I’m a huge fan of the Red Faction series. I’ve logged more hours on Guerrilla than any other Xbox 360 game. I had a chance this weekend to sit down for several hours with Demons of the Badlands, the first of what THQ says will be three DLC releases for the game. I’ve put together a full review here for those of you who are considering buying the add-on.

In DOTB, you play as Samanya, the female protagonist from the original Guerilla game. The add-on is a standalone campaign, however, and serves as a prequel to the Guerilla story. You’re dropped right into the thick of things from the time the game starts. I played straight through the campaign in about seven hours, taking my time to complete every side mission and destroying all of the EDF camps in the new zone, which is called Mariner Valley. The game has definite replay value as there are new things to collect and 200 new achievement points to be had.

DOTB also introduces several new Marauder vehicles and weapons to the game including an awesome truck with a machine gun turret on the back, a new machine gun called the Spiker, and a fast firing rocket weapon called the Pod Rocket. Samanya also has a secondary weapon – some sort of blade – that came in handy during several fights. DOTB is also a departure from the original game in that you have much better backup from your Marauder friends than you could ever hope for from Mars colonists. Some of the battles in this one are absolutely huge. Even on the lower difficulty settings, the game is still a challenge and the sense of chaos is ever-present.

Overall, I’d say that this DLC is on par with what I expected from THQ. I would’ve liked to see more in the way of new multiplayer features but Guerrilla’s multiplayer is already amazing and there are still two more DLC packs down the road to look forward to.