Xbox Gaming in South Africa

THQ has officially announced the first downloadable Red Faction game, with Red Faction: Battlegrounds set for release on Xbox LIVE Arcade early next year.

Red Faction: Battlegrounds is a 4-player vehicular blow-'em-up, in  which "fast-attack vehicles, heavy tanks and combat walkers wreak havoc above ground and beneath the surface of Mars". So a bit like the battle on Hoth, but hotter.

“The pick-up-and-play multiplayer action of Red Faction: Battlegrounds adds a completely new perspective to the acclaimed Red Faction franchise," said Kevin Kraff, Vice President of Global Brand Management, THQ. "Just as in other Red Faction games, you can pretty much blow up everything. Only this time, you do it with your friends using hulking mechs, armored tanks and combat walkers."

The game features three modes - Survival, Annihilate, and Flag Frenzy - which are presumably clever names for deathmatch and capture the flag.

Expect to see Red Faction: Battlegrounds out on XBLA just before the launch of the retail release Red Faction: Armageddon in March 2011.