entry in the Red Faction franchise. The game is set in the underground tunnels of Mars and was produced with involvement from the Syfy television network.
What platforms is Red Faction: Armageddon available on?
The title launched for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. No additional platform ports or re-releases have followed since its 2011 release.
Why did Red Faction: Armageddon drop the open-world design of earlier games?
Volition chose a linear, tunnel-based structure for this installment, which left many longtime fans and reviewers feeling the series lost its signature sandbox identity. The shift was widely cited in critical reception as the game's most divisive change.
What happened to the Red Faction series after Armageddon?
Weak sales of the game weighed on THQ's finances and prompted the publisher to cancel any further Red Faction projects. The franchise rights later transferred to THQ Nordic and subsequently to its sister company.
Who developed and published Red Faction: Armageddon?
Volition handled the development work while THQ acted as the publisher, with the Syfy network contributing to the project. The game shipped in June 2011 across PC and both seventh-generation consoles.
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