There are many games that capture the desperation of war and Insomniac’s PS3-exclusive Resistance games have done this in a way that doesn’t utilize patriotism or motivate you to the next fight. Instead it is a global war that focuses on the human element and puts these characters in the center of the spotlight that would be absent in most games. The developers at Insomniac have done a terrific job of deeply moving game by focusing on the responsibility the main character has. Resistance 3 offers a terrific campaign and intense multiplayer that will make anyone who has a PS3 busy for a long time.

The once thriving war effort of Resistance: The Fall of Man and Resistance 2 has dwindled to almost nothing with 90% of the human race either dead or changed into Chimera. Isolated pockets of survivors still live in hiding from the Chimera but right from the beginning the player see’s the horrors these groups face. The campaign is more intense, cinematic, and darker then pervious Resistance titles. You play as Joseph Capelli a family man from Haven, Oklahoma who has been recruited by Dr. Malikov to close destroy a tower in New York City that has opened a wormhole and now is freezing the entire planet. If it isn’t destroyed the human race will be annihilated. At first Joseph refusing, but changes his mind when his wife explains to him that accompanying Malikov and destroying the tower is the only shot his son has to living a normal life.

The visual of Resistance 3 are consistent and does an excellent job of conveying the story through the environments. This isn’t the most visually striking game on the PS3, especially when compared to Killzone 3, but still shows the bleak and grimy lifestyle of the Resistance universe. The developers used a lifeless color palette to showcase the grim nature of the ravaged landscape. The color scheme does change over the course of the game while staying true to this lifeless setting. These diligently constructed environments provide a lot of character for the campaign.

The scopes of the environments are definitely one of Resistance 3’s most impressive aspects. Large battles are constantly present in Resistance 3 and the scales of these large fights are definitely something to marvel at. Combined with the immense number of both feral and military Chimera you will have to face these environments has more use then just looking pretty. Resistance 3 doesn’t do anything new that other FPS games have already done. However the ways the developers have spaced out each objective ensure that one gameplay mechanic doesn’t outweigh another. This ensures that the game doesn’t feel repetitive and keep the momentum of the story going.

Insomniac is best known for creating games with unique weapons and Resistance 3 doesn’t disappoint especially since you will be facing large sums of enemies at once. You will have the basic at your disposal such as the Shotgun, Carbine, and Rocket Launcher and old favorites such as the Auger and Bullseye. New weapons such as the Mutator that causes enemies to swell with giant boils and the Cryogun which freezes enemies with the primary shot and then blast them with a sonic blast scattering them into small pieces. Each of these weapons has a secondary fire that can be used to disburse death. In addition each weapon can be upgraded through an experience system. The more you use a specific the more it upgrades and opens up next abilities for each.

The action is great throughout. Your enemies are smart, varied, aggressive, numerous, and well-armed causing you to have to adapt to the environment and use everything at your disposal. It isn’t uncommon for your ammunition count depletes faster than you can kill the enemies around you since you will be facing massive hordes of Chimera who want nothing more than your blood on their hands. Unlike other shooters you don’t have a regenerative health bar since you are no longer a plague with the Chimera virus. Health kits are plentiful but similar to ammunition there will be times where you can find yourself exhausted of health kits, health itself, and ammo. This creates some tense frantic times where you will have to think outside the box to murder your enemies effectively or face your ultimate demise.

One of the most appealing factors of the Resistance series was multiplayer. Insomniac has introduced new changes within the multiplayer that creates a less chaotic system then Resistance 2. The player count as been decreased from 60 to 16 allowing matches to become more manageable. Another new addition is abilities. The ability system works like perks in other shooters that allow players to utilize abilities such as producing a hologram of yourself or seeing the location of all the ammunition on the map.

Resistance 3 consists of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag make an appearance.  Other modes include Breach mode which one team attacks an objective and another defends. War games consist of objective-based matches, similar to Killzone 3’s multiplayer. Chain Reaction has players either attempting to close or open a worm-hole. Whatever you find appealing Resistance 3 has some intense multiplayer matches.

Multiplayer has a lot of rewards for people who dedicate their time to Resistance 3. Weapons, kill-streaks, perks, and credits can be earned by participating in multiplayer matches. Earning experience is fun and encouraging the player to move forward with each kill or victory. Resistance 3 does include cooperative play; however it’s different from the Resistance 2 concept. Resistance 3 supports 2 player cooperative players either through split-screen or online. However there is no matchmaking option.

Resistance 3 is a wonderful addition to the series. It’s campaign in well-constructed, wonderfully paced, and intensively satisfying. While the large military operations from the previous game have been replaced with more smaller objectives the battles are never the less intimidating as ever. As a story it is an emotional one. Insomniac created something that was both heroic and personal attributes. Combine that with an engaging multiplayer experience and you have a must buy for PS3 owners.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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