The Velour Fog

User Score
9.4

Presentation - 9.0
Gameplay - 9.5
Value - 9.5

Resistance 2

It's been two years since the events of Resistance: Fall of Man (or R:FoM by its many loyal fans) and the Chimera have decided to launch an attack on the U.S.A, having been defeated in the United Kingdom. The U.S Government know that the attack was only a matter of time and therefore created the 'Liberty Defence Area,' a heavily fortified area occupying the middle of the U.S, with huge guns strapped to towers many Kilometres high giving the Chimera something to think about. However, all does not go to plan. I don't want to spoil the plot for you, but it ends with a very shocking twist, and a good one at that, in my opinion.

You can't park that here...

Single Player:

Story and Length:

The game's length of that of your standard shooter or maybe a bit longer, coming in at roughly 9-10 hours, with the harder difficulties providing a much longer playtime, as one would expect. Almost immediately, the player will notice that in Resistance 2, only 2 weapons can be carried at any one time, unlike Fall of Man, where Hale was somehow able to carry over 8 weapons at once, including the huge rocket launcher (LAARK) and the rather large Auger. Although this change may not be to everyone's liking, it does provide a new sense of strategy, as the player is frequently made to choose between weapons to pick up or leave behind (which is done by simply holding down the square button over a weapon), increasing the need for split second decisions.

The Story is fleshed out rather differently to Fall of Man, as instead of the black and white pictures slowly fading in and out, there are often lengthy cutscenes, which is rather detrimental to the game, as the technique used in the first game created a certain desperation in the fight against the Chimera and made the enemies seem more mysterious, as they were hardly seen in the cutscenes, adding to the absorption factor of the game. That said, the story in Resistance 2 is still pretty good as FPS standards go, I for one wanted to keep playing, just to see where Hale would end up next.

Enemies and Graphics:

The graphics in the game do vary quite a bit, ranging from stunning (certain portions of the Redwoods and Chicago) to being quite average. The textures in some places are quite dodgy, which may be a sign that Insomniac were hard pressed to get the game out ready for its release. However, these minor 'glitches' hardly detract from the main experience and what is lost in the 'wow factor' for graphics is certainly made up for in the sheer scale of the game. There are some huge battles in the single player campaign and when I say huge, I mean huge, with literally hundreds of enemies on screen at once, with bullets flying all over the place, dead friends and foes littering the screen. These huge battles can sometimes be followed by a lonely wander through the corridors of a destroyed building, giving a nice sense of contrast and ensuring that the game is not just a high paced and high tempo blood bath.

The enemy design in Resistance 2 is similar to that of Fall of Man, although that is expected, Resistance 2 is the sequel, after all. The basic grunts (hybrids) of the Chimeran army are back, looking as ugly as ever and packing quite a punch whilst playing on the higher difficulties. Slightly different looking Stalkers make several appearances, whereas the Goliaths have been scaled up to be 150 feet high mobile mechanised fortresses, with a single one being able to destroy an entire base. Among the newcomers include several types of drones, waterborne Chimera and a rather annoying leader of the Chimera, however saying any more would spoil the game. The design is always a joy to look at, however this is no surprise, the Ratchet and Clank series is known for its exotic and well made designs.

Angry because there are no dentists on their homeworld?

Online:

Competitive:

The online mode of Resistance was very well done for a launch title, offering fast paced 40 player online battles on well designed maps. Resistance 2 continues along this trend, but betters it, as it allows for up to 60 players to engage in battle. How Insomniac have managed to pull off the 60 player online is beyond me, for they have done it with no noticeable lag in the game whatsoever, in addition to no framerate drops. The 60 player battles can result in epic encounters, with tens of troops on each side fighting for their lives. The online games do not dissolve into chaos, either. There is always a clear 'blue side' and 'red side' in battles, that is the engagements are not scattered over the entire map, rather players group together to fight. The maps are well designed and huge, some of the biggest I've seen on a console game, ensuring that no team has a clear advantage over the other in modes such as Core Control (Capture the flag to you and me).

The game also offers extensive stat tracking for players, providing a wealth of information as to their achievements and kills... and in my case, the lack of! There are also a fair amount of trophies to collect for the online mode (for example the 10,000 kills trophy) which ensures that you'll be playing the game for months to come, although the game never feels boring when trying to achieve the goals.

The stats do not save immediately sometimes and are instead updated a few hours later, which can be a little annoying, however instances of this are relatively rare. The other complaint with the online competitive is that one of the weapons is unbalanced. The Wraith (chaingun) is able to kill an enemy within a few seconds and comes with a shield, which has led to it becoming the camper's weapon. However, seeing as though the shield cannot be deployed whilst firing or reloading, there is a work around, just ambush the player.

Other than those two minor issues, the online is the best console experience I have had. It is thoroughly recommended.

Co-Op:

This section will be kept short, as I do not have much experience with the co-op as competitive is more my thing, however it is immensely fun. The missions are very well done, the player is never left not knowing what to do and in order to win, team work is needed. Unlike many games where the developers say teamwork is needed but the player can go it alone, if no-one in Resistance 2 co-op actually works together then there is no chance that the missions will be completed. The 3 classes (Medic, Soldier and Special Ops) all compliment eachother very well and all are tied together in multiple ways.

There's no 'I' in 'Mission Complete!'

Conclusion:

In conclusion then, Resistance 2 is an excellent shooter that delivers everything promised and more. It is a testament to the skill of Insomniac how they have managed to put out such an outstanding game in such a short time scale, as well as having to work on the R&C series. The gameplay, although not revolutionary, is very well done and never becomes repetitive or boring. Although the single player of Resistance: Fall of Man may have been slightly better, Resistance 2 trumps it and anything else on a console in the multiplayer department, providing the player with a co-op mode that is unmatched, as well as a huge competitive section.

Reasoning for the scores:

Presentation: 9.0 - The graphics can be a little bland at times, however the art direction and variety/design of enemies pulls this score up to a 9.

Gameplay: 9.5 - The mechanics are similar to Fall of Man, which was a very good game in itself and therefore the gameplay in Resistance 2 scores highly too. The amount of huge battles and the variety in ways to take down enemies ensures that even if the player dies, repeating the same peice of a level is not boring.

Value: 9.5 - The online will keep you coming back for months and that's not even to mention the extensive co-op mode or the singleplayer. The singleplayer campaign is worth around 2 or 3 playthroughs, which should take you between 20-30 hours.

Overall: 9.4 - The game is definitely worth the money and I highly recommend it.

Thank you for reading.