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Red Faction II Removed From Germany's List Of Banned Games
Germany is infamous for their draconian restrictions on video games. Titles released in the country are often altered to tone down their violence, lest they be put on the dreaded Index, the notorious List of Media Harmful to Young People.
In October, Volition's 2001 shooter, Red Faction, was removed from the index after 15 years of being banned from sale in the country, and now its sequel, the aptly titled Red Faction II, has also been removed from the list of forbidden video games. Why were the games on the list in the first place? The violence surely had something to do with it, but the games have a strong "workers of the world unite" vibe, and perhaps those themes didn't sit well with the people in charge of the list. In any case, both classic PS2 Red Faction titles are now available for purchase in Germany.
The last entry in the series was 2011's underwhelming Red Faction: Armageddon, and the series has been dormant since then, though the original title was recently released as a PS2 on PS4 classic. See GI's Replay of that first title in the series here.
Our Take
THQ Nordic's re-release of the original Red Faction on PS4 might just be an effort to make a quick buck, but they might also be gauging interest in a potential future for the franchise. Red Faction was pretty big back in the day, before 2011's Armageddon went over like a lead balloon. Whatever the case may be, it's always great when banned art is made available to the masses. Red Faction II isn't my favorite RF title (that would be the original, of course), but it's a solid shooter with a fun story and some great setpieces. Here's hoping for a PS2 on PS4 port.
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