2009 has so far been a year sorely lacking in exciting titles. The two major superhero titles of the early summer, inFamous and Prototype, were met with mainly yawns, and promising new francises like Ghostbusters: The Video Game were more notable for their long development than their exciting innovations. Amidst this lacking release calendar, though, we are pleased to announce that there is a true diamond amidst the rough: Red Faction: Gorilla.

The third installment of the terrain-deforming shooter series, Red Faction: Gorilla is as exciting for the changes it makes as the elements it keeps the same. The earlier two installments of the series, focused on the liberation of Mars and its development as a workers’ paradise, are quickly turned on their ear by the introduction of the protagonist – a half-ton space gorilla, driven mad by the absence of delicious space-bananas on Mars. Using a variety of weapons and tools, this space gorilla must destroy everything that stands in the way of the delectable space-fruit.

Some may say that the writing in Red Faction: Gorilla is “lacking in depth,” or that it “may have been written by a seven-year-old whose only knowledge of a gorilla came from a ripped up ZooBook.” We here at Hardcasual, though, praise the writers for giving players what they want – a true summer blockbuster of a game, and one not afraid to spend its first three hours mainly concerned with an elaborate poop-hurling mini-game.

The unparalleled feeling of simian power that the physics engine gives, though, is the real star. As you find and liberate space-bananas, you unlock the real fun of the game – liberating more bananas and sexy female gorillas by planting slippery peels throughout levels. There’s a real joy in seeing an enemy slip on a banana peel, and to really believe in the way the slip and fall happen – this is technology truly serving the title, leading the way to a truly open world.

The multiplayer modes leave much to be desired, as they seem to mainly be focused on gorilla copulation – an original use for some of the rumble functions of the controller, but one which requires a uncomfortably intricate level of understanding of gorilla genitals. The ability to mark trees with a sweet-smelling musk in another multiplayer mode seems promising for emergent gameplay, but later seems to only bring about more gorilla mating.

Altogether, though, we must praise Red Faction: Gorilla for being an entertaining way to spend a few hours of your summer – and a game worth coming back to again and again. Get your hands on it – or should we say your paws (fact-checker: do gorillas have paws?)?