Resistance 2

Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the most popular and successful games to debut on the Playstation 3's opening year. It graced players with an excellent single player campaign, an interesting story, and an online multiplayer that was on par with that of the wildly popular Halo series. It was inevitable that fans would expect a bigger, more action-packed sequel to continue the story of Nathan Hale, and Insomniac delivers in every way with Resistance 2.

The story begins immediately after the events of Resistance: Fall of Man with Nathan Hale being captured by a group of soldiers from a unit called S.R.P.A. ; Hale is recruited into this unit and-after an introductory level- you ain control of Hale two years later. Hale is now a member of a special unit of soldiers who are also infected with the Chimeran Virus, and from their on the desperate defense of the United States begins against the legions of Chimera that have amassed since their assault on Europe in the previous title. The first thing that a player will notice about Resistance 2's single player campaign is that Insomniac tells the story  through a very fast paced series of chapters, but that is not neccesarily a bad thing. The story proceeds to answer many of the questions raised by the conclusion of Resistance: Fall of Man, and rather than offer a straight-forward ending, uses a cliff hanger to hint at the next title in the franchise. One might argue that the use of a cliff hanger ending detracts from the overall story of Resistance 2, but the story of Resistance 2 is one of the few games to ever use a cliff hanger successfully; the ending of Resistance 2-without spoiling anything- successfully closes all of the fast-paced story of the game and introduces the next title in the series with a "BANG!"  In short, not only does the story and writing of Resistance 2 successfully continue the story of Resistance: Fall of Man, but it also answers the many questions that fans have wanted answered and raises new questions that peak the interest in the next Resistance title, whenever it may arrive.

Graphically, Resistance 2 is a vast improvement over the previous title. It raises the bar on everything that Fall of Man set as far as environments, character modeling, realistic animation, and massive setpieces; all of which render beatuifully and seamlessly. The overall art style has changed drastically since Fall of Man, and it is for the better. While the previous title used several shades of dim colors and greys to evoke the gritty feel of the universe, Resistance 2 utilizes a vast color pallet to evoke the variety of environments that exist throughout North America. It is a welcome change that breathes new life into the universe of Resistance 2. From a technical aspect, Resistance 2 improves on its predeccesor even more. Characters are modeled and are animated beatifully due to the new motion capture that Insomniac utilized. Even the Chimera are animated and modeled beatifully, and considering the amount of enemies that appear on screen, it is an amazing achievement that the game runs so seamlessly. Another difference from Fall of Man is the massive set pieces that exist in Resistance 2. From the massive Chimeran fleets rendered in real time, to the canyons of the west, to the massive skyscrapers of Chicago, to the absolutely immense bosses, everything about Resistance 2 is rendered without a hitch or slow-down in frame rate to be seen. Resistance 2 is a vast improvement over the graphics of Resistance: Fall of Man from both an artistic aspect and a technical aspect.

Throughout the game, the player is treated to a great, yet somewhat underappreciated soundtrack and amazing sound effects. The sounds of a gun firing, a Chimeran Hybrid grunting, to the mighty roar of the Leviathan, to the natural sounds of the forests of Orick, all the sound effects are done very well and truly enhance the action of the game, as well as the atmopshere of the environments you will traverse. The soundtrack is quite impressive, although underappreciated. The menu music, as well as the in-game music, serves to truly pump the player for whatever battles they may face throughout the campaign, and when a soundtrack can serve such a purpose, it is a good soundtrack. All in all, the sound of Resistance 2 serves to enhance the overall experience of the game.

It is inevitable that players will brutally attempt to compare the campaign of Resistance 2 to that of Resistance: Fall of Man, but the campaigns are so drastically different that it is impossible to compare them; however, the campaign is an improvement over Fall of Man. The overall gameplay of the Campaign is relatively similar, mainly because it did not need to be fixed. There are some slight changes to the controls, but this serves the greater good and creates a more responsive control scheme than in the previous installment. The primary changes to the campaign are the pacing of the campaign and the scale of the campaign. The campaign is incredibly fast-paced. Some may argue that tis is a bad thing; however, the pace of the action is devoted to keeping the player in the action instead of in cutscenes or overly long quiet portions of walking. The campaign has also been increased in scale. The set pieces, the enemies, and the sheer amount of information within the campaign creates an epic single player experience. By the end of the campaign, the player feels like so much has occurred. The only knock against the campaign is that it is quite short. It is epic and well written, but a focused gamer can complete it in only about 7-10 hours, which is a bit disappointing, but considering the sheer scale of the campaign, the gameplay, and the healthy challenge offered by the A.I. make up for the length of the campaign to create a well-crafted single player experience.

The online multiplayer is the main focus the propels Resistance 2 beyond its competitors. The online features all the classic game modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, but it is the new Skirmish Mode and Co-Op campaign that make the experience unique. To top it all off, Resistance 2 supports up to 60 players in its competitive modes. Skirmish mode is an objective based mode in which a massive team is divided into squads that have their own unique objective. What results is an epic, large scale battle that maintains order rather then thrusting the player into a chaotic and un-orderly death. The Co-Op campaign supports up to eight players online, and features an enitrely different campaign then the single player campaign. The Co-Op features Class-based gameplay which creates a unique and deep experience. The classes are Medic, the healer of the squad, Spec-Ops, the source of ammo for the rest of the squad, and Soliders, the overall damage-doer of the squad. Each squad depends on eachother in a different way, which creates highly strategic gameplay when fighting against hordes of enemies. The most important element of the online multiplayer of Resistance 2 is the accessability of the experience. Insomniac offers a very deep multiplayer experience for the hardcore gamer, but an average gamer can approach the game and not be intimidated because of the variety of game modes. If a player does not want to play Skirmish mode or anything complex, they can easily play a basic Deathmatch mode, and Fall of Man lacked the accessability the Resistance 2 has. The online multiplayer of Resistance 2 offers a deep, accessable, and superior experience that can be played by a hardcore shooter fan or someone playing a shooter for the first time

Resistance 2 is a fantastic shooter that should not be missed by anyone. It is a testament to the quality that games can reach. Not only does Resistance 2 create a deep, epic, accessable, and superior experience to its predeccesor, but it creates a superior experience to its competitors.