Red Faction (N-Gage)

Red Faction (N-Gage)
Information
Platform(s)	Nokia N-Gage
Engine	Fathammer X-Forge
Developer(s)	Monkeystone Games
Publisher(s)	THQ Wireless
Released	Dec 10, 2003 (NA) Dec 12, 2003 (EU)

Red Faction N-Gage is a 2003 port of the first Red Faction game to Nokia's N-Gage platform. The port was developed by John Romero and Tom Hall's Monkeystone Games studio. John Romero has stated that he didn't play Red Faction prior to developing the N-Gage port. Red Faction N-Gage has both a single player campaign, and a peer-to-peer multiplayer component for up to 2 players connected via Bluetooth.

Gameplay

It is more linear first-person-shooter and more simplified/condensed version of the PS2 and PC versions. With brand new maps holding up the same premise of its own, while sticking to the original storyline. Gameplay consists inside Doom-generic type maps with secrets inside geomodable walls sprayed with decals or grafitti only. The player cannot blast walls everywhere they want. The enemies as soon as they see you, they will rush into you and starts shooting before you could possibly shoot them. There's no difficulty selection either.

Due to not so convenient N-Gage Mobile controls, it is pretty difficult to maintain a steady aim against opponents, which not only sometimes they don't die right after you shoot them, but it requires some luck to engage hostiles cause the enemy hitscan is horrible. Platforming won't be friendly-user either, as it becomes frustrating to control yourself in mid air while reaching edges or avoiding death pits.

Weapons such as the Flamethrower and Precision Rifle are excluded. Vehicles like the Aesir Fighter, Driller and the Ultor APC are not present in the N-Gage version. The Sniper Rifle uses the same green scope as the Rail Driver, while the railgun itself cannot shoot through walls, but it can kill an enemy in one shot as it behaves the same way as the sniper. You are forced to drive the Jeep in the second level of Capek's Lair even though it is optional to drive it, in the first part of the section. Right after Inner Sanctum level where Capek is located, it skips directly to Mercenary Barracks, meaning that Grand Canyon and the Space Station that were featured in the previous titles are missing by unknown reasons.

The stealth sections almost works the same way as in the previous titles only this time around, the players will have all of the weapons returned to them should they ever fail at stealth instantly. The bosses are equipped to shoot with pistols even though they die right away like ordinary enemies despite their health increased. The player shouldn't worry of second phases when they demolish the bosses's shields. Lastly it doesn't have the bomb-defuse sequence set up by Mercenaries like in PS2 and PC. As soon as the player reaches to rescue Eos, it marks the end of the game.

Campaign

The RF N-Gage single player campaign roughly replicates the Red Faction campaign. The player again assumes the role of Parker, several sequences are very similar, and many of the level design choices reflect levels from the original game. Throughout the game, the player battles many familiar enemies, including Ultor Guards, Elite Guards, Spike Drones, and Mutants - plus 2 "boss" enemies in Capek and Masako.

All N-Gage campaign levels have been ported and remade into PC Version of the game as a total-conversion mod, now known as "RF N-Gage Remake". Available on FactionFiles here: Red Faction N-Gage Remake along with a Promo N-Gage Addon for the mod itself, based on promotional N-Gage pictures that were supposed to be in the game itself but it never happened, forming a mini-campaign of its own: Red Faction N-Gage Promo Addon

Easter Eggs

• Dopefish - Making his Red Faction series debut, Dopefish (of Commander Keen fame) is featured in Red Faction (N-Gage). See Dopefish for more information.

Multiplayer

RF N-Gage multiplayer supports 2 players, joined via Bluetooth connection. Combat is very simple and is limited to only duel. RF N-Gage multiplayer is without a doubt the least accessible part of the game - it requires 2 compatible N-Gage hardware devices be within Bluetooth range, running Red Faction, and attempting to organize a game. Given the scarcity of N-Gage hardware devices even at the time of the game's release, it's safe to assume that Red Faction N-Gage's multiplayer component was never widely utilized. Furthermore, current emulation techniques are not compatible with the multiplayer component of the game.

RF N-Gage Multiplayer contains many of the weapons from the single player component and 5 entirely purpose-built custom levels that bare no resemblance to levels from the original Red Faction game.

Red Faction N-Gage Multiplayer Levels

• 01: Hellpit - Small industrial-themed arena consisting of 3 small hallways surrounding a larger room which contains a Fusion Rocket Launcher.
• 02: Betrayal - Complex maze of corridors with rusted metal walls and black ceilings accented by an assortment of storage crates.
• 03: Damagehall - Very simple merc base-themed level containing 2 large rooms and hallways connecting them.
• 04: Destructor - Arena level containing 2 large rooms connected by straight hallways arranged in a grid.
• 05: Jackhammer - The most vertical level in the game, this level contains 2 moderately-sized rooms connected by hallways and a upper vent the player can drop from to surprise their opponent.

All five RF N-Gage multiplayer levels have been ported to the PC version of the game and are available for download from FactionFiles: N-Gage RF MP Collection