It's official, the first-person shooter from the makers of Ratchet & Clank, is set to capture the wallets of fans across the globe. Gamers can make educated comparisons between Resistance Fall of Man and the Ratchet series, but don't be fooled -- this diesel-powered shooter will be bursting into living rooms and slapping them in the face with sharp graphics, large scale battles and an armoury of unique weapons.
At first glance, Resistance looks like any other World War II era game. The opening takes players back to a 1950s, but with a few revisions. WWII never happened and technology has advanced at a rapid pace. Buildings and vehicles stay true to the time period, but the weapons have been ripped straight from a sci-fi novel -- rocket launchers that kick everything into slo-mo and let you steer the rocket at enemies, guns that let you 'tag' an enemy and then all bullets shot after automatically hit the marked target, and another gun that lets you shoot enemies through walls and other solid objects.
The weapons, of course, help defend humanity from the Chimera, a hostile alien race who's decided to take over the planet. The enemies' artificial intelligence also makes them smarter than the average bad guy. That doesn't mean they can solve complex math equations, but instead, they're driven by unabashed ferocity. These mean muscle-bound brutes don't hesitate to bum rush people, sometimes several at a time. And that's what makes the game so challenging. In other shooters, swarms of enemies often sit passively in the background as players get time to think about the best way to take them out. No more. So, just like real war, players will have to be ready to make snap decisions as needed.
The first mission we played required us to navigate a fortified hill, sneaking past turrets wrapped in razor wire and a line of trenches full of nasty things. With the help of AI-controlled buddies, we made it to the top, dying only once after we foolishly attacked a gun turret (and its operator) at point blank range. After forming a strategy, it was easier to make short work of the Chimera, sneaking around the turrets and emptying whole clips into their alien operators. Then it was into the trenches to dispatch another turret and a gaggle of smaller alien lifeforms, and then into a house where, in one of the most shocking video game moments ever, we were ambushed by multiple assailants, who sent us to an early grave. Game over. Thanks for trying to save the universe.
The demo lasted about 15 minutes, but it was hard not to be impressed with this game (outside the already stellar high-resolution graphics and weapons). The contrast between the futuristic aliens and the old, wooden house, show that Insomniac hasn't simply smashed two time periods together and hoped for the best. Instead, the developers have skilfully interwoven two contrasting styles, and the result is a product that, while resembling other videogames, still looks beautifully distinct. I've killed aliens in space and Nazis in Europe, but I haven't killed aliens in Europe, and that's part of what makes the game fun.
We've yet to get lots of hands-on time with the weapons 40-person multiplayer mode (which promises to be a digital orgasm of the highest quality), but the Resistance: Fall of Man demo has left us ready for more. Sure, Sony's game may not turn out to be as unique as everyone desperately wants it to be -- it's still a first-person shooter after all -- but it looks like it'll be a solid launch game and a good idea of what's in store for the PlayStation 3.
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