Resistance: Fall Of Man

Written by Tom Clare in PS3 Game Reviews, Saturday 1 August, 2009

Released: 2007
Developer: Insomniac
Publisher: Sony
Genre: FPS
Platform: PS3
Version: 1.00

Early forecasts suggested the PlayStation3 was in line for one of the strongest launch line-ups ever to compliment a new system, but as the weeks to the consoles arrival whittled away, so too did the number of prospective titles to be released alongside Sony’s next-gen machine, until gamers were left with only a modest handful. It was left to former Spyro The Dragon and Ratchet & Clank developers Insomniac to temporarily shoulder the burden of Sony’s gaming empire with their sci-fi first-person shoot ‘em up Resistance: Fall of Man, the formats only early action title of note. Whilst it’s unlikely to be looked back upon as a classic, as launch titles go, it’s pretty damn good.

Set in 1951, you assume control of US Soldier Nathan Hale, a grunt who finds himself in the midst of a devastating war between humans and the alien Chimera race that plays out in locations set all across England. The catch is, when our seemingly ordinary hero becomes infected by the Chimera, he manages to retain his identity, harnessing improved agility and regenerative traits. Whilst in the early stages the grey/green battle-scarred landscapes offer little to differentiate Resistance from a hundred other FPS games, it soon gets into gear with some solid level-design that’s aided by some truly brilliant weaponry and an imaginative and unusual foe in the Chimera.

The biggest compliment you could pay this extremely well-crafted title is that it never suffers from the frailties normally associated with software developed for a new platform. There’s no slow-down and no scenery-tearing; no enemies getting snagged in the walls, or any other tell-tale bugs or signs of technical fallibility.

Whilst the opening phase of the game presents you a simple contrast between the humans M52A Carbine and the Chimera’s own more-powerful Bullseye machine-gun, further progress reveals a ridiculously cool arsenal of weaponry. Insomniac have been highly imaginative in the devising of their alien technology; most notably with the Auger rifle that can create force-fields and blast through walls, and the Hedgehog grenade, which as the name suggests, explodes in a shower of deadly spikes. You do of course pick up more familiar weapons such as shotguns and a sniper rifle that allows a brief period of bullet-time slowness as Hale ‘concentrates’ (especially good for showing off the visceral impact bullets make upon impact with enemies), but for sheer destructive force nothing beats the air-fuel grenade – lobbing one into a hoard of Chimera and igniting them in an almighty blaze just never gets old.

There are a number of really good sequences during the first half of the game in which you fight through battle-scarred towns alongside British troops. Seeing them crouched behind tenuously flimsy metal boards, bullets raining down on all sides lends the feeling that there’s a battle taking place outside of the bubble you occupy as Hale, a desperate one the humans are losing. The aliens don’t display any great tactical intelligence, but then they don’t really need it as they make use of their superior numbers and tough bodies to attack Hale aggressively; you’ll be able to score hits, but through brute force you may take a bit of a battering too. The Chimera are tough cookies, but headshots the coolant packs on their backs are two weak areas to be exploited. The aliens garbled commands and cries are spooky, especially in the claustrophobic underground levels, where your assailants can often be heard before you see them.

Resistance is generally of a high visual standard, if a touch derivative in its design. Indeed, perhaps the biggest criticism the game has faced is that the landscapes are blandly reminiscent of so many other first-person shoot ‘em ups and it doesn’t help that Hale, for all his special abilities and projected hero status, feels all but anonymous in the unfolding of the story. The colours and landscape texturing lacks a certain sharpness, meaning an ultimate level of realism is missing from scenery such as grass, buildings, telephone boxes and smashed up cars. However, the large battlegrounds are packed with environment detail and the Chimera, in their many guises, are among the best looking enemies to feature in any FPS.

Resistance runs smoothly even in its busier moments, and when the dilapidated towns and daylight depart to make way for the blackened subway and tunnel sections that are prominent in the latter part of the adventure, the player is treated to some neat lighting effects and vision-hampering dust which heightens the enclosed, claustrophobic feel to good effect. Ignore the rather peculiar controversy that surrounded the Manchester Cathedral locale, and you’ll see it hosts a triumphant set-piece, as dozens of Leapers (like the face-huggers from Alien) descend from the ceiling. It’s like a scene cut straight from a movie.

It may have been touted as a harbinger for the next-generation shoot ‘em up, but in reality Resistance: Fall of Man tends to play things safe and is very much a traditional blaster at heart. Acting as an early PS3 showcase, it is cautious about straying into uncharted territory thus its innovations are minor. It uses motion control albeit very tentatively, employing it only as a means of shaking away certain enemies that grab Hale. That said, it never tries to be something it isn’t; you’re never lumbered with excessive backtracking, key-finding, mini-games or philosophical debate via lengthy cut-scenes – everything is just as it should be; streamlined, with the focus being on a continuous series of white-knuckle firefights. The controls are pretty much ideal; nippy and responsive without ever straying into the erratic, and thanks to a decent split-screen cooperative version of the main campaign, you can share the fun with a friend.

Vehicle sections, a scourge within so many shoot ‘em ups, are notable in Resistance for being among the best of their kind. Granted, this isn’t saying a lot, but as their appearance in modern FPS games has become something of a necessary evil of late, each sequence is relatively short and enjoyably destructive, the simple control scheme of contraptions such as the tank and the jeep allow for a brief adrenalin rush before moving on, and as such they act as a solid complement to the main shooting rather than wasted filler material.

There’s plenty to justify the price-tag as both online and offline multiplayer matches have legs thanks to the strong, varied weaponry and good battlegrounds. The campaign mode is surprisingly lengthy with the finely-balanced difficulty level aiding a journey that, even on the lower skill settings, should yield many days worth of play – longer than many of the FPS titles that have followed it. Along with the litany of ridiculously cool weapons acquired for completing the game, there’s also a host of achievements and challenges to tackle, meaning along with the multiplayer setup, you’ll get several weeks worth of play, which considering Resistance was a launch game, is a pretty commendable effort. Thus if you want an old-fashioned shooter dolled up in next-gen dress, you could do a lot worse than give this a try.

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