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Red Faction II for PlayStation 2
Red Faction II for PlayStation 2 is a first-person shooter in which you fight Chancellor Sopot as demolitions expert Alias. The conflict takes place on Earth, where a group of soldiers enhanced with nanotechnology turns against the regime that created them. You move through guarded buildings and urban areas, complete various objectives and receive help from computer-controlled squadmates along the way. The perspective stays with Alias, even when another team member opens a passage or shoots at enemies beside you.
The weapons give you different ways to tackle a room. You use grenades, automatic rifles and heavy explosives, among other equipment; some weapons can be carried in both hands at once. Geo-Mod lets you blow up certain walls or other designated parts of the environment. This can change cover or open a passage, but buildings and terrain cannot be freely demolished everywhere. Vehicle sequences break up the walking and shooting. Variety comes from these combat situations and objectives, not from a freely explorable world.
You play the campaign alone with a DualShock 2; the two analogue sticks handle movement and looking around. There are also local arenas where up to four players battle simultaneously on a split screen. Two players use two controllers. Three or four players need a PS2 Multitap and one controller per participant. You can also add computer-controlled opponents and customise matches. These battles are separate from the story: the presence of squadmates does not make the campaign a cooperative adventure for multiple players.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
This edition of Red Faction II has a PAL case with French text, including the age rating on the front. Please therefore expect French text on the packaging.
Manual
Red Faction II for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Red Faction II
Volition created Red Faction II for PlayStation 2, with THQ publishing it in 2002. The sequel arrived a year after the first Red Faction and retained the first-person perspective and Geo-Mod technology. The story nevertheless began somewhere different. The mines of Mars gave way to Earth and the Commonwealth, where Chancellor Sopot came to see his own enhanced soldiers as a threat. Alias and his allies therefore give the resistance a different background from Parker's workers' uprising.
THQ explicitly presented the PS2 release as a more cinematic sequel, with multiple objectives per level, vehicles and a small group of distinctive fighters. Actor Lance Henriksen voiced their leader, Molov. The squad's different specialities made assistance during an objective part of the presentation. You still control Alias yourself; the others are controlled by the game. The campaign thus uses the feel of a military unit without becoming a game in which friends play through the story together.
Local play also expanded compared with the first game. While two people shared the screen in Red Faction, II supports four with a Multitap. Customisable computer opponents and separate arenas provide opportunities to play outside the campaign. At the same time, destruction remained subordinate to the designed levels and the pace of the action. This original PS2 version therefore shows how, after the mining colony, the series placed greater emphasis on an armed squad, short combat encounters and matches on the sofa.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Red Faction also centres on an uprising and uses Geo-Mod to alter certain parts of the environment. There you play miner Parker on Mars, while II follows enhanced soldier Alias on Earth. The first game alternates the escape through a colony with stealthy passages. II places more emphasis on firefights supported by squadmates. Locally, Red Faction is limited to two players; II can accommodate four participants with a PS2 Multitap and four controllers.
Like Red Faction II, TimeSplitters 2 offers plenty of short shooting matches alongside its story. Its colourful characters and jumps between periods create a lighter tone. Red Faction II keeps a group of enhanced soldiers and one political conflict as its starting point. Geo-Mod adds limited destruction to certain environments here. TimeSplitters 2 draws its variety mainly from different locations, weapons, opponents and separate challenges on the same PS2.
Black shares the emphasis on powerful gunfire, explosions and battles between buildings. It uses contemporary firearms and a story about covert military operations, while Red Faction II centres on nanotechnology and a fictional regime. Both make you consider enemies behind cover. II adds local arenas alongside the solo campaign. Black focuses its entire offering on one player's fighting and the immediate audiovisual impact of every firefight.
Killzone on PlayStation 2 also has you travel through a science-fiction war with a military group. The Helghast invasion and the defence of Vekta provide the context for its battles. Red Faction II concerns soldiers who turn against their own ruler. Geo-Mod also lets you destroy certain parts of the scenery here. Killzone places greater emphasis on different playable soldiers with their own equipment within its war campaign.
Half-Life on PlayStation 2 combines shooting with a continuous adventure in a threatening complex. After a failed experiment, Gordon Freeman becomes caught in battles with humans and aliens. Red Faction II starts from a military uprising and more often gives you support from a regular group. Where Half-Life uses environmental puzzles and the scientific disaster for variety, II mainly places different objectives, vehicle sequences and limited destruction between its firefights.
