#darius mason

[sim0leons]

Darius, Melanie & Victoria, summer of '25.

[detroitography]

Event: Detroit Data Forum: Traffic Data and Crashes

Welcome to our Data Forum where we will discuss traffic data, mobility, and safety in the city. Join us online for lunch-and-learn filled with insightful discussions, tips, and tricks on all things related to the data. We’ll be joined by the Darius Mason from the City of Detroit’s Office of Mobility Innovation, Patrick Bowman of UM Transportation Research Institute, and Jenya Abramovich from…

Event: Detroit Data Forum: Traffic Data and Crashes

[epicvideogamewallpapers]

Red Faction: Armageddon Wallpaper

[thesanegamer]

Final Thoughts: Red Faction Armageddon

I know it has been a little while since I've done a Final Thoughts, but fear not, for I have just been doing some replays of old games. But anyways, I have now knocked out another new game for me: Red Faction Armageddon. The only other I have played in the Red Faction series was this rascal's older bro, Guerilla. I quite enjoyed that game, and I can say the same for this game, but not necessarily in the same way or in the same areas. 

Armageddon stays true to its Red Faction roots and the game sets you as a Mason on Mars. You begin the game witnessing and trying to stop a cataclysmic event, but end up failing. The story of the game then takes place a couple of years later in the aftermath of that first, initial event. Long story short, you must fight off some Martian aliens. The plot isn't too dense and I felt like a lot of what I was doing was just gopher missions for the NPCs who were for the most part just as capable a character as I, Darius Mason, yet I found myself to be the one getting my boots dirty for the most part. Although I did enjoy the game, I wish the story had gone a little deeper than fight back aliens and take out the big momma. You do see some twists and turns as well as some hidden motives, but none were too important or pertinent to the story. The story wasn't bad, it was just your run of the mill alien attack kind of thing. 

However, the gameplay is where this game makes a name for itself. Well, maybe not making a name for itself given that this game is practically unknown to most avid gamers, but it does establish itself with its gameplay. It is a very solid third person shooter and adding in all of the environment destructibility only adds to this. The arsenal of weapons is not top-tier but it is damn near close. You have a wide variety of weapons and a lot are pretty interesting and cool. Some weapons aren't too strong against enemies but are devastating to buildings, which if used strategically can be extra damaging to enemies. The maul returns to this Red Faction and once again proves to be such a handy weapon in practically every situation. There are a few vehicle segments which help break up the repetitive nature of the levels, but I still found myself noticing the monotony of some of the levels. There is some pacing, but it could be polished some more. 

However, I mentioned in the first paragraph that I like both the Red Faction games I have played, but for different reasons. Guerilla was a sandbox game. Armageddon was practically the opposite with its linearity. I think I liked Guerilla for its openness and ingenuity, whereas Armageddon's more honed gameplay, but more constrictive story, still were fun. Its just a bit strange with how popular sandbox games are nowadays for a series to go from sandbox back to linear storyline... Either way, I enjoyed the game.

If you were a fan of Guerilla, I'd say you'd be a fan of Armageddon too, but take it with a grain of salt. If you like Guerilla because of the sandbox-ness and wide world, you may not like Armageddon. But if you liked Guerilla for its cool environment/world setup and awesome building destruction, then I can confidently say you will like Armageddon too. However, if you have not played any game in the Red Faction series, and you enjoy third person shooters, I say definitely pick this game up. Gamestop literally sells it new for about $6-8 and its about 8hrs long. Not a big dent in your wallet and not too much of a time commitment. Id say pick it up and give it a whirl.