Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)

Resistance - Fall of Man is a first person shooter that combines World War II era environments with Doom-like horrific enemies to fight. It also offers great online multiplayer gameplay.

The plot is that, around the time of World War II, enemies attacked the world, starting with Russia and moving westward through Europe and England. In the 50s, the US launched a counter-attack, landing in England. You're fighting, at least to start with, with WWII era weapons and outfits through the streets of England.

Let's start with the graphics. The game goes for a very Call of Duty style of look - not quite realistic, more "cartooney" or stylized. Textures are smoothed out, some objects are simplified. That's not to say this is a Disney kiddie look. The monsters are grimey and nasty looking, the war-torn streets are very gritty. If anything, because this is set in a WWII type atmosphere, much of the game is brown, grimy and shell-shocked.

The HUD is reasonably well done and not intrusive. A small series of bars on the left indicates your health. An equally small but useful display on the right tracks your ammo, magazines and grenades.

The sound leans towards epic thundering scores, a la Gladiator or Conan. Players who love heavy rock music might not enjoy this, but I actually love this kind of music. I own both of the soundtracks I mentioned :). So to me, this really draws you into the atmosphere. The yells, gun noises and so on seem relatively realistic to help you feel you're really in the middle of a fight. I also like that, during gameplay, it's usually done without music. If I'm trying to sneak somewhere and listen for enemy movement, I don't want that objective made difficult by a soundtrack.

Gameplay itself is typical FPS fare. You can crouch, jump over things, zoom in on your enemy, throw grenades, strafe, and so on. Your friends and enemies are rather good about taking cover and not just rushing an enemy head-on. There are a few situations which seem quite scripted - if your pals are meant to die, you could play perfectly and take out every enemy quickly and your friends will still be killed by mysterious off-screen snipers. Still, the game needs to keep you on course for the plot so this is to be expected.

Checkpointing is reasonably good, although sometimes it sends you further back then you might like to start again. Healing is done via canisters you find, but depending on your skill you might wish there were more canisters scattered around :). That's why they have 3 levels of difficulty here.

The interactivity with your environment is pretty impressive. Say your enemy is hiding behind a car. You can shoot out the car's windows and then shoot the enemy through the open space. Or you can shoot the car to damage it, and have it explode a la the infamous 'red exploding barrels' found in most shooting games. If you shoot at a window a few times, it will first crack, then pieces will fall out.

Not only is the game great in single player mode, but you can play co-op with a friend at your home, or online in larger groups with friends or strangers from around the world. This helps turn the game from a play-for-a-few-months-at-home style game to a play-eternally-with-friends-online game.

Well recommended!

Despite some disparaging comments that Resistance is a poor man's Gears of War, this is a great game.

The UK WW2 setting is quite original and well produced.

Each level has a simple main objective - get through it alive, but there are enough ambushes, sniping opportunities and all out firefights to keep it entertaining, even if there are no truly terrifying moments for horror fans and some sections go from relatively simple to frustratingly hard in moments (you'll know when you try the first level what I'm talking about).

The addition of skill point winning actions, such as avoiding being hit by any laser mines on a given level or killing certain creatures only with certain weapons allows you to add a level of challenge if you want, but isn't necessary for the first time through and in fact you need to finish the game once to unlock some of the more amusing weapons.

The story line is nothing new and you don't have to collect the intel along the way to make sense of it, but as a FPS it's good entertainment and certain moments, like firing a hedgehog grenade into a room of enemies and watching them get impaled, are a riot.

You do need a decent TV for the best results (i.e. 1080i/1080p) in which case the atmospheric graphics really pull you in and you can properly experience "lost hour" syndrome.

Of the four launch titles I have, this is the best of the lot and I'd thoroughly recommend it as an early example of PS3's potential.

OK, so this is not really a new style game and there have been a vast amount of World War 2 based games lately, so why buy this one?

Well if you're into immersive, well thought out, entertaining and occasionally disturbing next generation games, you can't go far wrong with this one. The whole atmosphere throws you from pillar to post - eerie, dark and menacing one moment, frantic panic the next. The tension when one is moving through the Chimeran Lairs is enough to require a momentary pause before venturing further.

As far as enemies go, there's the usual mix from 'all over the place' hissing Leapers (big scorpion like things) to Goliath - some kind of mad killing machine with an ugly face and missiles. All in all, everything one has come to expect is here.

The environment itself is beautifully created, and whilst some of the street furniture is not quite historically accurate for 1951 (speed limits, double yellow lines, wheelie bins and plastic illuminated keep left signs), the overall feeling is certainly of it's time and in keeping with the architecture of 1950's Britain.

Walking through the game one will notice there are millions of hiding places for armed creatures to jump out from, but this all adds to the tension and excitement of the game. If you're running your PS3 through a cinema system, you'll notice that the audio directionality is perfectly matched to situations in the game - i.e. if you can hear an alien in your outside right rear channel, then that's where the little blighter is!

The array of weaponry is mind blowing, from your plain old machine gun (really the most useful) to an Auger that can shoot through solid objects! My favourite weapon is the 'Fareye', basically an awesomely accurate sniper type gun with what has to be the best sight I've ever seen.

As far as playing time goes, my first run through (I completed it last night) took about 17 hours, although I'm a real 'look in every corner and proceed carefully' type player. If you are a 'run through the whole lot of them with guns blazing' type player you may shave off an hour or so, but in actual fact this game requires cagey movement and a bit of sneaking about to be a really fulfilling challenge.

Overall I loved this game. Aside from the humourous historical mistakes the game moves fluidly, with conviction and credibly. The story has purpose and cohesiveness, and at the end of the game there is a proper conclusion with a meaningful ending.

When you do complete this game (and you will), it's worth sitting through the elongated credits to watch the final FMV clip. Interesting it is and if you pay attention to the narration throughout the game, you'll understand fully why Hale (your character) is contemplating doing what he motions to do.

5/5 - Fantastic entertainment!