There’s no question that Resistance: Fall of Man is the best game out there for the PlayStation 3. There must be something special about FPS launch titles recently, as the best launch titles for the first Xbox, Xbox 360 and now PS3 have all been first-person shooters. For a genre which is far more favored in the PC gaming community, it’s a weird phenomenon — but a welcome one nonetheless.
Touted as the "Halo killer," Resistance is Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Halo series. At first glance, the similarities between the two are fairly abundant. Both involve a lone soldier fighting off aliens and infected enemies. Both contain a few very memorable weapons. And both involve a story which is obviously lacking compared to other titles, but pretty damn captivating for an FPS title.
The story in Resistance is, as mentioned, fairly simple. After World War I, the world never found itself in a second World War. Russia never began the road towards communism, and the US never suffered the Great Depression. While idealistic on paper, things aren’t so great, though, as the world is stormed by an unknown alien race called the Chimera. After quickly taking control of Russia and continental Europe, the game begins in 1951, when England finds itself under attack.
You’ll find yourself taking control of U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. Nathan Hale. Hale’s unit was part of a force sent by the United States to help their British allies fend off the Chimeran invasion. Of course, for Insomniac that wouldn’t be enough, so it’s only natural that Hale’s unit is ambushed and infected by the Chimera. Hale himself is also infected, but for some reason the Chimera choose to spare him.
From there, you’ll guide Hale through a number of missions over the course of several days, as you work with the British forces to try and find a way to stop the Chimeran forces. With the ability to turn their defeated enemies into their own kind (think zombies), the Chimera are obviously winning the war, and it will take a miracle to turn the tide.
At its most basic essence, Resistance really isn’t anything different than the slew of other console FPS games in recent years. The difficulty ranges from extremely easy to hellishly hard, and the progression is very linear. There’s really nothing new to the controls, and anyone who has played an FPS title on the PS2 should feel right at home (after switching firing to R2 rather than R1, that is).
Where Resistance really shines is in the weaponry. With Ratchet and Crank under their belt, it’s no surprise that Insomniac would bring a lot of interesting and unique weapons to the table. Resistance features weapons ranging from traditional guns of the time to futuristic guns which only make sense with the context of the alien forces. The high-tech weapons all have unique primary and secondary functions, which makes selecting which weapon to use almost too much sometimes, as you may want to really use a specific gun, but you can’t quite afford to waste its ammo. Among the guns, my favorites would have to be the Auger, which fires through walls with a cool ripple effect, and also can generate shields which only other Augers can penetrate. The sniper rifle in the game is also fun to use, as its secondary function slows down time into a mode akin to the bullet mode in the Max Payne titles, making headshots a blast to execute.
The design of the enemies and environments also play a huge role in Resistance’s greatness. With very bleak locations ranging from generic WW2-era Europe to enemy strongholds more fit for a sci-fi shooter, each and every level has a look to it which just makes the gaming experience a powerful one. Even on an SDTV the landscape and buildings look incredible. With an HD…let’s just say it gives Gears an honest competitor for Best Graphics of ’06.
The enemies are also nicely varied, and range from humanlike Chimera to gigantic spiderlike robots. Each type of enemy is easily identifiable compared to others, and each is the right mixture of "scary" and sci-fi to create a unqiue look unlike any other game out there. As you pump up the difficulty, the enemies will also become more difficult as the game progresses, having distinct levels of difficulty among different enemy types. It’s a small thing, but a nice touch.
There is no doubt in my mind that if it weren’t for Twilight Princess, Resistance would be the best launch title since Super Mario 64. Sure, it falls into the Halo umbrella of "being good for an FPS, but not doing anything original," but the way Insomniac made the game visually, and the way each weapon is a blast to use, really makes for a unique experience. Even if you don’t take into account the incredible multiplayer which allows for up to 40 players per match, and includes a co-op mode almost as fun as the one in Gears, Resistance is a very fun game to play. While it may not be the Halo Killer just quite yet, it certainly is a nice move in the right direction for Sony.
