Resistance: Fall of Man was my very first Playstation 3 title back in 2007; I then went on to beat Resistance 2, finding it utterly amazing. Naturally I had an interest in playing Resistance 3 to see where developer Insomniac could take the series next. If I’m honest I’ll say that considering the over-saturation of first-person shooters since the last game, I wasn’t too optimistic about another Resistance 3 initially. However Resistance 3 takes such a well respected turn from what the previous games did that I was completely immersed in the experience from start to finish.
You play as Joe Capelli, who had a huge hand in Resistance 2’s ending (If you saw the ending you may know what I’m talking about). Currently only less than ten percent of the human population is still living on the Chimera dominated Earth; after an attack on the refugee camp to which Joe Capelli resides, he decides to leave his wife and son behind to help dent the Chimera’s whole operation.
The overall objective in Resistance 3 is traveling to New York in an attempt to somehow disable a gigantic beam which the Chimera are using to transform Earth into an icy pit (like their home world). The journey is much like a road trip, as Joe travels from town to town helping the local folk deal with various Chimera threat’s plaguing the area.
When you consider that the first two games we’re entirely based on a frantic war between the Chimera and humankind, the whole road trip concept is an exciting change. No longer do you have a team of A.I controlled gunners backing you up (if that’s what you would call it), throughout most of Resistance 3 you will be on your own, and trust me you really feel alone. It’s so horrific attempting to singlehandedly hold your own against swarms of Chimera that I’m surprised they didn’t just go ahead and label the game a survival horror. There are parts in this game that clearly aren’t for the faint hearted; Resistance 3 is gory, terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. Taking on hoards of Chimera takes a hell of a lot of effort, even on the easier levels, so you genuinely feel like you’re fighting for your life.
Many of the action sequences in the game are movie worthy, there are times where you’re playing as usual and out of nowhere a Widowmaker (A giant Chimera) jumps out at you, knocking you off your feet, causing you to have to mash the X button to recover swiftly. The transition between combat and event sequences is seamless, making the campaign mode a truly gripping experience. Unfortunately I did come across a couple glitches, which were mostly A.I related, such as a moment where you are supposed to lift up a wooden panel for a companion to walk underneath, but he just stood there resembling a hobo with a feed me sign. I doubt it’s anything major that an update can’t fix either way. One thing the campaign would really benefit from is the ability to press a button (up on the d-pad for example) and have an arrow pop up leading you in the right direction. There were a few occasions where I was stuck in a huge ass map not knowing where exactly I’m supposed to go next. Eventually an arrow does come up if you take too long to proceed, but it seems to only indicate as and when it feels like it.
All the preferred artillery from the previous game returns in Resistance 3, and just like always every gun comes with secondary fire, awesome! Better yet, weapons level up automatically the more you use them, allowing you to unlock unique upgrades for each one. You must work those guns like a two-dollar whore if you want to get the edge in battle. Every bullet matters, because due to the number of enemies you will be running low on ammo quite a bit. I did hook up the Playstation Move to see if it would give me some extra accuracy, but it pains me to say that the Move controller works terribly with Resistance 3. It’s way to clunky if you are used to the aim-n-shoot style of play, and trust me when I say you are going to be doing that religiously. Shooting from the hip is only useful if the enemy is within close proximity.
Unfortunately the Campaign is over all too quickly, which is a shame because it is definitely the best campaign in the series period. The ability to play through the campaign with a friend in co-op mode either locally or online can be seen as an extra bonus though. This brings us to the multi-player portion of Resistance 3.
Some may be upset with the fact that the online has been scaled down from 60 online players to just 16 (and only 2 in co-op), but I think it works out for the best as there’s much less chaos. Matches feel significantly more tactical compared to those in the second game. It’s also worth nothing that the multiplayer is set up very much like some of the more popular FPS franchises out there today. For example you can now assign perks, earn kill-streak bonuses and so forth.
One thing that was curse worthy is the fact that you will be easily overpowered by high-level players when you’re just starting out. Things do get more evenly matched at around six levels in, but starting off at level one with players who can shoot through walls and turn invisible will leave your ‘swear jar’ very full. Once you do get invested in the online mode, there’s a whole lot to unlock to keep you there; from guns, to medals to character skins.
On the technical side of things the game has some nice visuals, specifically in the campaign mode. There are some cutscenes and scenery that look absolutely gorgeous. In fact the campaign looks so good visually that you can easily notice the downgrade when playing in multiplayer. Sound wise the game is satisfactory, the guns have their own unique effects based on their functions. Voice work is almost perfect, though I had to nitpick one thing that bothered me. During a couple missions you are following companions that are constantly on the move (running) not to mention fighting off Chimera, yet when they’re muttering instructions to you they sound as calm as a Sunday afternoon sun-bathe in the back garden. It’s a minor thing, but some shouting or panting would have been nice.
Resistance 3 is a no brainier for anybody who owned (and liked) the previous games. The expansive range of foes mixed with the awareness of the uncanny makes it a game not to be missed for Playstation 3 owner’s period. Just like any game it does come with its flaws, but they are not enough to stop the game being extremely fun, because that’s the word I would associate with Resistance 3. It’s just a fun ass game to play, but unfortunately I don’t see it having any long lasting appeal because even with its unique qualities, it just can’t stand up to what’s coming to stores in the near future.
This review was based on a retail copy of the game for the PS3 provided by Sony.
