Resistance 2: Updated Hands-On With Single-Player, Cooperative, and Competitive Multiplayer
We check out an updated version of Insomniac's alien-filled alternate-history shooter, including a look at the new co-op multiplayer.
Besides their unique abilities, each class sees the battlefield in a specific way that's relevant to it. Soldiers see health reflected in character names. Spec ops see an ammo icon that changes color as players run low. Finally, medics see health bars under the team's name to keep track of who needs to be healed. Each class will earn experience from killing enemies as well as by playing their class properly. So, soldiers gain experience from shooting enemies, spec ops earns theirs from restocking the team's ammo, and medics earn it from healing the team and draining enemies. As the classes level up, they'll be able to access supplementary weapons and new abilities, such as the temporary berserk abilities that yield different performance enhancements. To complement the leveling, you'll be able to collect "grey tech" from special enemies that you can use to upgrade your gear. All told, each class will have four armor upgrades to go along with class and weapon grades.
The class system works out logically during gameplay, and it's clear that all groups will need some healers, ammo droppers, and damage dealers. The mix of players depends on the size of your group. While the mode supports as few as two and as many as eight players, the fewer people in your group, the less wiggle room you have for class choices. We played the available mission with each class and were impressed by how it played.
While the different character class types may sound like Team Fortress 2, R2's co-op feels more like an instance run in World of Warcraft with no ninja looting. Coordination is key to success, especially as you're directed through the environment to different objectives. The closer a group is to the full eight players, the better the odds that one or two weak links can be compensated for. Smaller groups will need all players to play their classes to perfection. We're pleased to see that Insomniac has left the mode open-ended in the sense that there are no restrictions to group combos in the mode. So, in theory, a team of eight medics could try to clear missions, although we reckon it would go slowly. On the flip side, a team of spec ops or soldiers could also try to get through missions, although the lack of healing will obviously make things interesting but not impossible (all classes can revive dead comrades, though medics revive the fastest). The only lingering question we have is how well teams will coordinate online using voice chat. We played the game in a large room and just yelled out when we needed support, so we're curious to see how much practice coordinating groups will take before players get comfortable.
The final bit of R2 we played was competitive multiplayer, which was available for some skirmish mode play. The mode has changed considerably since the various demos we've played, including the closed beta. The visuals have been polished up, weapons feel better, and the berserks are a better fit in combat now. While it's not expressly related to the competitive multiplayer, we were told that the experience you accumulate in R2's various modes all goes into the same pool of bragging rights for you, increasing your overall ranking, which is a nice touch. Your ranking ties in to the game's online leaderboards as well as the extremely detailed new community site with features that are being prepped for the game's release.
Resistance 2's overall presentation is, unsurprisingly, a significant improvement on its predecessor. The graphics have seen a sizable bump in detail and overall scale that really sells the epic-war-movie vibe. The game benefits from a host of technical bells and whistles that Insomniac has been perfecting in its previous PlayStation 3 titles. Lighting in the game is impressive and runs the gamut from flashy to subtle. Little touches, such as the game's new water and enhanced gore (now with more chunks and viscera), are nicely folded into the game. The most impressive thing right now, though, is the massive scale, which comes from the assorted giant enemies like the walker, the open feel to many of the areas, and the sheer number of things happening onscreen. The game's color palette has gotten more varied, which helps shake the bleak look of the original. The audio hasn't gotten as dramatic a bump as the visuals since the original Resistance audio was good and robust. What we heard during our play time was just a refined array of effects, more ambient sound, and effective voice acting that complemented the visuals nicely.
Based on what we played, Resistance 2 is shaping up well. Above and beyond the cosmetic upgrades to the graphics, which are looking good, the cooperative mode adds an impressive new dimension to R2's gameplay. If you're a fan of the original Resistance, you'll want to keep an eye out for Resistance 2, which appears to be improving on its predecessor in every way you'd want it to. Newcomers to the series will want to give the game a look this fall since there's nothing like it on the PlayStation 3. Resistance 2 is slated to ship November 4 on the PlayStation 3. Look for more on the game in the coming months.
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