A Sci-Fi, Historical Fiction, First-person shooter video game developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation 3, Resistance is back...and this time it's more exciting than before. Following Sgt. Nathan Hale as he returns to America only for the Chimera to launch a full-scale invasion. As part of an elite group called The Sentinels, he's imbued with the Chimera Virus to give him an edge in battle, which puts him at risk of being infected as a result.
First of all, the incredible graphics for it's time. For example, a scene of the Chimera invasion shown near the beginning is very well detailed and looks almost real, with plenty of smaller ships moving independently from the bigger ones. All are very well detailed rather than simply painted or a still shot, it's also just very beautiful to look at.
There are still likeable characters (with impressive voice acting), notably Capelli, Hawthorne, and Warner. The storyline is also interesting, with the threat of the Chimera being shown quite well in how unbelievably powerful they are. The much better tone than the previous game even shows both the horrors of war and going for a more scary type of tone, which fits it quite well. It actually gives a reason why you're powerful, being that Hale is empowered by the Chimera Virus. The ending, however, is terrible and is also rushed and unsatisfying as it just has Hale getting shot in the head and the screen fading to black (like any of the endings of the games with Tom Clancy's name on them). Then there are some plot holes throughout:
- While it makes sense that the military would want Hale to report back to his inhibitor treatment, how did they expect to get more without Malikov? The only one who could make them in the first place.
- Why didn't Malikov ever use inhibitors on Hale after he rescued him?
- How did Hale fight a battle in Louisiana, go to the Yucatan Peninsula, and fight another battle there all within a few hours?
While it removes a few features from the previous game, notably the weapon wheel and health bar, (which makes the game kind of feel more like a Call of Duty clone), at times make the singleplayer mode more difficult than it should be. It's also much more violent than pretty much any shooter released around that time, you can literally blow enemies to pieces. Worse still, plenty of difficulty spikes throughout, like plenty of shooters before it. Some enemies are still pretty bullet-spongey, and plenty of parts where the player could die a lot before progressing. Level design is also pretty linear by comparison to both the previous and subsequent games in the series.
Most weapons in the game, both human and alien, have a secondary fire mode independent of the primary ammo which can help give you an edge in battle. For example, the LARK can also shoot a barrage of mini missiles, the Auger can deploy shields, and the Magnum can also shoot explosive rounds.
There's a wide variety of different enemies. Some drones are bigger and have stronger weapons and a shield around them. Steelheads have Augers which can shoot through cover and hit you, and Chameleons are cloaked enemies that can instantly kill you. The boss fights for an FPS are so much fun, especially the Kraken, Leviathan, and Goliath drones.
A great example of why sequels work overall.