Resistance: Fall of Man

This week I decided to review a game that was received quite positively by most, and negatively by few close to me. If they read this, they know who they are. Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the very earliest releases for the Playstation 3, and since its release has spawned a sequel on the PS3, as well as an interquel on the PSP. Resistance 2 was released late 2008 and was bigger and better than its predecessor; as any good sequel should be. If I have nothing to review next week, I may do Resistance 2.

STORY
Resistance: FOM follows humanity's battle against the alien Chimera, in the last attempt to save Britain, and ultimately, Europe. It is set during an alternate history, in 1951, when Europe is overrun by a mysterious alien force known as the Chimera. Since the British forces are fighting a losing battle, America sends in reinforcements, part of which is soldier Nathan Hale.
As you progress through the story, which is told via narrative dialogue by Nathan's ally Rachael Parker, Hale is infected by the Chimeran "Virus", and learns more about the alien race.

Resistance is one of the most story driven first person shooters around, with each level having a clear explanation to tie it to the next. There are also intel items in each level; all of them detailing weapons, enemies and events seen through other soldiers eyes.
However it does take a while for the story to get truly intriguing, and I've never accepted "it gets better later" as an excuse, but it DOES get better. However, it doesn't start off badly....

PRESENTATION
Fall of Man is definitely not the best looking game around, which i guess is understandable for one of the first games on a next gen console as powerful as the PS3. However, it's not excused, and while enemies and locations look interesting and unique, they don't look as polished as they could have. Theres also some minor texture and clipping issues that pop up every now and then. However, with so much going on on screen, theres surprisingly no frame rate issues.

The music in Resistance is top notch and sets the tone for every level well. The sound effects from each enemy and gun is also unique and makes them seem more lifelike, despite being so unrealistic.
The dialogue is also strong, with solid voice acting for most of the characters; though maybe the British accents could have been dialled down a little. At least they aren't full on cockney accents though.

GAMEPLAY
Behind the strong story and somewhat mediocre presentation lies some solid gunplay with a variety of truly unique weapons, mostly with 2 different methods of fire.
The controls take a little getting used to, as they aren't in the standard FPS Layout. However, once past this, theres a lot of fun to be had with the various weapons you'll find around.
Among these are the Bullseye, which can fire targets that attract fired rounds, and the Hailstorm, that can fire the entire magazine, which acts like a mini turret.

There are also some excellent variants on the classic grenade, including the hedgehog, which fires giant spikes off in all directions. Unfortunately, there is no option to cook grenades before you throw them which is a minor gripe of mine, but easily overlooked.

What can't be overlooked at how easy the campaign was on medium. I breezed through it on my first time through, and even quicker with a friend in co-op play. That's not to say the AI enemies are idiots. They take cover and try to flank you as you might expect in a true firefight, but they lack a ferocity which is needed to make the game truly difficult.

There is a nice enemy and gun variety to the gameplay, but the lack of difficulty really can't be overlooked. When you are given all the weapons at once as opposed to just a switch between 2 helped in that. If you've been playing a level using the carbine, and all of a sudden you need the rocket launcher, you can just switch to it, instead of having to find one in the surrounding area.

There are also cool vehicles sections, but not enough of them to be truly core gameplay. Like the weaponry, theres a balance between both Chimera and Human vehicles.

The Co-op gameplay also seems like an unnecessary add-on, though it was enjoyable. It is just the single player campaign, but with two people.

REPLAYABILITY
There is a multiplayer aspect to Resistance, but i very much doubt there is anyone online these days. Theres a variety of game modes, but again, not many players online. There are no trophies to be gained by playing through again, however there are more weapons to use. If that's enough incentive for you, go right ahead. Always fun to play through in co-op though.

OVERVIEW
Resistance is a strong game with solid gunplay and a variety of guns and enemies to back up a strong story, which does take a while to get started. There are a whole lot of intel items to collect, which urge players to explore in the mostly linear environments. I recommend that if you own a PS3, you at least try this game, because it is truly an exceptional game. Unfortunately, things like the lack of difficulty, mediocre-at-best graphics and lack of replayability make this game a little less impressive. However, I stand by my opinion that the gameplay and story are both solid.

So that's another review done for this week. Might do resistance 2 next week if I have nothing new, but its really just the same as this, with a graphical update, better gameplay and better multiplayer... Anyways, see you guys next time! Also, comments and feedback!!