Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:03 am
[Review] Resistance: Fall of Man
Resources: IGN
Since I do not have the game yet nor do I have the console, I thought that for the ones that do have the PlayStation 3, might be something to look forward too.
On the exterior, Fall of Man doesn't look all that different. Take a few steps away from your television with squinted eyes and you could mistake it for Call of Duty or Medal of Honor. But do yourself a favor, open those peepers up and step towards the screen because Resistance doesn't pay homage to World War II... it attempts something on a scale of much larger proportions.
And so begins Fall of Man's overarching storyline; a narrative that benefits from talented voice actors, multiple in-game cutscenes, and a series of old-school "freeze frame" transitions. Though there aren't too many surprises to be found across the game's 20-plus chapters, the plot still plays out well and has interesting, albeit few, main characters. It's likely that by the time you get to the end of this 12-15 hour experience, it was because you were compelled to find out what Hale and the Chimera were really all about... even if the story's ending is a little unclear and open-ended.
Further enhancing the atmosphere are the visuals themselves. Though they're certainly not the most impressive we've ever seen, they're still pretty powerful and accomplish a number of remarkable technical feats. The framerate is locked at 30 the whole way through and doesn't falter anywhere... ever. In fact, regardless of how many enemies and moving objects were on the screen at one time, there wasn't a single frame hitch the entire way through. Oh, and since we're talking about enemies and objects, there are scores of them -- Chimera, British soldiers, tanks, VTOLs, debris, tracers, explosions, and plenty of other moving and stationary are everywhere with alarming frequency. Each and every environment is noticeably different from one another as well, and while the texture work isn't overly detailed, it still looks pretty good. Of course, being that Fall of Man is a first-person shooter, it's the gameplay that matters most and thankfully, Resistance has that in spades.
Part of the success here can also be attributed to the sheer number of options that the developers have assigned to the SIXAXIS without the need for menus. Switching weapons is a breeze (just tap R2), as is bringing up the map (tilt the controller to the left) or checking the multiplayer stat screen (tilt right). You can even rid yourself of targeting tags, fan out fires that have caught your back, or wrestle yourself loose from the grip of enemies by shaking the SIXAXIS like a maniac.
As great as the weapons are, they wouldn't matter much if the enemies you faced off against didn't provide any kind of resistance (ahem). The good news is that the enemies ARE tough. In fact, the AI in Resistance is pretty decent and it makes for quite a challenging time. Some Chimeran soldiers, for example, are smart enough to take cover, change strategic positions, or team up with other monsters in an effort to kill you dead. Granted, their level of intelligence isn't going to blow you away (a large portion of the "first half" enemies dawdle about just waiting to be shot after ambushing you), but it's still good enough to offer surprises and should give even veterans of the genre a thumb workout. Oh, and there's a huge variety of enemies too -- from low-level grunts and Ghostbuster-like demon dogs to enormous cannon-wielding giants and towering spider-creatures.
As strong as everything in Resistance is, the real standout factor in the experience is its multiplayer. Simply put, it's incredible. Jacked in from multiple locations (via broadband Internet connection) we were consistently able to enjoy 30-40 player games with no noticeable lag whatsoever (Insomniac did a fantastic job of hiding what little latency there appears to be). And while all these opponents made for crazy all-out wars, the multiplayer options are flexible enough to allow users to scale maps downward to accommodate smaller parties (40, 32, 24, 16 map types), choose Chimeran or Human sides (complete with unique abilities), and alter the rules to allow for a multitude of possibilities.
As you can tell, we found Resistance to be a heck of a good time, but it did offer up a few disappointing moments. For example, players can and will find several areas in the game that consist of just walking -- a sort of "do nothing" jaunt to the next big action sequence. These are meant to be breathers, sure, but midway through the story it comes across as an unnecessary way to extend stage time longer than it had to be. It's also disappointing that most user-controlled vehicles (which include tanks, jeeps, and a few other surprises) are so incredibly powerful that, unless you're playing on hard, will totally dominate an otherwise-challenging enemy. Throw in the fact that co-op can only be enjoyed offline (online co-op is becoming more and more common these days) and the ending disappointment I mentioned earlier, and you have a less than perfect game.
9.0 Presentation
Insomniac has created a compelling mythos and the unique blend of World War II-level battles with alien technology is a great mix. Expect load times only at the beginning of stages.
8.5 Graphics
A mix of 20th century war machines and intergalactic alien hordes makes for quite the interesting art style. A solid 30fps framerate and plenty of bells and whistles easily impress.
8.5 Sound
When connected to a capable speaker, Resistance will blow your speakers to kingdom come with great audio effects and stellar voice acting. Don't expect to hear much musically, though.
9.0 Gameplay
Experience the best weapons to come along in a shooter for quite some time united with challenging enemies, tight control, smooth online play, and insane boss battles. Seriously fun.
9.5 Lasting Appeal
Between 12-15 hours of single-player action, multiple (and very challenging) difficulty levels, four hidden weapons, unlockable secrets and skill points, and a ton of multiplayer options.
OVERALL: 9.1 [Outstanding!]
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