THQ gives good demo. We weren’t able to play Red Faction: Armageddon, but the short demo on display at THQ’s booth had our entire team buzzing with excitement.

It’s a few decades later, and things aren’t going good for the citizens of Mars. They were able to oust the government at the end of Red Faction: Guerilla and a period of peace followed. Then a yet-to-be-named force showed up, turning the planet’s surface into an inhospitable wasteland and forcing the inhabitants back into the long-dormant mines from the first game. Armageddon picks up 10 years later and follows Darius Mason (Alec’s grandson), whom the citizens of Mars suspect may be connected to a series of odd attacks.

Right off the bat, developer Volition is promising even more destruction than Guerilla. The demo kicked off with Darius leading a convoy through the cavernous Martian underworld. Almost immediately, a group of insect-like aliens attacked the convoy. In the years following Guerilla, the rebel’s technology has improved, moving from repurposed mining tools to weapons. Darius immediately sprung to action using an assault rifle, ripping through the multi-legged aliens.

Once the immediate threat was put down, Darius and his group moved into a connecting cave in search of the insects’ nest. At this point, Volition unveiled a brand-new gun that immediately had our staffers’ brains jumping with tactical possibilities – the magnagun. The weapon is flat-out crazy and works in two stages. First, you shoot at one object, then another, causing the two shots to instantly become attracted to each other. At one point, the demo driver launched a shot at a guard tower-like structure and then a refuse bin. The bin flew into the tower, causing it to topple. The magnetized bolts can be used on just about everything in the environment, including enemies.

With buildings crumbling around him, Darius then switched to another of Armageddon’s new weapons, the Nanoforge, which works similar to the Reconstructor in Guerilla. Provided the weapon has a charge, it can repair broken structures. During the demo, the player blew open a crate, walked into it, and sealed himself inside. This protected him for further attack, but also offered an opportunity to heal his battle wounds.

Darius couldn’t hide forever, and with the alien’s attack becoming stronger with each passing minute, it became time to pull in the big gun – a mechanized suit named the Leo. With the Leo in action, Darius was able to quickly clear out the remaining enemies using the mech’s machine guns and missiles. For added effect, Darius brought down a few settlements to make sure the insects were squashed. As impressive as the Leo is, we were told it isn’t the biggest vehicle you’ll pilot in the game.

I, along with a good part of our crew, left the demo eager to get our hands on Red Faction: Armageddon. The magnagun looks like a killer addition to the series and I can’t wait to see it in action alongside the open-world gameplay.