Red Faction

During the opening cinematic, the protagonist of Red Faction explains that he needs to get away from it all and get his life together. So he promptly signs up for slave labor in a mining colony on Mars. Although this is a worse career move than Dennis Miller taking his Kafka references to the gridiron, it results in an impressive and engrossing first-person adventure game. Soon after grabbing your pickaxe, you become embroiled in a revolution led by the titular faction. All this means is that you run around with various weapons and off evil guards. We have to admit that most first-person games nauseate us, but Faction’s smooth graphics and easy gameplay make it hard to put down. You even get to hop into vehicles and cause more damage (we suggest checking out the giant drilling machine—your Dual Shock will vibrate with malicious glee as you churn guards into pâté). Just try to forget that this whole game would have been negated if the hero had simply decided to go fishing instead.