Fall Spotlight: Resistance 2

I am what many might call a PS3 fanboy. Unfortunately however, the PS3 has been slow to pick up any truly outstanding games that really help it to stand out as well as the Xbox or Wii. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Uncharted stand out to me as two incredible PS3 experiences but for some reason, the PS3 has yet to get it's addictive, gamer friendly experience such as Gears of War. The original Resistance for the PS3 was a decent attempt at creating a unique shooter to compete with Gears despite the fact that it suffered from a few flaws that allowed Gears to come out on top. I will be honest, I have not played through Resistance. I tried. I couldn't stick with it because it seemed a bit too linear and a bit less interesting than Gears. Perhaps it was the brighter color palette or the shiny new engine that gave Gears that extra edge but one thing is certain, Resistance didn't make the impression that it was striving for. Because of my less than enthusiastic response to the original Resistance, I have not been too excited about Resistance 2 which is set to release in November. Luckily however, I have started to watch some of the preview footage for the game and color me impressed. Take a look at this:

Insomniac seems to have addressed several complaints I had with the original Resistance and added some crazy new elements that have managed to put this game on my radar. :

1.) The presentation of the story in the original Resistance was way too detached for my tastes. The game was narrated and lacked high quality cutscenes that make the story fun to follow. Luckily, Insomniac seems to be combining cutscenes with half life style presentation. Half Life 2 is a great example of how a story can be told right before your eyes with out pulling the player out of the experience. In addition to changing up the presentation of the story, the games color palette seems to have undergone a dramatic overhaul. The original game was nothing but browns and blacks which seemed to make the game very bland. Luckily, the change in game setting seems to have introduced a bigger variety of scenery with colorful forest levels and vast, vertical cityscapes. This kind of variety is something that could have saved the original game in my eyes.

2.) Insomniac's approach to graphics along with technical lighting and water techniques is very interesting. The idea of what they call "hyper realism" is an interesting concept because it is kind of difficult to see. Instead of striving for photo realism, Insomniac has added a certain "i don't know what" that adds a subtle style to the game.

3.) HUGE BOSSES!! Anyone who saw the footage from E3 saw the Goliath Chimera as it tore through downtown Chicago. This was definitely an interesting scene but it seems that the game will throw more of the gigantic boss fights at players throughout the game. It looks like taking on large boss creatures is a key aspect of the game that helps to separate it from other science fiction shooters. The thought of taking these monstrosities on alone or with friends is very enticing which leads me to my next point...

4.) 8 Player CO-OP is definitely one of the biggest selling points for me because not only do you have the opportunity to play together with 7 other people but this Co-Op mode includes it's own unique story! This is the first game I have ever seen that really tries to encourage cooperative play by giving you additional story elements for playing through with friends. Not only is this a unique multi player experience but it's available on the PS3 which is something that the PS3 really needs.

5.) In addition to an incredible co-op experience, the game also delivers a deep, rich, and incredibly complex multi player mode by allowing up to 60 people to be playing all at once! Now this is one element that has me incredibly excited but also very skeptical. With that many people on one map, it could become very confusing and make game play very frustrating. If they pull it off though, then it looks like PS3 might have the next big multi player phenomenon on their hands.

It's hard to read about this game and not get excited. Now I just have to go back and play through the original before the sequel hits this November. Add another game to my list of big Fall Blockbusters....

-Nick