The original
Resistance title took place in an alternative universe where experiments behind
the Iron Curtain (Russia) got out of control. It is a case of genetic
experiments gone horribly wrong. The result was a mutated species that goes
under the collective name of the Chimera. If there were merely a case of
flesh-eating zombie-like creatures roaming aimlessly about, the infection might
have been eradicated. But there is alien technology in play here. And the
Chimera don’t just conquer, they convert. They have processing plants where
prisoners are taken, infected with the virus and join their ranks.
Sound like a
viral nightmare? It is. In the first game from Insomniac Studios, the Chimera
spread across Europe. The last bastion was England. The U.S. – either in denial,
or with ulterior motives – waited until the last minute to send in aid, but it
was too little much too late. England fell. But that was not the focal point of
the story; the focal point was Army Lt. Nathan Hale, who was on patrol when
swarms of the plague bugs overwhelmed his party, entering his body. He was
infected, but if he was changing, it was extremely slowly. The infection gave
him a few benefits in combat, but not many. He would have to rely on an
assortment of weapons, from mankind’s arsenal as well as extremely effective and
much more creative alien weapons, as well as his brains. In the end, it really
didn’t matter.
As it turned
out, Hale was being hunted by his own nation. As the first game ended, Hale – in
a snowy forest – was found, and taken into custody. He had two choices, go along
peacefully, or by force.
Resistance 2
picks up where the first game left off. Hale is flown to what was thought of as
a safe base in Iceland, only to discover it is no longer safe. The Chimera are
on the move, and it is a rapid assault at that. The only hope is to get Hale to
a SRPA (a medical and safe complex stateside) to study the infection he carries.
After the
opening level, the game transitions to the SRPA underwater in the bay off San
Francisco. It is two years later. Hale has been probed by a Russian doctor who
has determined that the effects are irreversible but they can use a viral
inhibitor to slow down whatever it will eventually do to Hale. But the time for
introspection is well over. The SRPA has been breached and the station personnel
that remains has to get out, and that means moving upward. The first order of
business, though, is to close the water seals that are open and allowing
water-born Chimera creatures, called Furies (anyone sense a trend here in the
names of the creatures? There is also a kraken – well, more than one –
encountered early in the game; and the boss Chimera is Daedelus) to inhabit the
flooded areas. You can’t shoot Furies from above, and you can’t fight them in
the water. These are no-win creatures that are best avoided. Because, though,
they have cyclical paths in their patrols, you can time your brief forays
through their waters.
When you
finally do manage to work through to the surface, you are greeted with amazing
visceral imagery. That is San Francisco Bay, with the Golden Gate Bridge, but
the sky is full of Chimera ships, and the city appears to be in flames. It is
not a city besieged, it is a city conquered.
Americans are
on the run, and leading the charge toward the safe zones is Hale. The lieutenant
has gone from being treated warily to the focal point of the operations. What is
interesting is that the game does not just focus on the big cities.
Just to
interject here – there will be no spoilers given in this game, so don’t bother
to ask. About the only thing that will be said is that while the game does leave
room for another title in the franchise, some conclusions are reached and there
are elements that are wrapped up with this release.
If there are
grips to be had with the game, in the single-player campaign, they would have to
do with the linearity of the game. This is very much a directed experience with
little deviation allowed. You have to go from point A to point B and most of the
time you will have the path outlined with weapon drops and environmental
corridors. Insomniac estimates that on the normal setting the game will take
about 9-11 hours to complete, but the replay value comes in uncovering all the
trophies, plus the robust multiplayer modes that allow players to level up a
character, much like in the CoD experience. Insomniac estimates there is about
200 hours worth of gaming to max out the progression level, and these can be in
competitive co-op sessions, or competitive FPS games like deathmatch, team
deathmatch, core control (sort of like a capture the flag session) or 60-player
online skirmish modes with several objectives.
The locations
are nicely varied in the game. You will be walking through redwoods near Orrick,
California, or may find yourself onboard one of the giant Chimera ships. The
underwater SRPA areas are dank, but the whole game has been washed with rich
texturing and a sense of dread so thick it can stay with a player hours after
putting down the game.
The game is an
incredible bit of eye candy. Insomniac has improved light scattering and
volumetric lighting, with improved shader details and proprietary real-time
dynamic water. Additionally, there are more than 200 unique animations for the
human game character models. What all that adds up to is a visceral experience
that is first rate. Sure, there might be a lot of action going on that precludes
gamers from just enjoying the view, but in the lull, it is very nice to be able
to glance around and see what the developers have created with this game.
The sound is
very solid as well. Not only does the music drive, but the sounds of the Chimera
are great, and you can locate targets based on sound. Weapon noise is what is
expected.
The AI of the
game is a little hit and miss. There are times when it seems the dev team
replaced tactics with inane rushes in numbers. One particularly hazardous scene
is in Twin Falls in a theater where the former residents assault the player and
his AI teammates. Forget your teammates, they do little to draw off the spawn
simply because they are not the focus of the attack – you are. So you can run
around, try to separate the creatures into smaller manageable groupings, but
don’t expect your ‘teammates’ to actually do anything to aid you. That is a
failing of the game. Perhaps the Chimera are mentally bereft in spite of the
technology they wield, but it took brains somewhere along the line to implement
the building of the technology, but that mental acuity is missing from the peons
and even boss battles. And as the challenge ramps up slightly during the game,
you may find yourself standing in the middle of a swarm, while your AI-guided
teammates stand about shooting, but not doing much damage.
The game’s
controls are easily managed, and players should be able to grow accustomed to
them quickly and easily.
As for
multiplayer, there are two ways to play the game – you can head into the
deathmatch scenarios or participate in the cooperative-competitive campaign
scenarios. Each session is judged and experience points awarded, which levels up
your character is based on participation. This can be rather frenetic, but the
game does support in-game voice chat, and a well-managed team can work through
the scenarios efficiently.
Multiplayer is
definitely a bonus to the gameplay and will ensure players remain in the game
long after finishing the single-player scenario.
While
Resistance 2 is a solid game, the way the game is directed feels, at times, a
bit forced. What is bonafide, though, is the feeling of growing urgency, of
growing terror that is coupled with a bit of persistent despair. This is a
well-crafted game, but without a tidbit of hope, it can also leave a bit of a
depressing aftertaste. Still, for gamers looking for a thrill ride, R2 is
definitely it this winter.
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Gameplay: 8.9
The game is rather
linear in the single-player campaign mode. Sure you can up the ante by altering
the difficulty settings, but that’s about it. Still, if you want to collect all
the trophies available, you will spend some time here. For other comments about
the gameplay, you need to refer to comments connected to the graphics in the
section below.
The control
schemes are easy to use, but be prepared for load times. The AI is also not as
good as it could have been. If you do die, you can expect the Chimera to pop
from the same locations in the next attempt at the area.
Graphics: 9.3
This is a dandy bit
of eye candy. The first view of the San Francisco Bay may take your breath away.
The environments look amazing. The camera is rarely a problem but the decay in
weapon drops can be a bit irritating when you are low on ammo and backtrack to
pick up a weapon that is no longer there. That means that there is no
persistence to the world. If you die and respawn at the last checkpoint, what
has gone on behind you is forgotten (yep, the area remains cleared, but your
passage is not marked by drops).
It is very
obvious that the game wants you to move forward, not backtrack. That sense of
urgency may be fine to spur the game along, but with only about 9-11 hours of
gameplay, it can make the single-player campaign feel a bit shorter (because you
are always being pushed forward down that path to the game’s conclusion).
Sound: 8.7
Good soundtrack but
nothing that is unexpected.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Concept: 8.7
The game treads
familiar territory in many ways, but it is a bit bigger with some new enemy
types (shades of predator, those chameleons make an auspicious entry only to be
relegated to less of a threat when their attention turns to the player instead
of NPCs). This is still, though, a solid game, and the environments and
graphical upgrades are superb.
Multiplayer: 9.0
While the scenarios
are not anything truly new to either the franchise or the FPS genre, the sheer
numbers you can employ within the game make this an impressive outing.
Overall: 9.0
This is an amazing
visceral experience. The forests, the water are all incredibly done. The cut
scenes drive the game along nicely, but there are some discrepancies in the
story line that need to be explained – like how Hale went from outcast to vital
member of the U.S. armed forces in spite of the infection the scientists seem
frantic to use viral inhibitors on. The AI is a bit suspect as well, on both
sides of the conflict. Sure, you are the focal point in the game, but it would
be nice to have solid cover fire from your AI teammates as you are the point in
either the assault or in being assaulted. This element flip-flops on occasion.
The game,
though, is a tense thriller that will immerse players into that sense of
desperation as the remains of the human race fight for survival against
increasingly overwhelming odds. The pacing is frenetic, the sense of urgency
comes through loud and clear. Resistance 2 is a solid game, that looks stunning,
but the game’s length and the linearity of the levels might prove to be a little
much for some players.
