It's July 11th 1950, and a parasitic race known only as the Chimera has landed on the shores of England. This nasty looking parasitic race use a virus on life forms to rapidly mutate the victim into more Chimera, and after years of ripping through Asia and Europe's populations, the British and US are putting together one last effort to rid the planet of this threat to the human race. You, my friend, are US Army Ranger Nathan Hale, and will be a crucial part in leading the resistance and saving humanity.
From the studios that gave you Ratchet and Clank, Insomniac is bringing this alternate reality of the 1950's to a PS3 near you just in time for launch. Resistance looks to have just about everything a First Person Shooter could ask for including: Aliens, a threat to humanity, beautifully rendered graphics, and an assortment of weapons that would make even Rambo jealous. Not only that but an online multiplayer mode that's shaping up to be sheer chaos (the good kind), but enough teasers, lets get into it.
The first thing noticed when picking up Resistance is the PS3's beastly technical capabilities which show the Chimera in every gruesome detail. The game doesn't offer perfect photo realistic graphics, but make no mistake, the immersive effects like the relentless explosions and smoke effects to the almost unnoticed ones like the perfectly detailed environments and picturesque backgrounds will fully engross you in this world. Add to that the rather impressive AI of the Chimera and the environment becomes a playground of beautiful destruction. Gone are the days of enemies who simply run into your line of fire, the Chimera will dip, duck, dodge, retreat, and flank in every effort to make you one of them.
And with that, let's take a look at the real ‘meat and potatoes' of Resistance, your arsenal. Each weapon is well thought out with its primary and secondary fire methods, and our friends at Insomniac have put a nice little twist into each one. For example, the Auger has potential of firing projectiles that are capable of penetrating any solid surface (walls, boxes, ect.), which lets you stay behind cover and still take out enemies. Its secondary function creates an energy shield that lets you create temporary cover for you or your squadmates. Other weapons include the XR-005 Hailstorm, which is a railgun style weapon with an autoturret function; the L209 LAARK, which fires two kinds of rockets; the M5A2, a rifle/grenade launcher combo; and the XR-003 Sapper that ejects gobs of goo, that will kill anything it comes into contact with. Along with these treats are the shotgun and sniper rifle, which each have their own little surprises, and expect several more weapons to make their way into your hands during your campaign.
And with that let's look at one of the best points of the game: the multiplayer capabilities of Resistance: Fall of Man. The multiplayer mode will allow players (up to an astonishing 40) to choose to control either the Humans or the Chimeras, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Humans are allowed to run and use radar, while the Chimera can go into Rage mode which allows them to see through walls and move faster, but overuse will drain the Chimera's life. Game modes include the classic deathmatch and others, but will include new modes like Breach and Meltdown. Both of which will revolve around capturing nodes which serve as spawning points, while Breach also includes a reactor for each team that must be destroyed. Some of these modes may be familiar to online players, but playing them on the scope that Resistance promises will be a fairly refreshing experience.
There's no denying that Insomniac's highly polished FPS will be a top selling launch game for the PS3, and that it will provide a thoroughly solid gaming experience. While no great strides are being made in FPS innovation, Resistance: Fall of Man takes every successful element from the FPS genre and puts them together in a polished, well thought out game. From the word on the internet, analyst predictions, and my expert opinion, you can expect to see this game near the top of the PS3s launch title sales. I'll see you online!
