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Warlords | |
Warlords as seen in Red Faction 1 on PC | |
Author | Nathan Camarillo |
Game | Red Faction, Red Faction II, Red Faction: Guerrilla |
Supported Gametypes | DM, TDM, CTF |
Released | Aug 22, 2001 (RF1 default map) |
Warlords first appeared in the PS2 version of Red Faction 1 as a deathmatch map, and later in the PC release of the game as a CTF map. The original PS2 version of Warlords was included in all versions of Red Faction II. Much later, Warlords was revisited, and entire reconstructed for inclusion in Red Faction: Guerrilla.
Warlords has the distinction of being the only map in the Red Faction series to be featured in some form in three out of four major releases.
History
Red Faction 1
As noted above, Warlords made its premiere as a DM map in the PS2 version of Red Faction. Here, the map was a popular choice for split-screen multiplayer and bot matches. This original incarnation of Warlords featured two neutral-colored bases inside a large canyon with an empty middle section.
When Red Faction was released on PC, with it came a new and improved CTF version of Warlords. This went on to be arguably the most popular CTF map in the game, and is still a popular choice for public servers and competitive matches today. In revisiting this map for play in CTF, the developers made a great deal of changes from the original PS2 DM version. In this incarnation, the bases are color-coded to each team, and are much larger than in the original. The addition of bottom and top tunnels, as well as the center bridge also make the map significantly more interesting to play. The bottom tunnels of Warlords connect the ground and second floors of each team's base with the respective locations in the opposing base, and runs straight under the center of the map. The top tunnels link the top sections of each base, and also connect with the bridge in the center of the map which houses the game's superweapon, the Fusion Rocket Launcher.