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A lone soldier stands before a tall building, equipped with a sledgehammer and an odd-looking backpack. The building, two floors in nature, stares back amidst an echo of explosions and gunfire from the battle around them. The soldier begins his work and with a single swing of the hammer, he creates a small hole in the first floor of the structure, through which he can see his enemy. He continues destroying the walls before him and before long, he sees his adversary inside the very building he is destined to fell. He takes fire from the man, but rather than return fire himself, he presses a small button on his backpack and is sent charging through the building before him like a rhino, sending the foundations flying in every direction as the second floor becomes the first and his enemy is crushed beneath it. This is not the game you remember. This is a new version of Geo-Mod. This is the multiplayer beta of Red Faction: Guerrilla.
The most obvious change in Guerrilla is the switch from first to third person. While some die-hard fans may be put off by this, the gameplay still holds the same destructive shooter formula that made the PS2 games so much fun. The only real difference is that the player can actually see the interaction between their character and the environment, which in a game with a heavy focus on environmental destruction, is a good thing.
The destruction is also where the game truly shines. Anything that is not a part of the level terrain can be bashed, broken, exploded, knocked over, toppled, destroyed, or completely flattened given enough time and equipment. Players start each round with a gun and a sledgehammer, which can be easily used to put holes in walls or weaken the support framework of a building with a mere swing. While it may sound like a cheap gimmick or eye candy, it complements the gameplay nicely by allowing a player to tip over a tall smokestack to block a path or break down a wall to bypass a defending enemy. Although it can often take a fair amount of time to make a structure collapse, the payoff is usually worthwhile, as you are treated to a display of physics that is wonderful to behold. Watching a tower that is roughly 10 times taller than your player come crashing down as you destroy pieces of it in real time is an impressive sight. So much so that many players spend rounds simply trying to destroy the church on Radial or the 2-floor office on Crash Site, only to have their work crush them to death in the end. 
The game however, is not entirely about destruction and is a decent shooter on its own. The beta includes three maps and two game modes, Team Anarchy (Team Deathmatch) and Damage Control. The latter plays similar to a game of territories, only instead of capturing them, the goal is to destroy and rebuild them for your team. Also included are nine weapons, including a shuriken cannon and remote detonators. The key thing that makes the gameplay stand aside from others of its kind is the inclusion of five backpacks to be found on the map, each of which grants the player with a different ability, and all of which can be used to cause devastation to the level or pain to the other team: Firepower - This pack greatly increases the damage done by your weapons when activated.
Fleetfoot - This pack increases the player's movement speed for a short time.
Concussion - When activated, causes a shockwave to burst from the player, causing nearby enemies to go flying defenselessly.
Jetpack - It's a jetpack. Nothing fancy, but incredibly useful for reaching a vantage point or getting over walls (if too lazy to destroy them).
Rhino - When activated, the player performs a small dash move forward which causes any walls, small buildings, or construction of any kind to be violently destroyed. (Great for helping take down a building quickly)
Each of these packs can be used repeatedly during gameplay until the player dies, but timing is essential, as there is a slight delay after each use where the player is without it's power.
The game (so far) also has its share of technical difficulties, as is to be expected with a beta version. Most buildings will only fall after every individual piece of steel holding it is destroyed, often leaving an entire structure held floating aloft by a toothpick-sized support beam. Players often get stuck inside of walls, rocks, or other pieces of environment after using a rhino dash, which can lead to some hilarity. One of the maps even seems to be wholly incomplete, consisting of only a small circular area in which a small junkyard has been placed -- matches on it are often too long and there's simply not enough room for the player to comfortably navigate, even after most of it has been destroyed or knocked over. Even the matchmaking system has its problems, often allowing a player or party to be waiting over 10 minutes to play a game, with a countdown timer that seems to be made to frustrate and a map/mode selection process that seems to repeat itself several times before a game starts. All of this can be traced back to the fact that this is a beta test and the full retail game won't be seeing store shelves until early next year. Even with its faults though, the Red Faction: Guerrilla beta is almost too much fun and can be had with a Fileplanet or IGN subscription (or be friends with the coolest person on the planet). Regardless, if you are a Red Faction fan, or are looking for a shooter on the horizon with something a little different, Guerrilla is one to look forward to in 2009. 
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