The Heart of a Rebellion (Red Faction: Guerrilla)

RED FACTION: GUERRILLA
DEVELOPER: VOLITION, REACTOR ZERO
SYSTEM: UTOMIK, STEAM

Sandbox shooters are amazing when you consider all the options a gamer can do to complete the obstacle. In my last play of Red Faction: Guerrilla I tried to storm a squad of EDF goons on foot. After taking a beating, my second play through involved storming a pickup truck through their base and running them all down. The creativity in each mission is what makes open world games so much fun.

A great majority of these games try to earn their M rating by pushing the player to be as violent as possible, while presenting issues like mob bosses, drug runs and filthy mouthed thugs. Red Faction plays their open world game a bit differently. You play as Mason, a rebellion leader on Mars, who is fighting against the tyrannical government. You fulfill missions by destroying buildings, defeating opposition and winning over the trust of your fellow workers. Destruction is welcome as every building and wall in the game is completely destructible, encouraging players to solve puzzles by blowing up half of the real estate on the planet of Mars.

In an open world game like Red Faction: Guerrilla  players can only solve their conflicts with explosions and killing the enemy. It reminds me of another rebellion that took place under the hot blistering sun of the desert. Moses, the reluctant freedom fighter of Israeli liberation force shares a lot of qualities with Mason. Both were living in danger for their lives from a powerful enemy. Both wanted to see the slaves of the community set free. Both needed to show their captors that they mean business.

The biggest difference was the presence of Yahweh in Moses’ life. The God of past, present and future asked Moses to be a freedom fighter to help liberate the Israelites from slavery under the Egyptian super power. While Egyptian men lived comfortably in the wealth of the country, the Israeli people were forced to work as slaves. God would have none of that.

“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10

Thus Pharaoh met the stubborn Yahweh and Moses team up. Moses demanded that the people of Israel would be free and God backed him up with intimidating miracles. Egypt started to have clouds of darkness, animal infestations, rivers of blood and death. Pharaoh was devastated when God finally unleashed his last punishment to remove the first sons of every family.

Rebellion was in God’s favor when the Israelites walked freely out of Egypt with the Egyptian super power defeated by the mighty powers of God. Not only did God prove that he cared deeply for a people that were being abused, but he was out to prove that he was the most powerful god of the world. Mission accomplished.

“But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.” Exodus 14:13-14

Playing Red Faction: Guerrilla is an exciting exchange of bullets and destruction, but it does not reflect the power of God and his desire to change things in this world. When he hears his creation beg for help in an unjust situation, he first sends a messenger to set things right and then a display of force to show who is in charge. You can see that through history as leaders like Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, William Wilberforce, Nelson Mandela and others stood with a message of freedom, while God led them to justice. Not every rebellion had a show of pyrotechnics and force, but we can clearly see how God used others to gain victory through a power beyond their influence.

Perhaps this same God can force some unjust situations in your life out.

Red Faction: Guerrilla Recommendation: Like most sandbox shooters, RF:G does not stray far from its brothers in terms of content. Soldiers are gunned down, vehicular destruction is rampant, and in a small way you feel like a terrorist in your methods of solving a conflict. It is not extreme in its violence, but it’s very difficult to root for a hero that needs to slay everything in his path to destroy the enemy. It’s no different than Contra or Super Mario Brothers (games where destroying things helps solve problems) but RF:G compounds on it with strong language and a hero who does not care about who lives or dies.