Accepting an invitation from THQ, we loaded up our plasma cannons to preview Red Faction: Armageddon, which is due for release in May and are happy to report that sci-fi gamers are in for a real treat.

Set in 2160 - two generations after the events in Red Faction: Guerrilla and with yet more fully destructible environments, the latest in the series is an awesome explosive battle for humankind, led by Darius Mason, grandson of Alex Mason. Hunted down by an angry bunch of Colonist mobs after he accidentally opened an old shaft that released Armageddon on Mars, Darius bids farewell to his life doing mercenary work or salvaging scrap from the extreme weather ravaged surface of Mars and joins the Red Faction.

Good job he appears to keep his cool when the heat is on as he’s got a fair few vicious Martian monsters awaiting him in the bowels of the underground Colonist mines. Know now, this game is intense and we love it!

If being chased by a mob whilst taking on evil aliens isn’t squirm inducing enough, add to the mix some dark claustrophobic tunnels and you’ve got a game that really packs a punch. There’s a good range of weapons in the single player campaign (you can assign up to four on the D-Pad) with the most impressive bang award going to the magnet gun. Step one, shoot a wall. Step two, shoot an alien. Step three, sit back and watch as the two magnetically smash together and crash across the screen! Yay! We also love the mighty maul which is perfect for smashing into aliens faces during close combat or demolishing pillars, buildings and anything else that gets in the way of your swinging arm. Feel free to get over zealous with your mauling. Though we quickly found ourselves stranded as we’d totally wrecked the path ahead, luckily Darius also has a handy NanoForge device that repairs any damage done – consider it the green light for going and bashing the world up.

Bridges magically reform in front of your very eyes whilst stairwells rise up to lead the way like Mary Poppins cleaning up an industrial playroom. There’s also a helpful guidance system if you’re still struggling but overall, the gameplay is quite linear and finding your way through well designed levels is straightforward.

The relentless, frantic pace is exciting (heightened by an rocking soundtrack), especially when you’re fending off swarms of crawling spiky yellow critters and wall mounted spitting red aliens at the same time but Mr Mason is so smooth he even has time to deliver some punchy one liners as he gets stuck in. Not that’s he’s nonchalant or arrogant in fact, he’s a likeable character and the script is great and we hope this remains the case in the full game.

Away from single player is the awesome Ruin Mode where the aim is to obliterate as much of your surrounding environment as you can in one minute. The more damage you do, the bigger your score. You get bonus seconds awarded and can unlock new maps (6 in total) if you match the target score.

We found that a couple of the weapons racked up mega scores way quicker than others as each create different levels of carnage but with leaderboards to climb we’re already addicted and respectably left the preview room with over 19 million points (though we hear the studio record is around 22 million – harrumph)!

With an engaging multiplayer mode expected too, there’s a lot to look forward to when this title arrives at the end of May. For more information, screenshots and trailers about Red Faction: Armageddon visit the website.