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Insomniac Games follows up one of the PlayStation 3’s best exclusives.
Resistance: Fall of Man was critically acclaimed for showing what the PlayStation 3 can do. It was certainly one of the console’s strongest launch games and one of the best shooters available for some time. Resistance 2 improves on the formula by making the firefights even more fun and chaotic, as well as adding a ton of gameplay thanks to a solid singleplayer campaign, excellent cooperative campaign and fun competitive multiplayer mode.
In Resistance 2, you’ll once again play as Nathan Hale and his soldiers as they try to combat the Chimera that are trying to take over North America. You’ll visit torn-down cities, countrysides, suburbs and even some alien territory as you work to defend North America from these forces. The game’s actual story isn’t particularly interesting or exciting but does get the job done. It also does a great show of showcasing the game’s era and providing interesting opportunities for the game to show off its splendor.
The game’s singleplayer campaign, which clocks in at around 10 hours, will have you visiting dozens of interesting and varied locations all of which feature a healthy (unhealthy?) number of Chimera ready to take you down. The Chimera are fast and have little regard for their lives; they will attack you merciless until they take you out or they take you out. The actual enemies you’ll fight range from small scorpions to towering monsters. The levels themselves are quite challenging thanks to the waves of enemies and typically end with a boss battle that will definitely make you earn your victory.
It wouldn’t be a shooter without great weapons and Resistance 2 takes this point to heart. You’ll find 12 kick-ass weapons and some grenades in the game from the trusty .44 magnum to the automatic M5A2 Carbine, which will quickly become your favorite thanks to the mass (and fast) damage it does. Each of the weapons have secondary attacks, too. For example, the Magnum shoots explosives that can be detonated remotely, giving you a magnum and an explosive launcher in one.
The singleplayer campaign clocks would have been plenty but the game also includes an eight-player cooperative campaign. For the coop campaign, players choose one of three classes: Soldier (armed with a Gatling gun with a protective shield), Special Ops (armed with a battle rifle and the ability to generate ammo), and Medic (can sap health from enemies and give it to teammates). The classes work extremely well together since you’ll need the Medic to generate health (it isn’t possible to do so otherwise), the Special Ops to give ammunition, and the Soldier to protect the team and lead the offensive. Playing the coop mode will give you currency and experience that is used to unlock better gear, special abilities and weapons. The campaign itself is quite challenging and inspired by—but not exactly the same as—the singleplayer mode. All in all, it’s a blast to play.
Resistance 2 further includes a thorough competitive multiplayer mode. The game includes the expected Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Core Control (the game’s version of Capture the Flag), as well as Skirmish, where each team receives dynamic objectives that change as the battle goes on. The mode’s maps are outstanding and can accommodate up to 60 players. If you want a smaller, say 8-, 4- or even 2-player match that’s certain possible, as well. You can even play in ranked matches that will unlock experience for your character.
Visually, Résistance 2 is a fine looking game. The game’s environments are very varied and interesting, and each of them looks great thanks to good texture work. But more importantly, the scale of the levels are sometimes breathtaking, making you really feel the impact of your actions on the greater world. The game’s characters are look good, too, with plenty of attention to detail and a solid animation system. But again, the fact that Insomniac Games is able to throw as many enemies onscreen as it can is a testament to their technical prowess. There are some minor texture issues involving texture pop-in, though.
The audio work in Resistance 2 is stunning across the board. The voice acting from Hale and the other soldiers sounds great thanks to believable voice acting, as well as good narration. The sound effects, especially the gun sound effects, all sound great, too. The game does a particularly good job with ambient sound effects, making you feel like you’re really involved in this war.
Resistance 2 is a fantastic game. It’s one of the best shooters available on the PlayStation 3 and one of the console’s strongest exclusives. It does what a sequel was meant to do: improve on the original and make it bigger. The singleplayer campaign and multiplayer modes are great, but when you add in the excellent cooperative campaign to the mix you truly have one of the best games available. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 13, 2008
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