Mixing up battle strategies even more, the two player co-op permits folks to approach the game's many scenarios with a human counterpart, resulting in much more complex battle strategies, particularly in boss fights. However, co-op's not everything it could have been. When a player dies, a triangle appears on their partner's screen indicating their position, so their partner can rush to their friend's side and speed along the respawn process. However, due to the equilateral shape of this triangle, it's hard to discern exactly where the other player's corpse is located. Also, the fact that co-op's restricted to offline, split-screen play lessens the impact.
Fortunately, Resistance's online portion doesn't disappoint, allowing players to fight as either a Chimera or a human, each with their own pros and cons. Yet despite their differing abilities and play styles, the two sides end up rather evenly matched.
In fact, that's the whole point of Conversion mode. Given a preset number of lives, players begin the match as a human, and then respawn as a Chimera after a certain number of deaths. The last player standing wins, the victor's species is not always predictable.
Beyond the requisite multiplayer modes -- Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag -- Resistance offers up some team-based goodness in the form of its Breach and Meltdown modes. Each focused on the destruction of an enemy's reactor, and each supporting up to 40 players, the main difference between the two lies with the vulnerability of a base. In Breach, bases can be directly attacked and the capture of additional nodes provides both respawn points and additional defensive capabilities, requiring the team to keep careful watch over both their base and their nodes. Meanwhile, in Meltdown, an opponent's reactor can only be damaged by capturing the nodes scattered through a map, freeing the team from defending the base itself. Either way, the strategically placed nodes are central to victory.
Harkening back to the attention to detail, it's clear a lot of thought went into the various aspects of multiplayer. Beyond the various modes and playable species, the little touches are apparent here as well, such as the ring of lights indicating how long until the next weapon pickup appears. Insomniac also promises a variety of stat-tracking options on the forthcoming MyResistance.net site, complete with the ability to check a friend's stats and compare the medals awarded throughout one's online career.
Perhaps most impressive, the framerate never slows down. The importance of the unwavering framerate can't be overstated, especially during the game's more intense moments.
Though not without its minor problems, mostly resulting from co-op not being everything it should be, Resistance: Fall of Man easily ranks as the must-have entry in the PlayStation 3 lineup. The chaotic battles and creative weaponry help make its single player campaign among the most intense experiences in recent memory, a rare trait to find in a launch game. Meanwhile, the variety of options and modes in the well-designed multiplayer, another rare trait for a launch game, guarantee the formation of a dedicated online community. While justifying, let alone affording, a $500 or $600 PlayStation 3 may be a questionable affair at this point, games like Resistance provide a solid reason for the eventual purchase.
Related Links:
Resistance: Fall of Man Game Guide
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