Resistance 2, the upcoming first-person shooter for the PlayStation 3, is structured around a time-honored formula: In a fairly linear campaign, a team of alpha males must wade through a sea of inconsequential enemies in an attempt to save the world — insert cut scenes and boss battles where applicable.
The premise isn't exactly original, but Resistance 2 boosts the formula with a compelling narrative, relentless action and expansive multiplayer offerings.
The developers at Insomniac Games combined their knack for creating clever weapons (see Ratchet and Clank) with the lessons learned from the first entry in the Resistance series, and — for the most part — succeeded in crafting a refined experience, where atmosphere and narrative are at times just as important as the body count.
From the genuinely engrossing single-player campaign to 60-player multiplayer matches, there's an enormous amount of well-polished goodness to be had here. It's not perfect, but Resistance 2 has definitely earned a place among the hallowed few: It's a must-have console shooter.
In the Resistance series' alternate history, the entire Eurasian continent has been overwhelmed by the monstrous, mysterious Chimera. When the invasion reaches the United States, it's up to Lt. Nathan Hale and the Sentinels — soldiers infected with the Chimeran virus — to rout the invasion with a few hundred thousand well-placed rounds of ammunition.
The action is satisfying, with clever enemies matched by even smarter weapons. Consider the magnum, with bullets that double as explosives that can be detonated remotely. If that doesn't do it for you, how about a sniper rifle that can also launch a remote droid? The bot will hover toward enemies and zap them with electricity, often distracting a target long enough for you to line up that crucial headshot.
The weapons are varied, and with so many enemies to churn through you'll be hard-pressed to stick with a single favorite — unless you enjoy hunting for ammo, of course. Since you can only carry two weapons at a time, your best bet will be to master a few of them. With such dramatically different weapons, tactics will change on the fly, and you'll never really find yourself overwhelming the opposition. This is a good thing.
Those who take the time to explore will be rewarded, too. Chances are, the more intrepid players will be looking for intelligence — documents, letters and telegraphs scattered around each of the game's locales that fill in numerous details about the narrative. You won't be missing any key plot points if you stick to killing things, but the clues provide an essential element to anyone looking for the full, engrossing experience.
Had I not been obsessively scouring every farmhouse in Idaho for collectible documents, I might have missed my first encounter with Henry Stillman of Radio USA, Philadelphia. Barricaded in his recording booth, and armed only with a bottle of bourbon and a can of peas, he occasionally broadcasts to an audience that may not even exist, trying to make sense of the sudden invasion and the collapse of his entire world.
It's a minor occurrence that has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, but I found myself crouching beside abandoned cars and searching ravaged buildings, listening to radios left behind, hoping to hear his voice. Those broadcasts were rare, but his own adventure — sometimes funny, usually upsetting and always delivered in a perfect radio voice — was as important as my own.
Resistance 2's single-player campaign absolutely nails that feeling of desperation, hitting that serious tone without ever becoming overbearing. Nathan Hale and his fellow Sentinels don't provide much in the way of idle chatter, but are instead touched with a palpable sense of resolve — they're literally fighting the clock, as their infections must be kept in check with chemical inhibitors. Tensions rise with every detour or delay, and the story accommodates their taut nerves with arguments and altercations.
Once you're done with the single-player campaign, you've got an entirely different sort of game waiting for you with Resistance 2's multiplayer offerings. First up is a traditional competitive mode, where players square off in variants of death match, capture the flag and king of the hill modes. The key difference here is that up to 60 players can participate. While all the players will be divided into squads to keep some semblance of order — with rival squads pitted against each other — the absolute chaos that erupts is actually pretty enjoyable.
And then there's the eight-player Co-op mode, which is pretty much an entire game unto itself. I can't bring myself to forgive Insomniac for removing the traditional co-op campaign, even though the company's reasoning is sound: Tacking on a second player didn't make any sense, and a game that's been balanced for one player often loses a bit of the challenge when others join in.
Nevertheless, I played through the original Resistance with a pack of friends, and was hoping to do the same in the sequel.
Fortunately, the new cooperative mode is an absolute blast to play, with a Team Fortress-esque vibe where players are absolutely dependent on their comrades. Your goal is to fight through Chimeran hordes and complete a number of objectives, in a campaign that runs parallel to the single-player mode and actually reveals story elements that you won't discover otherwise.
There are three classes to play, with up to eight people per team. The Soldier is armed with a heavy machine gun and can raise a defensive shield, but burns through ammo. The Spec Ops can dispense ammo liberally, but is armed with an automatic sniper rifle and will crumple if he takes too much fire. The Medic is tasked with keeping everyone alive, draining health from the enemy and distributing it back to the team. Characters earn experience points as they fight and complete missions with each class, which they can use to unlock new weapons and abilities, and other options to further customize their characters.
Tying it all together is the new and improved MyResistance experience. While the site remains in beta until the game launches Tuesday, it will provide a full social networking experience, connecting players through their PlayStation Network user names. I've always hoped more games would take this route, as the site will compile a ridiculous number of statistics (how many times have I killed someone with the alternate fire on my shotgun?), provide decorative badges and generally track your progress, so the entire world can see how great (or terrible) you are.
Participation is optional, but those who use the site's features will be able to blog, send messages to friends, track down people they've competed against and compare their progress to buddies or complete strangers. You won't be able to access the site directly from your PS3, but that's a fairly minor caveat.
Is Resistance 2 the PS3's Halo? It's hard to say. While it gives players that quintessential amped-up FPS experience, it isn't doing anything especially innovative or new. The firefights are intense, the pacing will keep you on the edge of your seat and quite a few scenes prove absolutely breathtaking, but the game's chief strength is the story that binds it all together, and the multiplayer modes that should keep us amused for quite some time.
Resistance 2 is a PlayStation 3 exclusive, and will be available Tuesday.
Images courtesy Insomniac Games
WIRED Great story and atmosphere, brilliant arsenal of weapons, infectious multiplayer offerings
TIRED Fairly linear campaign, can feel like an amalgam of other games
$60, Insomniac Games
Rating: 
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