There are a total of nine maps available, each offering unique layouts, features, and game modes. Here’s a quick look at all the maps, including some helpful gameplay tips from the developers.
Area 49
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch
To this day Mars remains largely unexplored, and therefore, full of surprises. Red Faction has created a variety of fantastical environments, like this spacecraft crash site, to keep recruits on their toes. There’s a nice hiding place with a pick-up to the right of the map that can easily be defended using mines or remote charges.
Biohazard
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Flag Frenzy
This was once a lonely but beautiful green smudge on the Red Planet. But the plant life is now starkly alien—a reminder that while home, Mars conceals many mys-teries. The barriers around the central area make it difficult to reach. Typically, that’s where the best pick-ups often appear.
Chem-Zone
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Flag Frenzy
Recycling is part of everyday life on Mars. Large facilities like the Chem-Zone help ensure that the local heavy industries stay supplied with the chemicals and mate-rials they need. This map was designed as a team Capture the Flag level (with four players), but it’s also a fun Deathmatch arena. In Capture the Flag, the destructi-ble tanks are a great way of taking people out just before they deliver the flag. In Deathmatch, it’s a good map for heavy vehicles. The center of the map is an ideal location to take and hold and should receive frequent pick-up spawns.
Ice Mine EOS
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch
On Earth, water covers nearly 75% of the planet’s surface. On Mars, that number is much, much closer to zero. The Ice Mine was built to simulate one of the plan-et’s many water reclamation projects, where ice is melted down and treated. This is a relatively small Deathmatch level with plenty of stuff to blow up. A mixture of open areas and things to hide behind means that all vehicle types can be effective.
Marauder Enclave
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill
While Red Faction and the Marauders are officially allies, training environments like the Enclave have been built to help prepare recruits to operate in Marauder space, if or when the need arises. If you’re playing King of the Hill, a good tactic is to destroy all the explosive objects at the back of the hill before becoming king—otherwise, it’s just too much of an opportunity for the other players. If you’re king and a Reconstructor spawns, be very wary, since those explosive objects are going to come back very soon!
Parker Town
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Flag Frenzy
Parker has weathered both EDF occupation and Red Faction liberation—the latter perhaps more impressive, given Alec Mason’s proclivities. Red Faction now trains in simulated town environments, in the hopes that recruits will learn to avoid such collateral damage in the future. Parker Town is a tight and twisty arena, which makes it harder to navigate if you’re in a big vehicle. There’s lots of explosive objects here that can be used tactically to destroy your opponent. Try placing Remote Mining Charges near the explosive tanks and wait for someone to drive past!
Particle Cannon 7
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill
The EDF ruled Mars with an iron fist, and weapon installations like Particle Cannon 7 were the seat of their power. Red Faction doesn’t need to train there, but if you’re going to blow stuff up anyway. . . This map is most suited to King of the Hill mode and always guarantees focused destruction and manic combat. If you’re holding the hill and you have a Singularity Bomb, a great tactic is to drop the bomb on the hill and run for a Repair pick-up. Everyone else will be in such a rush to become king, they probably won’t spot the Singularity Bomb and you may manage to kill a few opponents at once!
The Fortress
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Flag Frenzy
Outposts like the Fortress are spread throughout the Martian desert, built to protect nearby mines or other valuable resources. Isolated and vulnerable, they are common targets for bandits and ne’er-do-wells, no matter how high their walls. This is a large map that creates a sprawling Deathmatch battle. The layout is ideal for the faster moving vehicles that can take advantage of their speed to collect the best pick-ups. The map has different levels and lots of route options when moving around, which makes it an ideal Flag Frenzy map.
Wasteland
Supported Game Modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag
Red Faction silenced the EDF’s artillery long ago, but the former “Free Fire Zone” remains a dangerous place, full of bandits and abandoned weaponry. In many ways, it’s the perfect place to train. Wasteland is a relatively large map originally designed for team Capture the Flag. The center is an open killing field with no cov-er, so it’s important to keep moving. The large explosive tanks are a major danger, and it’s possible to get some very satisfying kills when opponents are racing for the pick-ups. A good tactic is to destroy the opposing team’s ramps leading up to the their base—it’ll force them to go the long way around with the flag.