Resistance 2 (PS3) Review

I think it is safe to say that 1997′s Resistance : Fall of Man sold so well because there was pretty much fuck all around at the time to compete. That, coupled with the fact that it was part of many a bundle being sold with the consoles you can start to understand why it was one of the PS3′s top selling launch titles. So here we are two years later, Insomniac (one of my favorite developers by the way!) are treating us to the 2nd installment of the life and times of Nathan Hale. The question is, was it worth the wait. Well I am hardly likely to blurt that out right off, but no doubt you have seen the score on the right and skipped to the end for the closing comments (tut-tut!) so I won’t beat about the bush (or is that Obama?). Resistance 2 is better than Resistance : FOM, there that’s outta the way feel free to read on or return to browsing Hentai via google images whichever you prefer…

The story picks up again right after the events of the first game. If any of you have played the first title to completion you will remember running over a field as Nathan Hale only to be located by a US VITOL (A chopper of sorts), you are then manhandled into said aircraft and sedated. From here the new game kicks in and you wake up on the way to the Special Research Projects Administration (SRPA) “Igloo” Base, the VTOL is attacked by a Chimera Goliath and only Hale and Major Richard Blake of the SRPA survive. As the two make their way to safety, they encounter and knowingly unleash Daedalus, the being that is apparently controlling the Chimera, but it escapes before they can stop it. Hale and Blake find the Russian scientist Fyodor Malikov who has been working with the SRPA investigating the Chimeran virus, and are able to safely extract him to America. Hale is introduced to the Sentinels, others like Hale who have been exposed to the Chimeran virus, giving them superhuman strength and regenerative abilities, but take regular injections of an inhibitor to prevent them from fully succumbing to its effects. Over the next two years, Hale is promoted to Lieutenant and becomes a part of the Sentinel force in charge of Echo Squad. On May 15, 1953, the Chimera launch a full-scale invasion of the United States, attacking the country from both the east and west, this is where the main bulk of the game kicks in.

That’s the back story filled in now to shoot some stuff! And my what pretty stuff it is to shoot! I don’t mean in a Angelina Jolie type of way I mean the game looks gorgeous. Insomniac did a great job of updating their engine technology for Ratchet and Clank : Future and they have taken that engine and tweaked the tits off it for Resistance 2. Everything is covered in highly detailed texture, the animation is smooth, the frame rate is solid even with waves of enemies on screen. The lighting effects have been dialed up a notch and the engine uses a lot more color than your average FPS, dispensing with the usual brown and Grey hues and replacing them with a fuller palette. There have been at least eight or nine times in this title that I have gasped “WTF!” as my jaw slapped me on the knees! The huge end bosses are spectacular and well animated. Walking out into San Fransisco bay with the bridge in the distance and all the drop ships, drones, fighters and mother ships fighting in the skies above was awe inspiring – if you saw the pre-rendered trailer of this prepare to be impressed how well they have brought it to life. The enemies are varied but you still have generic grunts etc to wade through. The water effects are notable also as not only does it look good but it reacts to light the way it should and it reacts to movement the way it should – just seeing the water crest and splash down as the gigantic leviathan walks around the city was a treat in it’s self. I will say though that the motion blur, coupled with the very “clean” graphics seemed to make my eyes/head feel weird after extended play. I think the blur applies as you move and the animation is so smooth and fast that it makes it very disorientating – not a major issue and many report it’s not a problem. Sure there are a few graphical issues, the odd limb laying floating in the air after using the Splicer (a saw blade firing weapon that bounces blades around slicing and dicing your enemies as it goes – yes it is as gratuitous as it sounds; and it rocks !) a bit of clipping and texture pop etc but nothing to stop it looking and feeling great. I just got off of playing Gears2 when I started Resistance 2 and I, personally, think Resistance 2 edges it in the graphics stake. Both engines are put to similar use in these games. They both try to convey some seriously large environments and enemies. Both do it very well but the Gears 2 texture quality seemed to be pretty low to me and a lot of it looked “muddy” and fuzzed up. Some of the environments in Resistance 2 are HUGE, and they are rendered in engine and in full 3d, some times it is staggering the space your offered both around you and vertically also. In Chapter 6 you can look down through some glass floors to layers below and see for what would be a mile or so straight down, it’s totally nuts.

The sound design in Resistance 2 is another feature worth mentioning. Sure the usual scores are in place and the have been well crafted and blend nicely in to the background to help set the tone and quicken in tempo when the shit hits the fan. The voice acting is solid and the lines are delivered well and with meaning. The writing is patchy but good enough for a game of this type. The real stars are the beefed up weapons and the Dolby 5.1 mix employed in the game. Dead Space and Resistance 2 were the two games that made me go out finally and plump down the dosh for a 5.1 home system. All I can say is that Resistance 2 makes it worth it. The 5.1 mix puts you firmly in the middle of the battle and the sub rumbles with glee as a whole host of shit explodes around you. The gun effects are particularly meaty too and the sound lends itself to putting you in the thick of the action.

Looking fabulous and sounding great does not make something enjoyable without a large wedge of gameplay to back it up. Luckily Resistance 2 manages to deliver on this front too – just. I say just, I am being a little harsh to be honest. The shooting mechanic is solid, the level designs great, there are varied environments. It just all seems to be driven by a tenuous plot is all. And fuck me is is difficult at times. Not in a skillful way either, it just throws around 60 enemies at you from all sides and gives you limited ammo and space to deal with them. It makes for a very intense and frenzied fire-fight and you feel like a fucking star when you come out the other side, 3 bullets left in the mag. The trouble is you probably dies 8 or 9 times before then. Luckily the restarts points are sensibly placed and you can tell when all hell is about to kick off when you suddenly enter an empty area and a checkpoint save kicks in. I mentioned the sound of the weapons in the game and they are backed up beautifully by the force and impact said weapons have. The Marksman II (a semi automatic scoped rifle) is very tasty and takes out most enemies from a reasonable distance. There is a great selection of weaponry available to you. Some are new variants of the weapons from the first game and some (like the Marksman II and the Wraith) are new additions. All in all there will be a weapon or two that you will really enjoy. Each has secondary fire of some sort or another and all are very satisfying to use. Gone from the first is the ability to horde every weapon, now you can only have 2 weapons in your arsenal at any one time. This makes choosing the best weapons for the coming task a must and can lead to frustrations when your face will a wall of grunts coming at you and you have a sniper rifle and a shotgun – doh! The game does help you out by making sure the right weapon for the task is normally near by, a LAARK (rocket launcher) for big bosses or the Fareye (sniper rifle) for clearing out a building from a distance.

So the game plays well and the longevity is reasonable for this type of game – I played the game for roughly 8 hours in total in single player campaign mode. The issue I have is that the majority of the time the longevity was produced by the fact that you died unfairly many times. For instance, you are walking through a swamp, suddenly the ground shakes and a split second later a large Chimeran called a Chameleon appears in front of you and one hit from it and your dead – bollocks! now I don’t mind these little things, to be honest when it worked it worked well as the arrive in front of you and you have to blast them with an Auger or shotgun and they are down. It makes for a very tense experience much like the swarming of enemies but it also makes it really frustrating at times. I also had the game on Normal difficulty so Christ knows how intense it gets on Hard! To be honest the single player was good but not great. It certainly bettered Resistance : FoM and in my opinion was much better than Halo 2 or 3. It was roughly on par with Gears 2 and slightly better than Gears 1. The real meat though is hidden in the multiplayer.

The multiplayer element of Resistance two is split in to two modes : Co-Op and Competitive play. The multiplayer is what you would expect from a post COD4 shooter and all actions in both modes are tracked and XP is gained from all of it. Perks and level ups are offered upon ranking up etc and some real thought has been put in to the whole thing.

Competitive mode has some seriously great features, the main draw being support for up to 60 players at any given time! That’s some serious among of people man! As far as I have experienced the game still looks good and runs smoothly with a large number of players. Four games modes are available to you, that of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch,Core Control (basically capture the flag) and Skirmish. The prospect of 60 people all playing at once sounds aces but when you think about it that is a crap load of people all trying to shoot at the same time – chaos would ensue. Insomniac cleverly thought this through and have overcome this by breaking the battles down in to squad based affairs with each squad concentrating on objective based targets. Players can play as either the Humans or the Chimerans, and get to choose their weapon load-out, the maps have varying sizes and layouts for the different game modes. Even with the large number of players they seem to scale well.

The Co-Op is a different beast. Instead of going the route that Gears etc. all went by allowing you to join a friend in the main story, Insomniac have tried something new. There is a dedicated story line for the Co-Op that see’s you and up to 7 others take on tasks entwined in the main story arch. For example you can go to Chicago and clear out a large section of the streets before Nathan and his grew arrive. In fact I think there was mention of your squad when you play the single player. These set pieces add a huge amount to the game’s appeal and longevity. It’s similar in ways to Gears 2′s horde mode and similar in ways to the rush dynamic used in Valve’s Left 4 Dead. It just works so well. You choose from 3 classes Special Ops – Medic – Soldier. Each class offers different attributes, weapons and chances to gain points. Medics can drop first aid crates (the auto-regeneration is only in single player) and Spec Ops can drop ammo to bolster their XP scores. You and your “Specter Squad” team mates wade through wave after wave of enemies all churned out depending on number of players and average skill level of all players. It really is great fun and works very well.

There are things in the game I would change; like the unfair deaths in single player, the odd graphic glitches (which I have never seen before in an Insomniac title) and the lack luster story. With that said there are a shed load of things that outweigh those small issues with the game and you may well find the game easy enough – I might just be crap! If you liked Resistance then this is a sure buy. If you like FPS’s in general then I would recommend you grab it. I would go so far as to say probably best Multiplayer on PS3 since the release of COD4 and Burnout Paradise. Certainly the best shooter on PS3 in 2008.

So, to sum up: Single player good, Multiplayer great and Co-Op Hell Yeah!

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