Resistance 2 (PS3)

This massive buffet is a whole lot more fun with friends.
11/6/2008 7:02 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

At the launch of the PlayStation 3, there was only one must-have exclusive game for your arsenal -- Resistance: Fall of Man. An interesting new hero, Insomniac's quality graphics and 40-player multiplayer -- Resistance was a huge achievement for any launch title. However, while the game was good, it was not phenomenal. With Resistance 2, Insomniac's fourth official PS3 release, the team's focus was on increasing scale -- larger levels, larger enemies and larger multiplayer. Resistance 2 is an intense experience with many polished facets -- but the formula is still not perfect.

The single-player experience begins immediately after Resistance: Fall of Man, with Sergeant Nathan Hale getting picked up outside of London by SRPA troops. Since Hale was the only survivor from the Chimera attacks on Europe, they head to Iceland to run tests on Hale, and put him with a team of Sentinels -- others who are also infected with the Chimera virus. As they land, Iceland is already under attack by Chimera soldiers and an enormous Goliath. While mainly a training level, it's obvious that the crap is hitting the fan and Hale is smack in the middle of it.

Two years later, Hale finds out that he has only 19 hours to live, and that the Chimera threat has touched down in the United States. Fall of Man lacked variety in its scenery, ranging from the typical next-gen browns to the drab alien levels. Resistance 2 counters this beautifully: as you motor through the single-player campaign you'll move from San Francisco; to a giant redwood forest in Orick, California; to Utah, Chicago and the swamps of Louisiana. All of these locales have fallen, populated with Chimeran enemies that vary in size and difficulty.

You have access to a comfortable amount of weaponry and ammunition. The Bullseye, which fires a homing shot that attracts bullets, is still my personal favorite -- allowing you to shoot around cover to wipe out a more difficult adversary. The Marksman rifle is a sniper's wet dream, unloading a quick burst of bullets to blast apart enemy skulls. Finally, the Splicer -- which you get much later in the game -- showers enemies with small saw blades, with a secondary function that allows you to use it like a chainsaw.

The second you run low on ammo, you'll find more. And when you first find a certain weapon, such as a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher, you're immediately tipped off that something wicked is close by, and instructed on how to tackle the situation. It feels sometimes like you're being coddled a little too much.

That's not always a bad thing, because even on "Normal" difficulty, Resistance 2 is tough. Even when artificial intelligence Sentinel soldiers are fighting alongside you, tougher enemies will immediately be attracted to you and you alone, and focus their firepower on killing you first. It's like Hale has a "Free Beer if I'm Dead" sign on his head, and the flood of 20 Grims tearing at you are really thirsty. Then there are the new one-hit-death Chameleons. These semi-invisible hulking bastards can be heard trotting towards you, and if you don't get a proper shot off in time, you'll be visiting the last checkpoint -- over and over again. Between this and some frustrating chokepoints, I almost pitched my controller through the TV a number of times.