5:25 PM
E
Wrapping up on Sony’s exclusive FPS trilogy, Insomniac creates a game with a more emotional storyline and environment with no hope in sight. At the start of Resistance 3 you are put a handful of years later into the Chimeran invasion after the death of Nathan Hale.
You play as Joseph Cappelli, the man who merc’d Hale at the end of the second game. Joseph is part of a small survival group including his wife and sick son underneath some desolate town. At this point, it looks like what game is there left to play since the introduction leaves you with a situation where the Chimerans have pretty much stomped all over every continent. Don’t forget that the planet is being terra-formed into a cold wasteland too.
So where do we go from here? The plot kicks off with the Doctor who created the antivirus for the Chimeran disease finding Joseph Cappelli and asking for help on a mission to save the world of course. And to do that, you must battle your way to the ultimate end in New York.
Compared to the last Resistance, I was particularly happy with the weapon wheel coming back. Being able to choose from a plethora of weapons in Fall of Man to only carrying two weapons was disappointing in the second installation. Thank you Insomniac for the multi-weapon carnage again.
In Resistance 3, the old favorites were brought back like the Bullseye, Carbine, and Auger. But there were new refreshing additions that spiced up combat like the mutator and cryogun. It was a blast being able to shoot enemies with infected gobs of goop and gas clouds just to see them bubble up and explode. Pun intended.
Unfortunately, my precious air-fuel grenades were taken out of the game and replaced with the EMP grenade. The EMP grenade was mainly used for taking out Stalkers and enemy shields. It was added to give more diversity in killing certain enemies, but I truly didn’t care for them and it was really only necessary in a few battles.
The levels in Resistance 3 did start off rather bleak as many people have said but it is the end of the world in a nutshell. What would you honestly expect from a post alien invasion set to freeze the planet? The color palettes do change further into the game from the depressing browns as you head into the tundra conditions of New York.
Level designs were also much more diverse in their gameplay leaving you to fend off feral Chimera through canals of flooded towns, destroy human renegade vehicles during a speeding train pursuit, and carefully walking through frightening towns and mines to kill the “Demon”. I enjoyed the change in pace very much and it did make Resistance a more dynamic experience.
Overall, Joseph Cappelli’s story is much more heart-felt than the previous games where carnage was the only plot point. I felt the main character’s struggle through a journey he did not want to be a part of but had to for the sake of his family. It gave depth and I appreciated that. Levels designs were more diverse in their gameplay with end of the world scenery and every weapon worked well and packed a punch.
-Eric G.
