The feel of Resistance is hard to describe as there are elements from so many games in here. Its control and speed resemble Timesplitters, its combat smells of Call of Duty, and it's hard not to think of Half Life 2 when it comes to the alien themed presentation and some of the imaginative weaponry on offer. Thankfully, Resistance controls as well as any of those games. Although the PlayStation controller is praised by few when it comes to FPSs, aiming and movement here feels delightfully smooth. Things are a little on the twitchy side when aiming 'down the barrel' but credit must be given to Insomniac in that they have created a FPS on a Sony console where the controller doesn't put you at an instant disadvantage.
Due to a Chimeran infection suffered by Nathan Hale in the opening sections of the game, the health system used in Resistance is a combination of a traditional heath bar mixed in with a Halo-like replenishing system, a trait inherited from the Chimera. If you've ever played Pariah you'll be familiar to how it works. Split into four segments, each will refill after a short while providing the whole bar hasn't been depleted. Should you lose a bar there are health pickups scattered around to heal your wounds. It works well, as by taking a modern approach and mixing it with a familiar system you gain the benefits of both. The ability to recharge health allows you to take risks without the fear of having to go through sections of the game only one hit away from death.
Unsurprisingly, considering this is a game from the makers of Ratchet & Clank, one of the strongest aspects of Resistance is the diverse and imaginative selection of weapons on offer. The carbine and shotgun are standard guns you'll find in almost any FPS, but the normality soon ends there. Arguably the best weapon in the game is the Bullseye. Its primary fire acts much like a plasma version of the carbine rifle, but its secondary fire is where the fun lies. By shooting its secondary mode at an enemy you are able to tag them with a homing beacon. From then on, every shot you fire will zone in on this target. Initially it's simply useful, but with some experimentation it becomes invaluable as you find yourself in cover shooting bullet at the sky only to see them fly safely into the tagged enemy ahead that has long since left your sight.
Who's a pretty boy, then?
As you can see, Resistance rewards you for thinking outside of the box. Take the Auger for example; a gun that can shoot through walls and produce a temporary shield with its secondary fire mode. Combine these two together and you've got something that again allows you to take down enemies from safety. Making use of the secondary functions are essential for getting through Resistance. The Fareye sniper rifle grants you the power of slowing time, and the Hailstorm discharges an auto turret of wall-bouncing bullets. The secondary function of L209 LAARK rocket launcher allows you to momentarily hold a rocket in mid-air - a trick that is always handy for hitting the rear weakpoint of certain enemies as you maneuver yourself to tag it so as to hit it from behind.
Grenade lovers are well catered for here too. As well as your usual frag grenade, there are two other types you'll pick up along the way. The Hedgehog grenade sounds exactly like what it is – a grenade filled with piercing spikes that will unapologetically take down anything that it comes into contact with. However, the most fun (and quite frankly sick) grenade is of the Air-fuel variety. When you throw it, it sticks to surfaces then proceeds to discharge a greenish looking smoke only to then set the smoke on fire like napalm and burns everything within radius to a crisp. Seeing the Chimera scream and roll around in pain as they meet their demise is one of those things that never get old no matter how many times you do it.
On the subject of the Chimera, it's worth mentioning how much of a good adversary they provide you with from start to finish. While the AI certainly isn't mind-blowing, it's certainly up there with the best. The variety of enemies the game throws at you is impressive, with each of the Chimera having its own distinctive purpose. The 'Hybrids' and 'Steelheads' are the most common enemy and arguably the most human in their appearance and behavior. Carrying Bullseye and Auger weaponry, they provide the most thought provoking battles in the game as they shoot accurately, take cover wisely and move around intelligently. They're also more than happy making use of their secondary fire modes too, as you often find yourself bombarded with Auger fire seeping through walls towards you position.
The 'Menials' are dumb, unarmed enemies, attacking using punches and grabs which require you to literally shake the six-axis to throw them off. 'Slipskulls' are agile foes that jump from wall to wall trying to tag you will the Bullseye, while the dog-like 'Howlers' prefer the more physical approach as they attempt to gore you to death. Resistance isn't short of screen filling enemies either. The huge mechanical spider-looking 'Stalker' and 'Goliaths' are a real handful to deal with, just as is the Chimeran's own 'Widowmaker'. All needed a great deal of thought and firepower to put down. The hulking 'Titans' and airborne 'Angels' are no pushovers either.
Rain death on your enemies with the Hailstorm!
Set in England, Resistance makes good use of presenting the player with a wide variety of environments to enjoy. Starting off in the rural town of Grimsby, it doesn't take long before you arrive in the city of Manchester where the game really begins. Resembling the environmental destruction you would expect from a Call of Duty game, the derelict streets that lie ahead sum up exactly what the game is about. Whether it’s the discovery of a decimated church building or an abandoned children's playground, its strength comes from its unique atmosphere that grows and grows as you get further and further into the game.
You see, because your journey takes you towards the Chimeran headquarters, the game becomes more alien as you go. In Grimsby and Manchester the world looks like one that has just been invaded, but by the time you reach Somerset the frequent appearance of Chimeran structures in the English countryside brilliantly convey the sense that this land is no longer under human control. Not only does this allow the visual look of the environments to differ, it also throws up some imaginative level design opportunities. Where the early stages of the game are restricted to streets and buildings the latter portion sees you navigate through deep tunnels and Chimeran buildings. Also, given the love of the cold that the Chimera has, there's a good deal of snow thrown in here too.
And what a good thing that is given how beautiful it all looks. Visually it's not exactly pushing the PS3, but there are more than a few moments of true beauty to be found here, especially regarding the little things like smoke, shadowing, dust particles and flakes of snow spiraling in the wind. It's these subtle elements that give the game an extra layer of gloss. The game never slows down either no matter how frantic the firefight in front of your eyes is. The presentation is top notch elsewhere too, especially regarding the cutscenes. Pieced together using a mixture of real time scenes and hand drawn artworks, they are wonderfully voice acted and are straight to the point without bogging you down with needless information.
Equally as impressive are the general sound effects used throughout the game. The weapons each have their own distinctive noise as every bullet sound and every explosion fills the room exactly how you would expect it to. The carbine sound powerful, the shotgun is meaty, and you can almost feel the heat from the roaring flames made using the air-fuel grenades. Music is used sparingly in Resistance but that is obviously a design choice rather than Insomniac trying to hide any musical shortcomings, as what there is there fits the game perfectly.
The explosive mines of the Sapper provide much entertainment.
Its flaws aren't major. Its biggest problem is the lack of enough memorable moments. In all the best games over the years there are a handful of standout moments that define that game. The village section in Resident Evil 4, the beach landing in Halo and the opening to Act 3 in Gears of War are fine examples of standout moments, and these are something that Resistance simply doesn’t have. Also, the game on the whole struggles for originality outside of a few of its weapons, some of its mid-level checkpoints are a little too far apart on occasion and its co-op mode is strictly offline only. However, the 40 player online battles more than make up for that.
Featuring all the modes and customization you could hope for, the multiplayer portion of Resistance is better than many would have expected. It doesn't do much in the way of something new, but the superb server support can be thanked mostly for it appeal, as it's the sheer chaos of smooth 40 player servers that provides Resistance with something to offer than can’t be found on any other console. With six different multiplayer variants in all, including your conventional deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture-the-flag settings, there's also a last-man-standing mode called 'conversion' along with two base assault modes ('breach' and 'meltdown') which are more than reminiscent of Unreal Tournament 2004's 'onslaught' mode where players are made to fight over specific points on each map.
The multiplayer adds a great deal of lifespan to an already time consuming game. At around 10-15 hours the single player campaign length is about par for the course, but with a selection of difficulty levels and new weapons to play around upon completion and a long list of Xbox 360-esque 'achievements' to uncover, there's plenty reason to play through again.
Resistance: Fall of Man is certainly no 'killer app' but it is without doubt one of the better first-person shooters in recent years. With an enjoyable selection of weapons, smooth controls, engaging AI and a selection of beautiful environments, there's very little here to dislike. There's little here in the way of originality given that it borrows heavily from a lot of games, but it at least takes those ideas and uses them well to create a highly enjoyable FPS. The fact it comes with a worthwhile online multiplayer mode makes this an essential PS3 launch purchase.
Loading...
