Last week, we discussed the single player campaign for THQ’s upcoming destruction filled shooter Red Faction: Armageddon, and while it doesn’t feature the kind of sprawling open-endedness of the previous Guerrilla, it appears more than capable of delivering a solid adventure for hours on end. But, surprisingly enough, that’s only part of the Armageddon experience. While we were in San Francisco for a THQ event last month, the company also showed off two additional modes that will be featured in the game when it ships in early June. One is a cooperative multiplayer effort called Infestation, while the other is a series of time-based maps, grouped together in a mode called Ruin. First, let’s start with Infestation. It definitely has some common traits with other co-op based games, particularly the Horde Mode from Gears of War 2.
In it, up to four players can take part, challenging 30 stages of ongoing enemies, each one progressively harder than the last. It’s up to you and your team to fight your way through the mode’s eight maps, working together in order to stay alive and work your way to the next challenge. There are four characters featured in this mode, each unique in their own way while still playing their part to achieve survival. Red Faction member Frank Winter, the right hand man to the game’s main hero, Alec Mason, heads the group, backed by his long-range shooting brother Snipes. Corvallis, a Marauder who’s joined up with the Red Faction ranks in order to wipe out the aliens, is the third player, and the fourth is a mysterious colonist named Snake, who leans heavily on quick thinking and an even quicker trigger finger.
A majority of the weapons you’ll unlock in the single player mode will become available in Infestation mode, so you can be as creative as you want when it comes to killing wave after wave of monsters. The magnet gun is particularly gripping (mind the pun), as you can use it to drag large obstacles towards groups of enemies, taking them out in one shot. Just be sure you’re mindful of your surroundings, and that you don’t injure a fellow player in the process. If one of the players happens to go down, they don’t completely go out. They’ll have a very small period of time in which to resuscitate them, simply by running over and delivering a quick medical boost. If they take too long (or perhaps obtain too much damage), you’re stuck trying to complete the round without them. And if it’s anywhere past stage 15, good luck with that.
This feature preview continues on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see our final thoughts after going hands-on with Red Faction: Armageddon multiplayer.
