Friday, September 4, 2015

Mars game review - Red Faction: Guerrilla

Red Faction: Guerrilla poster
Red Faction: Guerrilla (2009) is an open world (sandbox) third-person shooter game set in the universe of Red Faction computer game series. It details the events between original Red Faction and Red Faction: Origins TV movie (followed by Red Faction: Armageddon computer game) on a terraformed Mars in 2125.

The most unique and compelling feature of this game is the ability to destroy almost everything in the game world. And you can do this in a lot of ways - by crushing with your powerful sledgehammer or any type of transport, by shooting, by blowing up a charge or a chemical cistern and so on.

Story


The story of Red Faction series is tied around the freedom fights of human colonists on Mars against an oppressive rule of Earth-based corporation - the plot line often used in Mars fiction. In the first game of the series - Red Faction set in 2075, 50 years before Guerrilla - Mars was liberated from the oppressive rule of Ultor corporation by revolutionary Martian miners (called "Red Faction") and its leader Parker (you can visit him as an old man next to his shack near a mohole in Badlands sector of Guerrilla). The allies of those fights - Earth Defense Force (EDF) - in last 50 years has become as ruthless as Ultor had been, for the interests of Earth's corporations pressing Martian society into forced labor. No wonder the Red Faction is revived. Unlike as in the original game where in open areas you should walk in a pressure suit, in Guerrilla the Mars is terraformed to the stage you can breath freely.


Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Interspace Mars colony

Picture of the Day 31/8/15 - A drawing of a Mars colony from the website of "Interspace" - a Mars-themed attraction park in Titusville, Florida (near Kennedy Space Center) which will hopefully open in 2016 and house "the largest indoor Mars simulation in the world". It's one of the entertainment & education projects of 4Frontiers Corporation, a space commerce company focused on the settlement of Mars.

Interspace Mars colony

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Terraformed Mars by Ville Ericsson

Picture of the Day 29/8/15 - A shuttle flying over terraformed Mars by Swedish concept artist Ville Ericsson. More of his fantasy art here.

Terraformed Mars

Friday, June 19, 2015

Mars colony by Adam Bujorian

Picture of the Day 19/6/15 - Mars colony above the edge of a canyon by fantasy artist Adam Bujorian. More of his art here.

Mars colony by Adam Bujorian

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Awesome movie trailers of The Martian [updated]

The Martian movie poster
My first thoughts - Awesome! If the movie will be as good as the trailers The Martian will become the BEST MARS MOVIE EVER, overthrowing Total Recall from that throne. The Martian will hit theaters mostly on early October 2015 (see full list of release dates here).

The Martian is based on the novel by Andy Weir and is directed by Ridley Scott (known for Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Prometheus and countless other movies). Plot in brief: "During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return."

More stuff from The Martian:  ►Concept art  ►HD images  ►Quotes



Update: The 2nd "official trailer" of The Martian released on 19 August:

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Mars glider by David A. Hardy

Picture of the Day 6/6/15 - A solar powered glider flying over a Mars canyon by classical space artist David A. Hardy.
More of his Mars art here.

Mars glider by David A. Hardy

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

5 spacecraft currently orbiting Mars

In a recent article "Traffic around Mars gets busy" the NASA/JPL summed up some facts about spacecraft currently orbiting Mars. The most interesting is the provided graphic of their orbits around Mars (together with planet's two natural satellites Phobos & Deimos):

Mars orbiters

So there are 5 active Mars orbiters currently orbiting the planet:

Monday, May 4, 2015

Mars outpost by Robert McCall

Picture of the Day 4/5/15 - "Mars outpost" by legendary space artist Robert McCall.

Mars base

Basic facts about Mars in a video by Crash Course

The most basic facts about Mars in a popular science video by Phil Plait, Crash Course. More of Crash Course educational videos about Astronomy you can watch here.