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 Resistance
2 (Playstation 3)
Following up the underrated
Resistance: Fall of Man, Insomniac Games and SCEA have released the
much-anticipated Resistance 2 for the PS3, which expands the horizons,
scale and intensity exponentially. The first thing players will notice is
the increased sense of scale in the game's expansive levels, which cover
more varied ground this time. Battling through a war-torn America ravaged
by a brutal alien invasion, players will find themselves going up against
much tougher foes, who have undergone quite a transformation in their
aggression, intelligence and danger. The bosses are also quite
intimidating, with their massive size and scale making for some terrifying
foes. Resistance 2's deeper backstory and improved visuals add cinematic
flair. It's a massive leap forward for the series, which makes for one the
best FPS titles on the console to date. |
After defeating the devastating attack by
the Chimera on England in the first game, Lt. Nathan Hale finds the war
has only just begun. Called back to duty almost immediately after the
events in the first game, there's a much larger invasion afoot. This time,
the evil aliens have taken on America itself, and a desperate struggle
ensues. The new game delivers quite an immediate punch, as far from
repeating the same tactics that lost the first battle, the Chimera have
regrouped in much greater and much deadlier numbers this time. They have
launched an invasion and have infested the country from coast to coast.
Building on the post-WWII alternate reality of the first game, players
will find themselves battling these evil beings in large cities, small
towns and everywhere in between. While first game was a fairly interesting
and visually accomplished title, Resistance 2 creates a much larger and
more epic feel. It makes you feel like you're literally in the midst of a
massive battle for the survival of the human race. Visually, the game
brings an incredible amount of technical firepower to the table. From
skyscraper-sized boss characters to nightmarish attacks of dozens of
Chimera, the level of detail in the new game is quite startling. It's
environments and level designs are also incredibly realistic, which adds
to Resistance 2's sense of authenticity and detail. Likewise, the engine
has been enhanced in other important areas as well. The character
animation is much better, with more lifelike characters. From a production
standpoint, the deeper back story makes the game feel more fleshed out,
and this definitely makes Resistance 2 feel more polished than the first
game in terms of cinematic presentation, acting and storyline.
Things start off in a massive
underground bunker in San Francisco, where you get your first taste of the
new Chimera you'll be going up against. They're much smarter this time
around, and players will find many new types to face off against. Each one
seems smarter and while there are still some fairly basic enemies to kill,
there are more dangerous sub-boss creatures, who wield massive blasters
than can blast right through your cover. They're much larger and require
many more hits to defeat, and will hone in on you relentlessly, giving you
no place to hide. These new chimera have other surprises in store as well.
Unlike the first game, where you faced off against a few scattered mutants
who had been converted from killed humans, you now have to deal with much
more dangerous foes. This time, the Pods are more prevalent with multiple
spawn points meaning that attacks can occur at any point in the game, and
they attack in much greater numbers, swarming and overwhelming you if you
stay in the same position for too long.
 Shooting
these foes is fairly easy, and you can use a variety of techniques, such
as a sniper viewpoint or secondary fire modes to make quick work of your
foes. but these are much more aggressive and dangerous foes that are quite
deadly, especially at close range. Other Chimera forces include deadly
drones that fire at you immediately and relentlessly, and scout vehicles
that charge you and are almost certain to destroy you if they see you. It
can be a bit frustrating to figure out their attacks initially, but once
you get the hang of them, new ones appear. One
of the hardest to defeat are the new cloaked chimera who will charge at
you without warning. Fortunately, the game's frequent save points allow
you to anticipate their appearance the next time around, making them
easier to defeat. Resistance 2 continues at an almost relentless pace, and
gives players in its single-player mode little room to rest. From a
gameplay standpoint, the controls feel a lot smoother this time around. An
increased arsenal of human and chimera weapons is at your disposal with
standard shot-guns, machine guns, grenades and other standard military
weapons mixed with more advanced Chimera weaponry like laser cannons,
bullseye rifles and sniper rifles included as well. One of the more
interesting additions this time are the new shield generators, which can
be collected from fallen Chimera. Using these protects the player for a
short time behind a powerful barrier. The impressive thing about these
shields is that you can fire through them, which gives you a powerful
tactic when you find yourself facing off against piles of foes.
Positioning the shields and learning the enemy attack patterns makes it
easy to pick off the Chimera at first, but as you go along they get
smarter and will exploit the holes in the sides of these to your position,
strafing you from the sides, so you won't have a sense of invulnerability
for very long. This makes for a much deeper, and more strategic style of
FPS play than the first game, and you'll definitely need all your skills
if you choose to play in the harder difficulty levels.
Unlike many other FPS titles on the
market, Resistance 2's online multiplayer is a key component this time.
This edition builds on the first game's online play substantially with
three key modes of play that extend the experience greatly. The biggest
addition this time is the addition of co-operative missions where you and
a squad work together to complete mission objectives and defeat the hordes
of Chimera on various battlefields. What's really impressive about this
mode is how epic it feels, though it's support for up to 16 players at the
same time gives it a unique feel. There are different character classes in
the game, with medics and soldiers allowing for complimentary abilities.
Players quickly respawn when fired upon and can earn abundant experience
points as they complete objectives. These help to extend the single-player
experience and retain the main game's sense of scale and drama. Those
looking for additional competitive play will also find several modes
including a standard deathmatch, team deathmatch and capture the core
modes, which play very similarly to the online battles in other games. The
most impressive aspect of Resistance 2's online modes are the Skirmish
battles, where up to 60 players can compete on massive maps for truly epic
battles. In the skirmish mode, you are grouped into smaller units and
complete your own objectives that help to keep your larger team in the
battle. It makes for some very interesting battles, where you scale up and
down to meet your goals.
 Focusing
on your mission in the co-op modes is made easier by the frequent
communication between teams, which helps to keep the action visceral and
exciting throughout. As you'd expect, the maps and design are quite
impressive and showcase the game's improved graphics engine brilliantly.
Resistance 2's great variety of weapons and enemies make for some fairly
interesting shooting play, and the online component is no exception.
You'll be able to use most of the weapons and tactics from the main game
online, including shields, grenades and other techniques, such as
disabling the fire turrets, appear online as well. This makes for quite a
coherent experience that feels like an extension of Resistance 2's main
storyline, not a mindlessly tacked on extra. The menus and navigation are
surprisingly easy to navigate which allows you to jump right into the
action with only a few button presses. These quick action rounds are loads
of fun, but you can also customize the online experience to your liking.
Players can set a wide variety of parameters as well, with number of
kills, time and objectives easily adjusted at the main menu. Resistance
2's community features are also very well done, with a Staging area
included where you can chat with other players, form teams and select
which maps you want to battle through. This makes for a really solid
online component that shows a great deal of thought, effort and polish has
gone into multiplayer and the result is an experience that's just as
polished, intense and challenging as the solo story mode.
The solid online component makes for an
even deeper and more exciting game, and when combined with the sheer
intensity of the solo quest, makes Resistance 2 a title that literally
dwarfs its predecessor in terms of scale and detail. Players will cover a
lot more ground, in vastly more detailed environments that make the first
Resistance feel more like a prelude to the main event. Its sheer magnitude
and scale in terms of cities, enemies and some absolutely incredible boss
encounters. The storytelling and characters are more thoroughly realized,
making for a deeper and more satisfying experience overall. All these
elements come together almost flawlessly to make Resistance 2 an unmatched
success in all major areas. Some sequels are content to merely add a few
new features, while others create something that feels almost entirely
new. Resistance 2 fits squarely in the latter category. Its range of
awesome weaponry and a large cast of varied and challenging enemies goes a
long way in creating an intense shooting title that is completely
breathtaking. Resistance 2 is easily one of the best FPS released on the
Playstation 3. There's no doubting that Insomniac games can now be seen as
playing with the big guns having delivered such a brilliant title.
Resistance 2's polish, technical excellence and ambitious scale creates an
absolutely epic title filled to the breaking point with unforgettable
moments. Needless to say, its definitely a must-own title that delivers
some of the year's most thrilling action.
- Michael Palisano
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