Whatever you choose there is certainly no shortage of structures to try them out on. This is the games strongest point and is all thanks to the new and improved Geo-Mod tech engine. Buildings really do seem to collapse realistically, place your explosives in the corner supporting walls at one end and if you do enough damage, then step back and enjoy your handy work: a huge pile of dust and rubble and a nice cache of salvage.  But if your demolition skills are not yet up to scratch (and believe me if you invest some time they will be, I truly think it is an art form that I am getting better at) then whip out your sledgehammer and finish it off. There is something satisfying about one man knocking down a three-storey building in a matter of minutes with just a sledgehammer. The diversity continues when you begin to realise that there are explosive barrels to pick up and tactically place in order to beef up your bangs, plus gas tanks to explode and vehicles to drive into buildings then detonate to add to the carnage. Sadly the vehicle design is a little boring (see below), however there is one class that truly stands out, the bloody awesome Walkers. They come in three flavours Combat (with infinite rockets, much like the battle armour in RF II), Light (with the ability to fly short distances) and the behemoth that is the Heavy walker. This resembles and moves like a huge gorilla, and once you get it in it you can behave like someone has just nicked your last banana; you can side swipe, do overhead smashes and flip vehicles huge distances and these mechs really are a stand out feature of the game. Not only can you attack with them, if you are feeling lazy you can just walk through buildings and trample over the EDF troops inside of them, good times.

But there is of course a reason for all of this bloodshed. In order to liberate Mars, Mason and Red Faction have to regain control of six sectors from the EDF, with each sector offering various main and side missions to complete.To declare a sector EDF free you have to drop its control of that sector to zero, whilst hopefully also raising the morale of its populace. This morale boosting is helpful, the higher it is the more likely friendly AI will join you in a fight. Whilst not a complete bonus, (they follow you about getting in the way of your line of sight and, amusingly, your detonations), they do tend to draw off enemy fire which is rather handy in the more challenging levels. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, as the world is your soon to be deconstructed oyster and this is where your large arsenal of guns, vehicles and explosives comes into play. 

Firstly there are the main missions that have to be completed to move the plot narrative forward and range from protecting specific buildings from EDF onslaughts to driving from point A to point B without getting your arse handed to you on a plate. Secondly there are prioritised EDF and government buildings to destroy, which all carry a control point rating: destroy it and these points are deducted from the overall EDF rating for that area. Thirdly there are guerrilla actions to complete (again carrying different control and morale points) and these are a varied bunch, some great, some mediocre and a few down right dull. My personal favourites being ‘Collateral Damage' where the actual briefing states that you have to blow ‘THE UNHOLY SHIT OUT OF THEM.' and involves annihilating EDF strongholds with various vehicles and weapons. Conversely ‘Demolitions Master' is a more cerebral challenge that sees you having to work out how to blow up a structure within a certain time limit with limited weapons, and is a total blast. I found myself seeking these out every time I entered a new sector, and someare a real bitch to complete. At the other end of the spectrum and one I avoided is ‘Transporter', generally involving you transporting a vehicle from A to B within a VERY tight time limit, both frustrating and dull.

But hey that's just one man's view, there are enough of these for everybody's taste, given that there are over a hundred to complete, if you choose to do so. However this is a gripe. You are not penalised in anyway for not undertaking them, sure they help you regain control of a sector and raise morale, but you are left with no real sense of urgency to complete them and some like the aforementioned Transporter missions, are repetitive. The sectors that need liberating are of course your sandbox to play in and apart from the main missions that have to be completed; you can pick and choose which of the other two mission types you use to go about kicking EDF out of an area in any order you wish.

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