Resistance 2

If you enjoyed Resistance: Fall of Man's great first-person shooter experience, you will definitely benefit from this sequel that surpasses its predecessor--in several ways possible. Resistance 2 takes the same formulas from the first game and improving all the mechanics, resulting in a game chock-full of colossal boss fights, larger multiplayer battles, and a single player campaign that falls short in its story, but redeems itself in its superb visuals, and a somewhat tenacious challenge worthy of taking down. Resistance 2 is what its predecessor was all about and then some, albeit bigger, meaner, and even better.

Resistance 2 basically picks up where Fall of Man left off. A mass of 12,000 human soldiers were sent to the front lines, but were all wiped out during the war against the invading Chimera, supposed alien beings who have come to infest and wreak havoc in the entire planet. Out of those 12,000 killed in battle, Nathan Hale, the protagonist of the first game, is the lone survivor of the entire conflict. Soon afterwards, Hale is restrained and placed under a special task force called "The Sentinels." Members of this unit have been infected by the Chimeran virus, but still maintain dominance over it via special inhibitors to suppress the effects. Just when things are starting to become hopeful for the human race, the Chimerans suddenly launch a full-scale invasion of the United States--on all fronts. Hale and The Sentinels are ordered to take part in the war against the Chimera again, in hopes of ending the war once and for all--or die trying.

In the world of Resistance, Earth is messed up.

The game's story is what I found somewhat uninspiring. Resistance 2's plot didn't really take advantage of adding some dramatic, over-the-top moments here and there; it was more like fight-lots-of-Chimeras-and-that's-it kind of deal. Most of the cut scenes are very brief, and I found it quite difficult to get into the game's plot until after I completed a few more chapters later. It makes it seem that the game is more focused on the action and less on the story, which is basically what happened here. To add more to that, Resistance 2's cast of characters weren't exactly memorable, and Hale doesn't have much development from the start. So the plot is already hard to take in, and the game makes it even trickier to connect with its characters. Hopefully, the implied sequel, as you would already know, will make improvements in these elements.

Resistance: Fall of Man was about shooting armies of Chimera dudes in the face most of the time, but it's not to say that's an awful thing. There will be numerous moments in the game where zombie chimeras and krakens will certainly give you the absolute thrills, and a giant, ferocious leviathan that will surely take your breath away. Sadly, most of the Chimeran creatures do not make a return in the sequel, so it's kind of a bummer, but the new additions (like some of the ones I mentioned above) to the Chimera's family all make their much deserved appearances.

And appearances matter greatly in a shooter. If enemies are as dumb as a brick, it's not worth of a challenge or entertainment, am I right? Fortunately, Resistance 2's enemies are intelligent beings and will put up quite a struggle throughout the game. Thankfully, even your teammates will pull their weight on many occasions, making things less strenuous in situations that seem too overwhelming for the player. While many of the enemy's minions--and some occasional bugs here and there aren't much of a challenge overall, Resistance 2's series of hefty bosses are definitely no pushovers.

Behemoth boss fights are as breathtaking as they come.

From one mini-boss, and a main boss to the next, I found myself dying a few times because they are relatively difficult to kill. Since most of them are so massive, it's kind of hard to avoid a giant tentacle or hand when they come after you. Try taking on 5 of them at the same time; not pretty. And what's more is that instead of being able to carry numerous weapons like from the first game, players are able to hold only two weapons during play. This puts a big strain in the overall game play experience because of how limited things are at this point. But overall, the game's single player is more than enough to whet your appetite, taking up about a pretty lengthy 10-12 hours to complete. It is indeed a worthy obstacle to overcome, and with the automatic regenerative health system in play, it makes game play a lot smoother to get through.

Co-op mode makes a return, but with a little twist. Up to eight players are eligible to play in this mode, and the team will have to mow through hordes of Chimera while completing randomized objectives around the map they're playing on. You can choose from three different classes: the Soldier, Special Ops, and Medic. Soldiers are your basic frontline troops who take and endure the most damage, special ops are more long-distance specialists and have all the ammunition, and the medics can drain health from enemies and provide for the whole team. And depending on your team's various skill levels, it determines how fierce the enemies will strike wave after wave.

I initially thought that this mode will be two-player collaboration on the game's main story. To my surprise and disappointment, co-op mode in Resistance 2 actually runs parallel to the game's main campaign. But don't get me wrong; I did not feel the co-op experience was of substandard quality, it's just the fact that the title itself is somewhat misleading. Regardless, it is still an enjoyable mode to play through, especially with a friend--either online or locally.

While the single player and co-op modes offer pure enjoyment, the online multiplayer exceeds both of them in many levels. I mean, a competitive mode that supports up to 60 players online? It doesn't get any better than that. To make things much better, it's totally lag-free. There are five modes to choose from: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Skirmish, and Meltdown. Like in Resistance: Fall of Man, you gain experience points as you progress, but custom-based battles are excluded from this one. Players will get to level up in about 60 ranks overall (20 in each of the 3 tiers presented), unlocking skins and berserks along the way. The more immense the multiplayer battles are, the more excitement is brought to the table, and Resistance 2 absolutely excels in that portion.

Resistance 2 has an amazing visual presentation. Everything is so intricately detailed, from the unique, thrilling (and huge) Chimera designs to the game's array of weapons. Character models share the same outstanding factor as well. Facial expressions and movements are exceptionally fluid and realistic, and Resistance 2's environments are tremendously well done that I actually enjoyed awing the game's desolate, war-torn scenery. Lighting and shadow effects are appreciable as well, and the frame rate holds up for majority of play time both in the single player campaign and multiplayer modes.

Sound effects are both believable and pragmatic, especially hearing the firing of the various futuristic weapons featured in the game. The horrifying roars and shrieks of both the Chimera and human characters definitely contribute to the overall depressing, post-apocalyptic mood the game exhibits. And although Resistance 2's characters are pretty forgetful, good voice acting somewhat makes up for that flaw. Overall, they did a decent job in invoking emotions in their characters, so it wasn't all that bad. The game's dramatic music definitely keeps things going as you progress level by level, and does not disappoint whatsoever. In other words, your ears will be ringing…in a very good way.

It probably deserves the credit that Resistance 2 is definitely one of the best first-person shooters to be released on the Playstation 3. The game's story and characters are sadly uninspiring, but the game play keeps things going at a good pace and brings a potent challenge that needs to be beaten. But ultimately, the single player and lag-free multiplayer modes--not to mention its proficient graphics, loud but great audio presentation, and an awe-inspiring atmosphere will give you an experience that is breathtaking, immense, and enormously gratifying.

David Gabriel, NoobFeed.