Resistance: Fall of Man was a launch title and exclusive for Sony's PlayStation 3. Like the other launch title it took quick advantage in showing off the PS3's graphical capabilities.
Resistance was developed by Insomniac Games who are most know for the good Spyro games and the Ratchet & Clank series. This was their first Mature rated game and their second FPS, Disruptor was released in the PS1 in 1996. The game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE).
The Story:
Resistance is set in an alternate-history around the time of the second World War and centers around Sergeant Nathan Hale of the United State Army Rangers. The United States has sent a 100 man unit to Britain in order to help the British retrieve a weapon that is said to be usable again the Chimera. And as soon as the Rangers get into British airspace they are shoot down and wiped out by the Chimera. Hale is the only survivor of the attack though he is captured after being attacked with Spires, which are small bug like creatures that infest people and infects them with the Chimeran virus.
You play as Hale and have to single-handedly save the human race from the brink of extermination. The story is told in narration by a British journalist that is captured along side Hale. Both escape the Chimeran facility they are being held and go their separate ways. The only reason Hale was even able to escape was because he is immune to the Chimeran virus, or so it seems. Hale now possesses increased metabolism, increased strength and limited regeneration, and his irises have become goldish yellow, somewhat like the Chimera.
The Chimera:
The origin of the Chimera haven't been explained as of yet but one can presume they're aliens. Now I won't spoil the story of Resistance for those you haven't played it yet. But I can tell you this: The Chimeran army expands by infecting humans with a mutagenic virus that causes its victims to fall into a coma, then slowly transform into Chimera while inside cocoons. But the Chimera have a big flaw, if they become overheated they short out and die. They are cooled by the cylinder looking contraptions on their back.
Gameplay:
Resistance is actually a very difficult game. I'm a seasoned FPS gamer and this was difficult even for me on easy. I died maybe at least thrice per level. Bullets seems to be only attracted to you which pisses me off in most cases but in this game 85% of the time you are alone and thus must have a reputation on the Chimeran side and have a mark on your head. Logically that kind of makes sense, or maybe it doesn't. I think it does. Anyway, the game also features a life bar which is unheard of in this generation of FPS games.
You run into enemies that take at times half to three mags to kill and some take two or more shots to the head. And there are various parts of the game that feature land mines. One type are flash-bang type that launch up at different highs requiring the player to either jump or crouch. The other is the same as the Porcupine grenades that shoot out quails upon detention.
I guess I should also mention the vehicle section. And by ?a vehicle section? I mean one solitary level in which you drive a jeep while your NPC partner man a 50 Cal in the back. The jeep handles quite well even though it?s only in one level. Most other developers would have made the controls suck cause you only use it one time but Insomniac were smart enough to round out the gameplay and make every part of the game enjoyable, though most will ***** about the difficulty level.
Weapons:
You have your basic assortment of weapons for a FPS game, with the exception of a pistol. On the human side you have the shotgun, assault rifle, rocket launcher, sniper rifle, and grenade and incendiary grenade. The Chimera have a rail gun that also puts up a nanoshield, a gun that shoots red energy bolts that can also be used to take enemies so the bullets to their exact location, a machine gun that can make itself into a mock turret, the Porcupine grenades, and something that shoots out blob of... some stuff. There are also some you can unlock after beating the game but I uninstalled the game before I found out about them so I have no idea as to what they are.
The weapons are well balanced and quite appropriate for the atmosphere of the game. They give you a sense of how one sided this war really is. If both sides had equally as powerful and efficient weapons then the game wouldn't be a challenge nor immersible in the least. If really seems like what Sun Tzu wrote in his book Art of War. If they enemy has greater numbers and better equipment then you must find a way to win by any means necessary. [NOTE: That is not a direct quote.]
Multiplayer:
I picked up Resistance on the day Resistance 2 came out so I have no ideas what R:FoM's multiplayer is like but I can guess it's similar to R2's. One R2's launch the downloadable content for R:FoM has become free thanks to Insomniac.
Controversy Over Manchester Cathedral?s Appearance in the Game:
A level in R:FoM has the player battle inside Manchester Cathedral. Representatives of the Cathedral wanted Sony of pull Resistance from retail shelves and make a ?substantial donation? to the Cathedral?s anti-gun program. A Sony representative stated that the church in the game was to represent a generic, older church and not the cathedral in Manchester directly. With the controversy the question of copyright infringement came up. For copyright infringement to hold a case in a court the church in the game would have to be a exact detailed virtual version of the cathedral in Manchester. In the UK's 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents act it states that anything on public display is protect from copyright infringement on the ground of freedom of panorama. It should also be noted that copyright protection expires after 60-70 years after the creators death as the creation should be widely known to be from the creator. I have read a few internet posts that say the inclusion of a virtually exact Manchester Cathedral would be protected under the fair usage agreement as it would invoke social commentary. Now, that argument may have entirely no ground to stand on. In the long run many lawyers and firms found that Sony may have infringed on some copyright material but if the case was to go to court the case would most likely be thrown out.
The Church's Letter to Sony [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1917035.ece]
Freeth Cartwright's View on the Controversy [http://impact.freethcartwright.com/2007/06/church_of_engla.html]
Conclusion: If you like FPS games then this is one you really have to play. PC gamers may not be interested in it, but I'm a PC gamer and I love this game. Though I have garnered A LOT of hate towards the PC gaming industry.
Final Judgment: BUY. It's only $30 or less at someplaces, so if you don't have this game in your PS3 library then you have no excuse for not picking this up.
Resistance was developed by Insomniac Games who are most know for the good Spyro games and the Ratchet & Clank series. This was their first Mature rated game and their second FPS, Disruptor was released in the PS1 in 1996. The game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE).
The Story:
Resistance is set in an alternate-history around the time of the second World War and centers around Sergeant Nathan Hale of the United State Army Rangers. The United States has sent a 100 man unit to Britain in order to help the British retrieve a weapon that is said to be usable again the Chimera. And as soon as the Rangers get into British airspace they are shoot down and wiped out by the Chimera. Hale is the only survivor of the attack though he is captured after being attacked with Spires, which are small bug like creatures that infest people and infects them with the Chimeran virus.
You play as Hale and have to single-handedly save the human race from the brink of extermination. The story is told in narration by a British journalist that is captured along side Hale. Both escape the Chimeran facility they are being held and go their separate ways. The only reason Hale was even able to escape was because he is immune to the Chimeran virus, or so it seems. Hale now possesses increased metabolism, increased strength and limited regeneration, and his irises have become goldish yellow, somewhat like the Chimera.
After blowing up the Chimeran edifice and being presumed KIA, Hale alone in the frozen wilderness. A British helicopter comes into few and sets down near Hale. Five armed men get out and surround Hale. Feeling threatened Hale pulls out a grenade and hugs it. But Hale lets go of the grenade, which I should note is not live, and boards the aircraft. As soon as Hale is on board they take off.
The Chimera:
The origin of the Chimera haven't been explained as of yet but one can presume they're aliens. Now I won't spoil the story of Resistance for those you haven't played it yet. But I can tell you this: The Chimeran army expands by infecting humans with a mutagenic virus that causes its victims to fall into a coma, then slowly transform into Chimera while inside cocoons. But the Chimera have a big flaw, if they become overheated they short out and die. They are cooled by the cylinder looking contraptions on their back.
Gameplay:
Resistance is actually a very difficult game. I'm a seasoned FPS gamer and this was difficult even for me on easy. I died maybe at least thrice per level. Bullets seems to be only attracted to you which pisses me off in most cases but in this game 85% of the time you are alone and thus must have a reputation on the Chimeran side and have a mark on your head. Logically that kind of makes sense, or maybe it doesn't. I think it does. Anyway, the game also features a life bar which is unheard of in this generation of FPS games.
You run into enemies that take at times half to three mags to kill and some take two or more shots to the head. And there are various parts of the game that feature land mines. One type are flash-bang type that launch up at different highs requiring the player to either jump or crouch. The other is the same as the Porcupine grenades that shoot out quails upon detention.
I guess I should also mention the vehicle section. And by ?a vehicle section? I mean one solitary level in which you drive a jeep while your NPC partner man a 50 Cal in the back. The jeep handles quite well even though it?s only in one level. Most other developers would have made the controls suck cause you only use it one time but Insomniac were smart enough to round out the gameplay and make every part of the game enjoyable, though most will ***** about the difficulty level.
Weapons:
You have your basic assortment of weapons for a FPS game, with the exception of a pistol. On the human side you have the shotgun, assault rifle, rocket launcher, sniper rifle, and grenade and incendiary grenade. The Chimera have a rail gun that also puts up a nanoshield, a gun that shoots red energy bolts that can also be used to take enemies so the bullets to their exact location, a machine gun that can make itself into a mock turret, the Porcupine grenades, and something that shoots out blob of... some stuff. There are also some you can unlock after beating the game but I uninstalled the game before I found out about them so I have no idea as to what they are.
The weapons are well balanced and quite appropriate for the atmosphere of the game. They give you a sense of how one sided this war really is. If both sides had equally as powerful and efficient weapons then the game wouldn't be a challenge nor immersible in the least. If really seems like what Sun Tzu wrote in his book Art of War. If they enemy has greater numbers and better equipment then you must find a way to win by any means necessary. [NOTE: That is not a direct quote.]
Multiplayer:
I picked up Resistance on the day Resistance 2 came out so I have no ideas what R:FoM's multiplayer is like but I can guess it's similar to R2's. One R2's launch the downloadable content for R:FoM has become free thanks to Insomniac.
Controversy Over Manchester Cathedral?s Appearance in the Game:
A level in R:FoM has the player battle inside Manchester Cathedral. Representatives of the Cathedral wanted Sony of pull Resistance from retail shelves and make a ?substantial donation? to the Cathedral?s anti-gun program. A Sony representative stated that the church in the game was to represent a generic, older church and not the cathedral in Manchester directly. With the controversy the question of copyright infringement came up. For copyright infringement to hold a case in a court the church in the game would have to be a exact detailed virtual version of the cathedral in Manchester. In the UK's 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents act it states that anything on public display is protect from copyright infringement on the ground of freedom of panorama. It should also be noted that copyright protection expires after 60-70 years after the creators death as the creation should be widely known to be from the creator. I have read a few internet posts that say the inclusion of a virtually exact Manchester Cathedral would be protected under the fair usage agreement as it would invoke social commentary. Now, that argument may have entirely no ground to stand on. In the long run many lawyers and firms found that Sony may have infringed on some copyright material but if the case was to go to court the case would most likely be thrown out.
The Church's Letter to Sony [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1917035.ece]
Freeth Cartwright's View on the Controversy [http://impact.freethcartwright.com/2007/06/church_of_engla.html]
Conclusion: If you like FPS games then this is one you really have to play. PC gamers may not be interested in it, but I'm a PC gamer and I love this game. Though I have garnered A LOT of hate towards the PC gaming industry.
Final Judgment: BUY. It's only $30 or less at someplaces, so if you don't have this game in your PS3 library then you have no excuse for not picking this up.
