Its been 2 years since the PS3 was released and that means its been 2 years since the hit Resistance: Fall of Man was released as a launch title for the PS3. Back in 2006 Resistance gave us all a very good taste of what to expect from all PS3 exclusives with its excellent graphics, excellent campaign, and a multiplayer option that ceased to disappoint. Well now Resistance 2 has a lot to live up to and can it withstand the pressure of Gears of War 2.
Story-
Believe it or not Resistance 2 actually has a very good story to tell. If you've played through RPGs in the past and have had patience and the ability to collect all information given to you at every point then chances are you're going to get one of the most enticing stories you'll ever find in a shooter. The story picks up right after the first Resistance with Nathan Hale. You're quickly recruited into the Sentinels who are a group of men who, like Halem are resistant to the Chimeran virus. Just when you thought England looked horrible in the first game you get a look at how the Chimera dealt with a bigger country. The game then proceeds to take you to key places in the Western half of the U.S. as Hale and his team with Dr. Malikov attempt to stop the Chimera. Storywise its a very good setup and it does tell a good story and this time around there actually is villian named Daedelus who was once a man and survivor of Project Abraham but then was injected with an Angel strain and gained control of the Chimera. While the story is great there are problems. The game this time decided to drop the 3rd person narration in favor of a first person narration from Hale. While this is ok it feels weird as the 3rd person kept it nice and organized and you felt much more informed then with the 1st person. With the 3rd person you also didn't have to rely on intel to tell you as much but in Resistance 2 if you want the backstory you need these pieces of intel. Anotther problem is that if you didn't watch or keep up with the Viral site known as Project Abraham you might get a little lost as the game refers to the Project a lot as it sets up basically everything. While this is annoying it doesn't stop the game from telling a fantastic story even though it isn't as good as the first Resistance.
Score-8.8
Design-
Welcome to shooter Heaven. Resistance 2 is pretty much a linear game at heart and even though you see places a real person can get to you just can't seem to get there. However when you enter large skirmishes you'll find plenty of places to go and hide and shoot. Its in the multiplayer that you'll find you're open spaces. With up to 60 players fighting for control of the map you'll be in "Have it your way" land. Competitive multiplayer is where you'll find the best shooting anywhere this year as its very organized, a lot of fun, and the scope is just so enormous that you'll not want to stop. You;re given a choice of 10 weapons to play with which is a bit disappointing considering you can only unlock 2 others but they all play great and are a blast to shoot. Each weapon has a primary fire as well a secondary fire which can do extra damage, set up defense, or even set enemies on fire. An example would be the Auger which can fire a high powered shield that nothing can pass through. Insomniac's flare for making exotic toys to kill with also shows here with new weapons such as the Splicer which fires saws that ricochet of walls while slicing enemies limbs off; however there are quite to many returning guns and not enough new ones so it feels like it could've used a lot more. The Competitive Mulitiplayer is probably on of the most exciting additions to the game as it pushes Sony's approach at bringing the commuinity together. Basically there are 3 classes, the Soldier (Soaks up Damage), The Medic (Heals the Damage), and Special Ops (Supplies the Damage). Each class has been balanced so that each gains enough experience for doing what they're suppose to do. There are 6 different places to go and campaign in but the beauty of it is that the maps change with each play depnding on your Mission Status reports which means that over 90% of the time if you;re on a map you've already played before you won't be doing the same stuff. In multiplayer (Both Forms) there are special abilities called Berserks which function like perks on Call of Duty. Each berserk can be activated after you've filled up its meter and offers bonuses to the player like increased Health or invisibility. These help change up the gameplay and adds even more variety to an already outstanding experience.
Score-9.3
Gameplay-
If you played Resistance Fall of Man then you know that gameplay was much like Halo. Well Resistance 2 spices it up and adds more of a recent shooter flare. In this game you can aim by pressing the L1 button and fire with R1. Secondary fire modes are triggered with the R2 while crouch and run are mapped to the L2 button. Gameplay is solid but what sells the gameplay is the weapons and thankfully Resistance 2 once again has the weapons to carry it. All are fun and very satisfying to use. All of this transitions to the Multiplayer smoothly except the Rossmore which if you don't land a headshot whenj you shoot; you're dead. The Co-Op is based on a "What Level are you and how many are playing" difficulty system which works nice and offers plenty of replayability and makes sure its never to easy or difficult. Of course everything works better if you have a mic as squad tactics are strongly encouraged and when you egt a group of people who really want to do good then the game will be 10X better
Score- 9.6
Presentation-
Resistance 2 may not be Uncharted or MGS4 standards but Resistance 2 is still one of the better looking games this year. Humans and Hybrids definetly are bland and don't offer much detail but once you get outside of them its a lot better. The other Chimera chains are briliantly detailed and look incredible. The most notewrthy is the Leviathan whose skin is one of the most detailed in the game but the fact that he has actual slober that runs down his mouth and seperates itself as he opens his mouth is just technically very impressive. The improved color Pallette also helps a lot as you see the sun streaming through the trees or the giant Battleships zooming over your head as they lay waste to San Francisco is just awe-inspiring. Water effects are really realistic and utter a eerie spash as a body falls in and floats to the surface. Guns once again put all other shooters to shame as they are highly deatiled and once you first pick up one of these bad boys you'll be blown away. Voice acting is very good and its nice that your teammates chat with you and eachother and not scream at you the entire game like other shooters out there.
Score-9.4
Resistance 2 is one of the best shooters around this year. It has a great Multiplayer, a great story, and some great presentation. If you have a PS3 then it would be a shame for you to not pick up this game. If you don't own a PS3 then this along with Valkyria Chronicles, MGS4, and LBP should be enough to get you to buy one.
Overall Score- 9.3
