Although it is not the landmark shooter Sony fans were hoping for, Resistance is at least a solid shooter.
If you were hoping that Resistance was going to be the killer app for the PlayStation 3, a real system seller like Halo was for the original XBOX, prepare to be disappointed. Anybody that is a fan of sci-fi FPSs will have probably seen all of what Fall of Man has to show and will have probably seen it done better elsewhere. The things that distinguish Resistance from its prestigious competition are mostly non-issues. In concept, the story of Fall of Man seems to be very interesting and a reason for it to be considered as one of the great shooters. The game takes place in the United Kingdom in the 1940s, the British location is one of the games strengths and provides a little touch of refreshing originality to an otherwise largely uninspired game. The thing that makes the story interesting however isn't just the location; it is the timeline. The 1940s in Resistance aren't the 1940s you are used to (assuming you are used to the 1940s at all). In this timeline the Second World War never really happened, instead of soldiers flooding into Britain it was aliens, aliens that came over from Russia. This is another original element and creates what should be an intriguing story; however the game never manages to realise its potential due to uninvolving bland storytelling and a completely forgettable protagonist. Nathan Hale is the star of Resistance and he is American, that's pretty much all there is to him, his hobbies include being mostly silent and shooting aliens. The game tells his story by way of what seems to be a military report on his involvement in the war against the alien race, the Chimera. The story is unfurled between the levels by a very female narrator who tells you about what they presume Hale did next. This kind of story telling is rather bland and uninteresting, it also makes for a very strangely paced game which continually dips for short bursts of mostly rather uninteresting narration. The things that happen to Nathan aren't particularly interesting and the story itself is rather predictable and ultimately not that satisfying.
The story of Fall of Man isn't the only example of lost potential; the gameplay is nothing special either. The action is fairly straight forward, you run through a level shooting things and very occasionally hop in some vehicles which don't control poorly, but don't control that well either. This focus on action isn't a bad thing, as the level design is not always fantastic but it's rarely noticeably bad. The problem, however, is the difficulty of the gameplay. Nowadays gamers are used to games that don't punish the player as far as gameplay design goes. This may be seen as a bad trend by fans of games like Deus Ex and its head shots only policy but it's always nice to feel like you are not being punished. The gameplay in Resistance is hard, you will fight a lot of enemies at once and they are rather intelligent, however in some ways they are too intelligent. Insomniac has made enemies with good AI but it seems unfair when enemies continually rush you in groups or efficiently use a cover system, when there is no such option available to the player himself. To a certain extent this is all part of the fun, the gameplay is very trial and error but formulating strategies can be entertaining at times- when not frustrating- and you do feel a sense of achievement when getting through a tough room. Unfortunately there is a greater problem which turns the gameplay from being a sometimes frustrating challenge to a downright cheap experience. For some reason Insomniac thought it would be a good idea not to include checkpoints, this is not entirely true of course as there are some checkpoints, but they are placed so inconsistently and so far apart it feels like nobody at Insomniac actually play tested the game.
The lack of checkpoints in Resistance is a big issue; there are occasions where you will have to make it through several large fights in a row in separate areas to make it to the next checkpoint. This is made even more frustrating when you find long elevator rides in some areas which just scream out for a checkpoint, but of course none is given. The trial and error gameplay falls apart due to this, having to try each small area several times to get through it can be really good fun, but its less fun when you need to do this to get by and if you die you start again a good few areas back. The way Resistance has to be played is at total odds with the checkpoint structure and this makes for a frustrating and often cheap experience. This is made even worse by a very strange health system, your health regenerates but only in stages. Your life bar is made up of four smaller bars and those smaller bars can regenerate, but if you let a whole bar empty then it can't come back without a health kit. This is yet another sign that the game hasn't been play tested sufficiently, probably due to its rushed development time to ensure its launch title release. When playing a game like Half Life 2 you cannot help but notice how the health kits dotted around the level have been placed according to where you need them, a really good player will comment that they are too frequent, but it is obvious Valve has placed its enemies with the health system in mind. They know what areas will take a lot of health off you and place health accordingly. Resistance does not do this, it is perfectly happy with you going through large fights without any health kits between them. The health system seems to be designed for a slow and methodical kind of play, lots of waiting in cover whilst segments regenerate allowing you to play deliberately and strategically. Insomniac deem to disagree, cover is rather limited and the controls to get behind it are poor at best, just being able to duck really isn't sufficient. Also waiting for health to regenerate is usually a poor tactic because the Chimeras really like to rush you. These strangely contrasting gameplay elements bring the total of Hale's hobbies up to three, the addition being dying a lot.
Resistance isn't all bad however; actually it is a very good game. It has some very exciting moments and boasts some technically excellent graphics. The artistic design is very bland and quite derivative but on a technical level it is a very nice looking game. If you only own a PlayStation 3 and haven't played Halo or Half-Life you will really enjoy resistance, it will provide you with pain but by doing this it provides substantial reward also. Add to that a long campaign, lengthened still by the challenging difficulty, and competitive multiplayer for up to 40 people per match and you have a decent package. There is local campaign co-op also but this just highlights the lack of online co-op, which would be a great addition. There is just about enough in the game though to make it a solid purchase if you are a PS3 owner, the gameplay is challenging in a bad way, yes, but at least you have the Insomniac trademarked wacky arsenal which will keep you entertained for a while. There isn't perhaps as much variety as you'd hope as far as guns go, and some feel a tad useless, but it's a lot better than standard FPS weaponry.
As its own game Resistance is a decent shooter, the shooting is solid and fun but this entertaining core gameplay is bogged down by the issues surrounding it. If you are new to FPSs then Resistance 1 is a good start but you're money could be spent better elsewhere. Those looking for a Halo beater or a Half-Life beater will be sorely disappointed, Resistance is no red steel but it's not the defining shooter Sony needs. However the game has potential and maybe future sequels will manage to do what Fall of Man could not.