Magnet Gun fires Red Faction: Armageddon

The video-game gun hall of fame has a new contender, thanks to Red Faction: Armageddon.

It's called the Magnet Gun. Your first shot fires a magnet; your second shot releases an anchor, which attracts the magnetized surface. Shoot once into a ceiling, once onto a floor and you can cause a building to collapse into rubble. It's a new tool for the Red Faction universe, which has always thrived on large-scale property demolition.

Red Faction takes place on 22nd century Mars, which Earthlings have tried to terraform into a livable environment. In the prologue to Armageddon, a cult leader has destroyed the terraformer, driving the colonists underground. There, they discover a new threat, awakening a hive of vicious, insectoid aliens. From there, Armageddon turns into a fairly predictable bug hunt. Your character, Darius Mason, is sent deeper into the tunnels of Mars to eradicate the aliens (as well as Adam Hale, the cult leader).

Your arsenal is impressive. You get toys like the Nano Rifle, which shoots swarms of all-consuming nanoparticles, and the Singularity Cannon, which swallows monsters with a miniature black hole. But the Magnet Gun is the most effective. If you stumble across a building infested with aliens, you can crush them by flattening the structure.

RATING M for Mature

PLOT Kill the bugs on Mars

DETAILS Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $60; PC, $50

BOTTOM LINE Appetite for destruction? This will feed it.