THQ was kind enough to take GameBoyz on an adventure, so to speak, to San Francisco, California, home of the Giants, 49ers, Alcatraz and Sourdough bread to name a few things. This venture was not really a sightseeing trip, although I admit to doing a bit, but what this outing was truly about was to give us, and a whole bunch of other journalists, a chance to experience the upcoming third person shooter Red Faction Guerilla and its' multiplayer components.

Our night of multiplayer mayhem took place in very cool nightclub in the heart of downtown San Francisco. You knew that there were going to be a lot of machines to play given the fact that there was a generator outside the entrance with a huge maze of cables running inside. Once indoors we came across a full gamut of videogame consoles with 16 Xbox 360's, 16 PS3's, and a large screen in the front for the game to be demoed in extra-large style. After a quick introduction to some of the key team members for Red Faction Guerilla, a brief description about the night's events, and an announcement that a multiplayer demo was going to be released on May 21st, we journalists were unleashed to play the night away exploring what the game’s multiplayer offerings were about.

During my night of gaming I also had the chance to speak with Multiplayer Programmer DJ Hirko who took a break from his duties at Volition to fly out to San Francisco and hang out us and answer any questions I, or other journalists, may have.

There are six modes of multiplayer madness that one will find. DJ said it best as he described that there are three modes that you would see as standard modes in any game of this nature (e.g. other FPS or Third Person Shooters) and there are three modes which are unique to Red Faction Guerilla. He added that although there are three modes that are 'standard' modes, they too are somewhat unique given that the level of destruction found in the game is more then in others. The multiplayer modes are as follows:

1. Anarchy - This is basically your standard deathmatch mode where everyone looks out for themselves.

2. Team Anarchy - This is basically your team deathmatch mode, where two teams go head to head killing each other.

3. Capture the Flag - Need I say more?

4. Damage Control - A mode unique to Red Faction Guerilla. There are three structures found on the map you are playing. You must either destroy or repair these structures and the longer you control the structures the more points you earn.

5. Destroyer - Another unique mode to the game. Each team has a member(s) identified as a destroyer. The destroyer earns points for their team as they go on a 'destructive' rampage on all the buildings/structures in the level. There is no specific identified structure(s) or base(s) to target as all the structures on the level that are destroyed earn the team points, but again, they have to be destroyed by the destroyer.

6. Siege - The final unique game mode. Here one team attacks while the other team defends. There are control points along the map and the attackers earn points as they destroy the control points. After the round is over the two teams swap sides and the game plays out again. After both rounds are over, the team that did the most destroying, and earns the most points, wins the match.

I had the chance to play all the modes during the night. I found that I enjoyed the Team Anarchy and the Damage Control modes the most. So it was evident that I liked the team play modes where you needed to communicate to win. In terms of the modes that DJ identified as unique to Red Faction Guerilla, they were all quite enjoyable and I really did notice how the damage models play their role. This was particularly evident in Destroyer where you could destroy pretty much everything. It was a quite a hoot to just smash everything in sight and leave a trail of carnage in your wake. But it just wasn’t this mode that demonstrated how well the damage mode played a factor in the game. You can’t hide much behind structures because most, if not all, are eventually destroyed by well placed rocket shots or the use of the default hammer you have in your weapon collection. All in all damage really does play a role in all modes and it is implemented very well.

Of course you have to have various levels to play all these game modes on, and here is another area where Volition delivers. The game will be shipping with 21 maps out of the box. Yes, I said 21 maps people! This is pretty impressive, and as I sit here typing all of this I honestly cannot think of a game that has shipped on the Xbox 360 or PS3 with this large of a number of multiplayer maps. Volition is also working on downloadable content, but there were no announcement in terms of what the content will consist of. DJ did make it known though that the game will continue to be supported after launch with new content for gamers to play, he just didn't narrow it down to let me know exactly what it would contain. That being said, there is already a large number of maps shipping with the game, and to add even more via DLC is very exciting indeed.

The 21 multiplayer levels vary in size, style and artwork. The maps are designed in such away that they are suited for differing numbers of players given that you won’t always have a chance to play with the maximum number of players, which for Red Faction Guerilla is 16. During the night I discovered how well the different sizes played with different numbers. This was very evident when I was able to play a six player anarchy map with DJ himself and some of the other attendees. The level he chose kept the gameplay exciting as we did not have to spend a lot of time looking for one another. The size was perfect as you would come across other players quite often and get into some great gun battles. Of course any more players would have been chaotic. I also had the chance to play some 16 player battles on the larger maps, which were chosen by Volition staff themselves. You can tell they all know which maps suits the various numbers of players, as the larger maps accommodated all 16 of us very well with some great battles generated while also allowing some time to try to pick of opposing players with ranged weapons.

The game also includes the use of power-ups in the form of backpacks. These backpacks play a paramount role in your multiplayer experience given that they provide various power-ups to enhance your character. Such things as Fleetfoot (speed), Rhino (plow through walls), Heal, Jetpack and Firepower all manage to add more spice to the game. One of my personal favourites was to use the Firepower backpack along with the shotgun. I actually went on a rare 12 kill streak until I met my demise using this combination. It was my one true moment in the spotlight, and I think the only time I somewhat dominant in a match. The backpacks are spread out in various locations on each map too. I enjoyed this aspect of the game as I experimented with the various packs found on each level.

After playing some of the maps and modes, I took a bit of a break to ask DJ even more questions. In terms of the multiplayer experience, when asked where he believes Red Faction Guerilla falls in terms of other great multiplayer games like Halo 3 or Call of Duty: World at War, he stated he believes it falls along the same level if not if not above these two games. Volition believes Red Faction Guerilla is a top tier shooter. He noted how the controls are "nailed" tight, which is something you need in a shooter. Although it is a third person shooter it controls like a first person shooter and controls well. He said that if you know how FPS games control, then you will know how this game controls. He also touched on how the destruction found in Red Faction Guerilla is also what makes the game stand out on its own too.

There is a party system in Red Faction Guerilla, both on the Xbox 360 and the PS3. You also earn EXP points during play that you can use to open up unlockables. Something that I found interesting, and was glad to hear DJ speak about, was that you can earn the game's EXP in System Link or custom online matches (e.g. private) with other players. So, even if you have a private party of 4, 8, or 16 players, the experience earned for each player will stay with each player. This is unlike COD where you must play public matches to earn and keep EXP. Volition believes that this is a good thing given that not all people like to play in public matches. They know that gamers like to play with those they know, so why make the EXP something they cannot earn when playing with friends. This writer thinks that this is a great idea as I enjoy my private rooms with online friends who I game with on a regular basis. Kudos to them for doing this.

EXP allows you to unlock such things as new players, new hammers, new playlists, badge icons and color schemes. In terms of keeping some playlists locked, this was done to keep the more competitive ones locked so that when you first play online, or any of your friends are relatively new or not as hardcore as some of the players out there, you won't be hitting playlists that are played by more experienced players. As DJ kindly put it: "so [people] don't get creamed going into them."

The unlockables available in the game do not give one person a leg up over another in terms of being more powerful and giving them a greater advantage over others. DJ further explained that many of the unlockables allow you to "bling" out your character so to speak. In terms of any type of cap to unlocking stuff, there is an end of the road so to speak. There are a 125 unlockables in the game. I asked him how long this may take, and narrowed my question even more to how long some of the people at Volition took to max out, and he said anywhere from a few weeks to even months. Bottomline, it can take you awhile depending how often you will play this game.

One of the biggest issues I have of any competitive multiplayer game is that you will always find people who love to spawn camp. When asked what Volition has done to minimize this DJ stated that there is an extensive internal system for respawning and waiting that player is not exposed too in terms of programming and what actually goes on to make decisions. There are a lot of rules in the background that will dictate where and how one respawns. He noted that such things as how recently a friendly player died in a spot or if there are any remote charges there. He even noted if there are a lot of enemies in the area, the game most likely won’t respawn you there. Once you do respawn you will have a gold sheen to your body, this is like invulnerability. This allows you to find cover should someone try to spawn camp. It also allows you to get your bearings straight before you enter battle; however, should you immediately attack another player who may be in the area, you become vulnerable once again. Volition has done a lot to try to minimize the dreaded spawn camping found in other multiplayer games.

In terms of keeping even skilled players in matches, the Xbox 360 supports TruSkill and there is an internally designed system for the PS3. Also playing a part in the role of matchmaking is how often a player wins, how long a player has played and what their kill to death ratio is. It is hoped that all players can find enjoyable and evenly matched players.

Overall I had a lot of fun playing the Multiplayer components of the game. It took me a bit of time to get used to the maps and special abilities of each backpack, but once I had some time to get accustomed to everything the game offered I really started to have some fun. The only thing that could have made the time with the multiplayer portion of the game even better was if we had headsets on to communicate more efficiently rather then yelling across a table. After my time with the multiplayer component I have high hopes for the game online. I really am looking forward to when the final retail copy hits stores so all my online friends and I can actually play together.

My final thought is that I have to give a shout out to Jerome from THQ for inviting GameBoyz to this unique and very enjoyable event. Being able to hang out with other journalists putting the multiplayer modes through their paces was very rewarding and time well spent. I can’t wait to play the final version of the game.