Boasting bosses the size of skyscrapers and online
multiplayer arenas that can accommodate an unprecedented 60 gamers, the sequel
to the only sound reason to buy a PlayStation 3 at launch—Resistance:
Fall Of Man—does
everything a sequel should do. At least, it does on paper.
The game tells the ongoing story of Nathan Hale, a
humble, weak-chinned British soldier who was infected with an alien virus in
the original. In true B-movie fashion, Hale hasn't quite "turned" in the
sequel; like a diabetic, he requires routine injections to prevent the virus
from overtaking him. Ostensibly, this virus explains why in the sequel, Hale
suddenly looks and fights like a Master Chief-caliber badass. (He also sports a
new sleek, black uniform.)
Levels have been widened like superhighways to
accommodate the eight-player cooperative mode. Gone is the original game's
humble, survivor-man quality, and gone is the hardscrabble search for health
packs, weapons, and ammo that made players feel like they were being
simultaneously resourceful and clever. The developers set out to make a far
more bombastic game—the explosions come early and often, no doubt a
response to the gripe that the original took too long to get cooking—and
in the process, they lost sight of the intimacy and tension that made the first
game so memorable.
Beyond the game: Developer Insomniac has
created a Facebook-style social networking site (myresistance.net) in the name
of facilitating a community.
Worth playing for: Eight-player co-op is a
gas, especially when you're playing with seven people you know. (But best of
luck finding seven friends who own PS3s.)
Frustration sets in when: It dawns on you that the
game wasn't designed to be played solo. Even on the Casual difficulty setting,
expect to endure your fair share of try-and-die situations.
Final judgment: You can't argue with Resistance
2's robust
feature set. But the once-relatable, ragtag protagonist Nathan Hale has been
transformed into a generic square-jawed action hero, the kind who's been the
subject of satire since 1991's Duke Nukem. Clearly Nathan isn't just battling the
Chimeran virus; he's also suffering from a severe case of John McClane-itis.