Matthew Byers | Staff Writer
A first-person shooter with mutants
The Playstation 3 has certainly come and gone, after all just a few years ago the Playstation 4 was released and detail-rich games from Bloodborne to Fallout 4 has been released on the newest console. That being said the Playstation 3 has numerous well-designed exclusive games that helped revolutionize the gaming industry.
Resistance: Fall of Man was developed by Insomniac Games who were famous for creating the Ratchet and Clank series, and was released in 2006. Unlike their rather light-hearted over-the-shoulder shooter, Resistance is a first-person experience that is gritty and at times horrific. Focusing on the story of United States soldier Nathan Hale, he is the sole survivor of an American offensive to help Britain fight off the Chimera threat. Chimerans, as such from their original origins, are a mixture of alien genetics and earthly animals, namely humans, dogs, and spiders. The Chimerans are especially dangerous as their main form of attack is the Chimeran virus that has no known cure, a 100% mortality rate, and immediately puts victims into a deep comatose state. Hale is infected very early in the game, but he is the sole-known survivor of the infection.
In terms of combat there is a mixture of standard human technology, assault rifles, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and a plain good-ol’ fashioned shotgun, and Chimeran weaponry, assault rifles with homing projectiles, guns that can fire projectiles through any surface, and machine pistols that can track different targets. Every weapon, much to player’s enjoyment, has a second function; the assault rifle has a grenade launcher, sniper rifles can slow down time, and the rifle that can shoot through cover can generate temporary force fields (that it can still shoot through).
Graphics wise, they looked amazing when first released. Not to say they look dated by today’s terms, the game simply looks “grey”. This is a common theme in the Resistance series with one particular color dominating the game. The game also looks rather high-def, without any glitching on normal televisions. The music isn’t very special, and often only serves as a way of enhancing combat experiences.
The big focus of Resistance: Fall of Man lies on the single-player story narrative. Nathan Hale is stuck fighting the psychic influence of the Chimeran virus all while trying to, basically, single-handedly save Britain. Its sequel, aptly named Resistance 2 was more focused on the co-op segment of the game. Entire levels were made specifically for groups of players to fight various Chimera threats as one of three classes: spec ops (who can wield sniper rifles, turn invisible, and deliver ammo), medics (who wield a health-draining gun and can heal allies from long distance), and heavies (who specialize in mini-guns and force-fields). The last game in the main series, Resistance 3, is almost exclusively focused on competitive multi-player, and loses a lot of the originality the first two games had leaving it feel like a generic shooter game with mutants as the targets.
Resistance 3 might have been lack-luster, and Resistance 2’s servers closed down just last year (leaving co-op dead in the water outside of LAN), but the original Resistance is a game that any person should experience. Outside of being a Playstation 3 exclusive, Resistance: Fall of Man is a game that any shooter fan would enjoy. Just watch out for the Goliaths and Widowmakers.
