Provides an ultimately solid experience.
Resistance: Fall of Man is essentially a science-fiction shooter; developed by Insomniac games (the guys that brought you the ever-popular ratchet and Clank series). The game had a big responsibility on its shoulders from the get-go, not only was it one of only a few launch titles Sony were hoping would sell their hardware but it was also expected to fill the void that Killzone’s delay had left behind. Based in an alternate 20th century you take the role of the intrepid Sgt Nathan Hale – part of the last resistance against a race of hostile creatures known as the Chimera. These foul beasts were created as a result of biological experiments performed in Russia and as is usually the case they soon broke out in search of world domination. Already over-run you’re sent to England in an attempt to stop the chaos from spiraling any further; in the hopes of finally putting an end to their dastardly ways once and for all. As it is set in England you’ll visit famous cities from throughout the country, from the sprawling city’s of Manchester and London to the greener pastures of Somerset, each one with their own unique look and feel.
You’re aided along your journey by an impressive array of weapons, each one as useful and as creatively brilliant as the next (surely you wouldn’t have expected anything less from Insomniac right?). The Bullseye allows you to tag an enemy and then send a volley of fire their way no matter how desperate they are to evade your fire. The Auger on the other hand lets you fire shots through walls and other various objects, perhaps this guns best feature though is it’s secondary fire. This grants you the ability to throw up a transparent wall that allows you to fire shots at your opponent while theirs feebly rebound against it; unless of course they too are equipped with an Auger of their very own. The ammo is also distributed quite cleverly throughout the entire campaign, pushing you to discover your entire arsenal in all it’s glory.
It should take anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to complete this 4 day campaign first time around and upon completion you’ll unlock new weapons for your efforts, these can then be used when you play through a second time around in the search of the games many unlockables. Even though the maps are all pretty big, the single-player in particular feels pretty limited, proving a somewhat linear experience with very few ways to attack the levels and the enemies. The controls feel tight and responsive, beginners and veterans should feel right at home. The only gripe I have with them is the way you have to shake your controller when an enemy attaches itself to you. It feels unnecessary, almost tacked on, only there to incorporate some form of motion-based control.
The games difficulty levels are pretty well-balanced, easy is easy, medium is medium and hard is guess what? Yes it’s pretty damn hard. The AI is intelligent no matter what, you will see the Chimera cleverly taking refuge behind an assortment of objects and even flanking you down when needs be. The only thing that seems to change between difficulties is the effectiveness of their weapons.
The graphics do a pretty good job, especially when you consider this is a launch title. It can’t compete with the likes of Motorstorm but can definitely hold it’s own against the majority of other titles the system has to offer. The visuals really go some in creating a sense of atmosphere and the transition from one setting to the next is done effortlessly. The cut-scenes between missions are also implemented superbly well, matching the in-game graphics to a tee. The animations aren’t bad either, especially those sported by the Chimera; who look absolutely devilish. Unfortunately though there are a few problems underneath the games polished surface. If you get too close to certain objects for example you may experience some crazy twitching. Also killing enemies can result in some pretty bizarre deaths, such as them sticking halfway through walls or leaning against an invisible surface. The environments aren’t utilized very well either, they sure look nice but hardly any of it is destructible and the interactivity is almost non-existent. The only thing you will ever use (besides weapons) is the odd switch; you aren’t even equipped with an action button.
The audio supports the visuals nicely and helps bring the whole package together. The enemies and the environments sound positively eerie and the soundtrack builds tension well. While you won’t necessarily be frightened as you play through, the game does a good job in creating a sense of impending doom that will stay with you for some time.
There are more multiplayer modes found here than one person could ever need (over 40 in total), with old favourites like deathmatch and capture-the-flag making an appearance plus bizarre new ones that see you swap from soldier to Chimera as you play. Online supports up to 40 players with little or no latency problems to speak of, plus there’s also a full-on co-operative mode (offline only) so there’s plenty to keep you occupied.
Resistance: Fall of Man doesn’t reinvent a genre, it doesn’t even come close, instead it borrows bits and pieces from an array of other shooters. The way you regenerate your health for example is similar to that of Call of Duty, healing if you keep yourself out of trouble for long enough. I guess you could also equate it to the energy shields found in Halo. While it won’t win any awards for originality; what it does do is provide an ultimately solid experience with an incredible weapons package, great game design, accessible controls and more multiplayer modes than you can shake a stick at. As a game in it’s own right Resistance is worthy of your cash, as a launch title I’d go as far to say it’s a must-buy.
UPDATE: The game now offers a downloadable map pack for It's users via the PlayStation Network. It only includes two maps in total and neither get used that often in online play, this is probably more to do with lack of sales as oppose to poor level design.
