The Red Faction series may be down, but that doesn’t mean it’s out. The first-person shooter turned third-person open-world title was shelved by THQ after the disappointing sales performance of Armageddon, and we’ve heard very little from new owner Nordic Games since the IP auction. However, a new interview by OXM with Volition's senior producer Jim Boone details who the original creators want to see revive the destruction-happy franchise. For Boon, Battlefield developer DICE is the only company that makes sense.
"The fact that they [DICE] has had experience, and understands what it means to perform destruction, and what kind of compromises you actually have to make – maximizing the opportunities that it presents from a design standpoint," Jim Boone told said. "I think you almost by definition have to be someone who has some experience in destruction so yeah, I'd totally be giving it up to DICE, if I could choose anyone."
The fate of Red Faction really isn’t up to Boon, but Nordic Games has expressed a desire to find good homes for its properties. And with the power of DICE’s engine, this particular universe could become something truly special.
"In Red Faction, I could destroy every single bit of wall I wanted to," he continued. "In Bad Company, I could destroy one part of wall, but the outer edges would stay. And the gamer didn't care.
"They just thought 'I shot that wall and it blew up and that's amazing.' Not 'I shot the wall right there and there's a hole right there.' Because DICE made that one compromise, everything else looked amazing. And I think that was a smart call, frankly."