Parents' Guide to

Red Faction: Armageddon

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Bloody sci-fi shooter intended for adult consumption.

Game PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360 2011
Red Faction: Armageddon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Red Faction: Armageddon Game: Screenshot #1
  • Red Faction: Armageddon Game: Screenshot #2
  • Red Faction: Armageddon Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

See all
age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Sam M.
Sam M. Parent of baby-year-old
March 19, 2017
age 16+

Not fun.

Boring corridor Gears knock off with very little destruction. Too long. Gunplay strong but what good is that when none of the levels are fun? Gorier than last game.
GameMan000
GameMan000 Adult
June 8, 2011
age 10+

cool

Was a fun game

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 2 parent reviews

What’s It About?

The fourth proper entry in Volition's sci-fi action series, RED FACTION: ARMAGEDDON is set 50 years after the events of the third game and stars Darius Mason, the grandson of Red Faction: Guerrilla's Alec Mason, a folk hero who helped liberate oppressed Martian colonists. Things get off to an explosive start when, in the first mission, the planet's terraforming machinery is destroyed by cultists who want to deliver Mars back to its true "masters," forcing the planet's human inhabitants to relocate underground. The new, less than hospitable atmosphere turns out to be just what's needed to allow an ancient, bug-like alien race to be reborn and thrive on the surface. Darius takes it upon himself to keep the extraterrestrials from taking over the planet. Armed with an arsenal of extraordinarily powerful weapons capable of razing entire buildings in seconds, Darius embarks on a mission to stop the extraterrestrial menace.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (4 ):

Red Faction: Armageddon's imaginative arsenal is its primary appeal. Take the magnet gun, a weapon that fires a pair of metal bits that attract to each other. Peg an alien with the first magnet and a building with the second and you'll send the bug hurtling into the structure. Other weapons, such as the all-purpose nano rifle (which atomically disassembles anything it hits) and the singularity canon (which creates a black hole that causes enormous damage to, well, pretty much everything) are just as original. The mayhem can be quite gratifying -- for grown-ups.

That said, older players will likely take issue with other elements. The levels are too linear, the campaign is too short, and the story is too hackneyed. Still, the fun of bringing down a radio tower with naught but a huge hammer is not to be easily dismissed. It won't win any awards, but as a mindless spectacle Red Faction: Armageddon excels.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in games. How violent is too violent for your children? How can you tell how or if the violence your kids consume in their interactive entertainment is affecting them outside of games?

  • Families can also discuss the difference, if any, between realistic and fantasy combat. How do you feel when you fight fantastical creatures in games? Do you feel differently if your opponents are humans?

Game Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended game lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate