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Armageddon a free OnLive MicroConsole with Red Faction pre-order
A few months ago, THQ and OnLive partnered to give away free MicroConsole devices with pre-orders of Homefront. OnLive is launching another THQ promotion, and this one is arguably a better deal, because it doesn't include a copy of Homefront. From now through June 6, if you buy a "Full PlayPass" for Red Faction: Armageddon through OnLive, you'll get a free MicroConsole, allowing you to play streaming OnLive games on your TV -- and a free copy of Red Faction: Guerrilla. Eventually, you're going to end up with a pile of these MicroConsoles!
Volition holds Red Faction: Armageddon's magical, rainbow-farting unicorn hostage
Perhaps you were just downloading the Red Faction: Armageddon demo because you like blowing crap up, but you're also helping to set free Mr. Toots, a rainbow-expelling unicorn that Volition will put in the full game if the demo is nabbed one million times. See him in action after the break.
Red Faction: Armageddon demo now live (and extra magnetic)
The Xbox Live demo for Red Faction: Armageddon is now available and has everything you could want ... by which we mean "the only weapon you'll ever want:" the magnet gun. The weapon is anything but polarizing, as you might have noticed in our recent preview. Beyond toying with the magnet gun, you'll get to reassemble demolished buildings and walkways with the nano forge, use collapsible worm holes to implode enemies, and just generally blow up everything in sight. The demo concludes with a note that says the game will launch on May 31, but we'll remind you that the title was recently moved to June 7.
'History of Red Faction' video needs more magnet gun
If you pay close attention to the new "History of Red Faction" video, you will receive an all-too-brief look at Red Faction: Armageddon's glorious magnet gun. Yeah, sure, you might also learn a little bit about the Mars-roving series but, come on, magnet gun.
Red Faction: Origins trailer defies our expectations
So, the very first trailer for SyFy's upcoming original film, Red Faction: Origins is posted right after the jump. It seems like it might present a fairly true-to-its-source story to bridge the canonical gap between Red Faction: Guerrilla and Red Faction: Armageddon -- of course, we knew that before watching the following video. What we didn't know was that the trailer would surpass the quality bar we set for the film in our mind's eye when the Volition/Syfy collaboration was first announced. However, seeing as how this is a SyFy Original movie which is also a video game adaptation, our expectations were that upon watching the film, our eyeballs would be instantly incinerated. We might -- might -- just be safe from that fate.
Red Faction: Armageddon pre-order bonuses get trailered
If you've got Volition and THQ's upcoming, underground shooter Red Faction: Armageddon on reserve at Best Buy or GameStop, you've got one of two bonus equipment packs coming your way. Check out the trailers and galleries below to see what's included in the Recon and Commando bundles!
Red Faction single-player preview: Magnetic attraction
I remember the exact moment I was hooked on Red Faction: Armageddon. I was about 20 minutes into a four-hour preview session in which I got to sample different missions and cutscenes from the campaign when I first witnessed the raw power of ... pause ... the Magnet Gun. It's a simple device: place a node on one object (that's the Attractor node) then place a node on another object (the Anchor node), then watch the Attractor node be drawn toward the Anchor node ... with violent enthusiasm. Among my favorite uses were to quickly bring down buildings (node on roof then node on base, watch it all implode on itself) or to drop large pieces of debris on aliens. You want to put nodes on two enemies? You've got a mean streak ... also, that'll earn you a "Martian dating service" Achievement.
Red Faction Armageddon delayed a week to June 7
You might be somewhat upset by the news we're about to drop on you, but we encourage you to keep this fact in mind: You can't rush good destruction. THQ has announced that its upcoming underground shooter Red Faction Armageddon has had its May 31 release pushed back to a June 7 release. The international release date has similarly been bumped back a week, from June 3 to June 10. The tacking-on of an extra seven days to our wait for the environment-obliterating action title is something of a tough pill to swallow. Just think of it this way: That gives you an extra week to spend with the soon-to-be-launched demo, giving you ample time to truly master your backhand. And, by "backhand," we mean "your devastating sledgehammer arc."
Volition founder and president resigns
Mike Kulas, the founder and president of Red Faction developer Volition, is leaving the company. His last day will be next Monday, reports The News-Gazette. Kulas, 49, said his departure, which he had been considering since last year, wasn't triggered by any particular event. With Red Faction: Armageddon apparently complete (and all set for June 7), and Saints Row: The Third in "the home stretch," now is just a good time to make his move. Kulas will be succeeded by Volition's long-time vice president of product development, Dan Cermak. Kulas founded Volition in 1996, when he and then partner Matt Toschlog split their Parallax Software outfit in two. The pair had formed Parallax several years earlier, producing the successful Descent series. Volition was acquired by THQ in 2000 and has grown from some 30 employees in the late 90s to over 200 today, while continuing to maintain operations in Champaign, Ill. Kulas said he plans to remain in Champaign and will take some time to relax this summer before deciding on his next professional endeavor. [Image credit: Volition, Inc.]
Red Faction: Armageddon demo on XBLM and (maybe) PSN May 3
THQ will give you a chance to take a brief jaunt over to Mars on May 3, when it releases a demo for Red Faction: Armageddon. The demo will launch on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network simultaneously -- assuming that PSN will be functional again at that time, of course -- but no PC demo is planned. According to THQ's description of the demo, players will get the opportunity to play with the Nano Forge's destructive and reconstructive abilities, and even "throw entire buildings at your enemies with Red Faction's signature weapon, the Magnet Gun." We'd certainly try that for zero dollars.
SyFy prepares Red Faction: Origins movie for June 4 release
NBC Universal held a "Summer press day" last Friday in Pasadena, California, and among the various panels was one for the SyFy Channel's new Red Faction: Origins movie. In cooperation with THQ, SyFy is bringing out a two-hour movie on June 4 that covers the story of Jake Mason, son of Red Faction: Guerilla's Alec Mason and father of Red Faction: Armageddon main character Darius Mason. Alec (played by Robert Patrick) makes an appearance, though Brian J. Smith, who plays Jake, says "he's fallen off a little bit as a hero." Given how closely related to the games the movie will be, you'd think director Michael Nankin (second from right, above) would want to get in and play Guerilla at least. But the director of a few Battlestar Galatica episodes has no interest in technology. "I have a book that's a calendar," he says, "and I take notes on index cards."
Red Faction: Armageddon preview: Infestation mode
In 2009's Red Faction: Guerrilla, Volition was able to incorporate some of the single-player campaign's heralded "emergent gameplay" -- the spontaneous entertainment of bringing down the gameworld's structures in fantastic, inventive ways -- into the game's competitive multiplayer. A wall you thought was suitable cover could suddenly come crumbling down, revealing a charging Martian opponent about to clobber you with a deadly ostrich. The fragility of the gameworld added an element of tension; that you wielded the powerful and inventive abilities and weaponry that made it so fragile was just plain cool. Guerrilla's multiplayer seemed like a first step toward greatness -- a foundation that Volition could build into one of the truly great online experiences. That's all on hold, however, as Volition's next Red Faction game, this May's Armageddon, won't have competitive multiplayer. In its place is "Infestation," a retread of Gears of War 2's often aped Horde mode. %Gallery-121304%
THQ lays off 33 across Kaos Studios and Volition
And the hits just keep on coming. THQ has confirmed to Gamasutra that it has reduced the staff sizes of Red Faction developer Volition, Inc. and Homefront developer Kaos Studios. Volition, whose team of around 200 is also working on the next, bonersword-equipped installment in the Saint's Row franchise, had its headcount cut by 16 positions. Kaos Studios, which employs more than 100 developers, lost 17 across its departments. In its statement to Gamasutra, representatives for THQ explained, "The changes are not expected to affect any current or future titles in development with Volition." The statement adds that Kaos has a "dedicated team in place" to continue supporting Homefront with post-launch content while preparing for future projects. We wish the 33 folks affected by the cutbacks the best of luck in getting back on their feet.
Red Faction: Armageddon pre-orders get Battlegrounds at GameStop, Amazon
Red Faction: Armageddon may seem like a generally mean addition to the video game industry, what with all its subterranean maneaters and appetite for destruction. In reality, it's actually quite generous -- the list of pre-order bonuses for the title is long and varied, featuring in-game freebies like the sneaky Recon uniform (Best Buy), a 24-page comic prequel to the game (Walmart) and even vouchers for a free download of Red Faction: Battlegrounds (GameStop and Amazon). Check out the full list of who's offering what just past the jump!
Red Faction: Armageddon wants you to destroy everything in sight
Since its inception, the Red Faction franchise has been heaped with praise for its capacity for environmental destruction -- a fact that hasn't eluded the series' handlers. In an interview with CVG, Red Faction: Armageddon production lead Dan Sutton explained, "In Guerrilla there was a kind of moral issue. When you were destroying buildings, you thought, 'Should I really be doing this?' But in Armageddon we've completely thrown that out and we're basically motivating players to destroy everything in sight." That quote is surprising in two distinct ways: First, we can destroy everything in sight? So, like, the whole planet? Wouldn't that ruin the game a little? Also, we were supposed to feel bad when destroying buildings in Guerrilla? We ... didn't get that. It's hard to feel guilty about something when you're busy giggling and yelling for your friends to come check out this totally dope new crater you made.
Volition returns to in-house PC development
The PC ports of Volition's Saints Row 2 and Red: Faction: Guerrilla were handled by outside studios, and both suffered quality issues because of it. For the series' next iterations -- Red Faction: Armageddon (May) and Saints Row: The Third (Holiday 2011) -- Volition is reclaiming development duties, handling the PC versions in-house alongside the console editions. "For us, the key thing was making sure the PC version [of Armageddon] was done in-house," Volition studio manager Eric Barker told Eurogamer, brushing aside the debate over the fate of PC gaming. "I can't predict the future, but I'm really happy with how Red Faction: Armageddon looks on PC. It's beautiful." "We definitely believe PC games are great, and if they're done right, and done well by a studio, they're phenomenal," he added, before offering his cheeky response to concerns about the prevalence of piracy on the platform. "Let's make a game that's worth stealing, and then we'll worry about making sure they don't."
Red Faction: Armageddon trailer shoots and scorches
It's not exactly clear what's going on in this Red Faction: Armageddon trailer, but there's a lot of shooting and buildings being destroyed. Just give the fans what they want.
Red Faction Armageddon to destroy, rebuild store shelves May 31
Ahh, Spring. It's everyone's favorite of our Earth's four seasons, for obvious reasons: Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and underground revolutionaries use weapons of mass destruction to topple manmade structures onto the unexpecting, squishy crowns of extraterrestrial aggressors. Not familiar with that last bit? Oh, you probably haven't heard: THQ and Volition have announced a May 31 U.S. release date and June 3 international release for their upcoming, extremely explodable action title, Red Faction Armageddon. That means we're just three short months from finding out what new methods of uncivil engineering the developer's thrown in this time around -- we've got our fingers crossed for some sort of double sledgehammer, which is, of course, a sledgehammer with another sledgehammer stuck on the bottom. Oh, man. Could you imagine?
Red Faction Armageddon preview: Breaking new ground
There used to be a building here, I reflect as I put down the controller, ending my preview session of Red Faction Armageddon. I think back to what just happened: how the tower first collapsed after I disintegrated its base with my plasma rifle, before I pulled out my magnet gun and propelled a giant globe at the wrecked building, shattering the remains to pieces. For good measure, I aimed my singularity launcher at what was left and fired off a "black hole," ensuring that nothing would be left. Like Guerrilla before it, Armageddon has been designed for emergent gameplay -- those uniquely entertaining scenarios that arise spontaneously out of a game's openness to the player's own creativity. It's the sort of fun that relies heavily on awareness of the entire gameworld, and thankfully Armageddon has the right toy box to inspire the level of engagement necessary to create the over-the-top destruction. When the "rocket launcher" is the most uninteresting weapon in a game, something's being done right. Sure, Armageddon is, in many ways, the same game as its predecessor, but it appeared much more polished to me. The switch from Guerrilla's open-world design to a more linear one may seem regressive, putting greater limitation on the emergent gameplay, but, according to Roje Smith, of developer Volition, "It allows us to give the player much more focus in the experience -- not wander around and get lost in a huge environment." "In order to really tell the story in Armageddon, it had to be much more linear," he added.%Gallery-114731%
Red Faction movie delayed to May 2011
Better re-mark those calendars. SyFy's Red Faction: Origins movie, originally slated for next March, isn't coming out until May. That's according to a tweet from THQ CEO Danny Bilson, who says that the company started prep work on the film this week, will be shooting in January and that the finished product "airs in May with game release." "Game release," of course, means Red Faction: Armageddon, which recently got pushed back to May. Hopefully those ostriches they're using don't get too cold out there on the Martian landscape during filming.
