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The PS3 launch line-up was, how do I put this, terrible. The system's early struggles are well documented at this point and without Resistance: Fall of Man there wouldn't have been a single game worth playing at launch (in my eyes).
As a launch title it was far from perfect, but Insomniac crafted a cool story with some even cooler guns to create a game really worth playing though. The fantastic multiplayer and co-op gave early adopters to the PSN something to hang their hat on and a rare retort to people extolling the virtues of Xbox Live.
The sequel is out now and looked to improve on the original in every way... bigger enemies, bigger multiplayer, more varied locales, etc. So, did they succeed in crafting a worthy follow in the PS3 exclusive Resistance universe?
Luckily, yes. While it suffers from the "hey let's make minor improvements to our last game and get it out the door!" mentality, at least they went in and make some real improvements, not just phoning it in.
The game picks up right where the last one left off and before long relocates to the good ol' USA. This gives the game a much needed chance for a palette change since you'll travel to a number of varied locales like San Francisco, Chicago and Idaho. This brought a much needed (and welcome) change for me, as I was never totally immersed in the world that Insomniac had crafted with the first Resistance. All the pieces were there it just never quite added up for me. I've often compared it to a movie set, everything is in place but it just doesn't "feel" real.
The enemies have seen their numbers and types increase which creates a nice variety of baddies to take on. As most have seen online there's also more than a few HUGE enemies, making the appropriate nods to movies like Godzilla and Cloverfield. I'm a sucker for a huge monster (that's what she said) so for me this was a real highlight.
Sadly one of my main complaints about the gameplay still remains; no matter how many enemies and allies are onscreen every single bad guy is gunning for you and only you it seems. I poke my head out and fire off one shot that gets drowned out in a cacophony of violence, and every Chimeran looks my way and starts shooting.... what the hell! It seems at times your allies are there to make the background look hectic and not to actually make you feel like part of a team.
On a side note, from a storyline perspective I was sad to see the narrator vanish for the sequel as I liked her voice and she did a good job of guiding the story along. She also gave you some insight of what was going outside Hale's immediate surroundings, which is something we don't get here. It's not a deal breaker or anything, but it's a weird choice since it did such a decent job of establishing the plot in the first game.
I keep hearing the multiplayer is where it's at, and from the little I've played so far I can attest to it's awesomeness. The huge matches (60 players!) present a problem for me since I usually only like to play online with people I know.... and I think I know 2 people that own this game. So I'm forced into a pick-up group which is always hit or miss. Luckily it seems that for the time being more often than not people are pretty cool, most 12 year olds are probably either playing Halo or ruining games of Left 4 Dead cause they play it the same way they play Halo 3.
What I most enjoyed about the multi is the "raid-esque" World of Warcraft feel to the co-op game mode. You need to choose a class/role and fill a certain role in the game play, a la Team Fortress 2. So you have healers, tanks, damage etc and a good balance of those classes are the best way to ensure victory. I played as the medic more often than not since no one else ever seemed to and that left me always being needed (which I like!). It's a fun variation on the standard fare, and while not exactly new territory (since I compared it to older games) it offers something out of the norm. For somoene that's not a huge fan of standard deathmatch fare, this is a good thing. Of course the standards are all there as well.
While it doesn't fix all the little issues with the first Resistance, the sequel fixes enough to make it more than a worthy successor and for the time being is easily THE shooter on the PS3. Insomniac does it again. Seriously, if you're a PS3 owner and a FPS fan.... get it.
Resistance 2 is available exclusively for the PlayStation 3, and retails for $59.99.
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Another issue I have is with the difficultly level. Call me a wuss, but I usually like to play these games on easier difficulty levels. Although I used to enjoy it, I no longer have the time or patience to play the "die a zillion times while you figure out how to beat every single encounter in the whole game" difficulties. When I play a game, it's not that I mind dying- I just prefer to minimize it so I can get on with the game and the story.
I'm currently stuck on an encounter out in a city square in which I have to fight three big dudes with rocket-launcher-type weapons (kinda like Gears 2's Boomers). My AI teammates instructed me to stay behind cover, which consists of cars that explode when shot by one of the "Boomers." It's incredibly frustrating; even moreso than the encounter immediately proceeding it in which I had to fend off 54342849 of those tall, skinny "just hatched" Chimera while my AI teammates "helped" by firing at least 2 shots per minute.
It's entirely likely that the co-op mode is the bread and butter of the game, as many have stated. I suppose I'll give the mode a shot, but barring that, I have no reason to hang on to this title.