Why Resistance Is One of Sony's Best IPs

The PlayStation 3 had a lot of great franchises however one of the best was Insomniac's Resistance franchise. The studio's first attempt at a first-person shooter launched alongside the PS3 and was one of the system's best series. With 3 core games as 2 handheld games released on the PSP and PS Vita Resistance ended on a high note with Resistance 3.  The series may have ended but it's still one of Sony's best IPs.

The Resistance franchise kept gamers hooked thanks to strong gameplay, excellent boss battles, and of course an alluring story. An alien race called the Chimera have invaded Earth and starting terraforming the planet to suit themselves. For much of the series, players were given small snippets of information about their origins and plans.

This delicate battle kept questions coming but provided enough answers that players were satisfied. What truly made the story shine was the dialogue and personalities of each of the characters. They felt like humans, with desires and goals in mind as they attempted to survive extermination. Best of all is that Insomanic kept providing surprising twists such as Nathan Hale's death at the end of Resistance 2 or the Chimera waging a civil war against feral Chimera.

The story ended with a whimper but it was conclusive. Some important questions were left unanswered. Why was the Chimera coming to Earth and who are these pure Chimera? These questions may remain unanswered but with a remaster or another game we could have these questions answered.

Outstanding Multiplayer

The Resistance franchise had strong cooperative and competitive features that complemented the game's themes. In Resistance 2 players were able to fight as common soldiers in cooperative missions that used various classes. Each player would provide defense, ammo, or health and face against a series of powerful Chimera soldiers in a series of special operative missions. It was one of the best examples of how to provide a cooperative option since Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory without simply adding a horde mode. It was a fully fleshed out and realized cooperative mode with leveling, new performance enhancing abilities, and more.

Resistance 3's would leave the cooperative scene behind, allowing 2 players to experience the campaign instead, for a more competitive scene. Players can duke it out as humans and Chimera, with each team having access to unique abilities specific to their team. Whether it's competitive or cooperative the Resistance franchise has delivered on both fronts. It was fast pace, addiction, and providing a lot of special unlocks to keep players hooked.

FPS Action at its Best

Each one of the Resistance games was loyal to the setting and characters. The first game only provided regeneration able Nathan Hale obtain the power, provided it throughout the second game, and removed it in the third after Joseph Capelli was introduced as the protagonist and lost the regenerative abilities.

Regenerative health has become a common norm within the FPS genre, however, Resistance 3 decided against this. After the removal of the Chimera virus from protagonist Joseph Capelli, he needed health packs to regain health. Instead of maintaining the common system found in other FPS games Insomanic put more focus on the world than tailoring to specific norms.

What complemented this system was the entertaining assortment of unique weapons based on this universe. With weapons ranging from classic rifles to alien weapons that can shoot through walls. Add together diverse locations with intense fights against mutated enemies and large battles that made you feel like an unstoppable one-man army and Resistance had everything you could want from an FPS franchise.

The Resistance franchise should make a return. After the revival of Ratchet and Clank and God of War, it's clear that Sony has the talent under their umbrella to make it happen. Series creators Insomanic has left the series behind to pursue other projects such as the extraordinary in development Spider-Man PS4 but this doesn't mean another studio cannot take on the task. If anything the Resistance franchise deserves a reboot.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
Twitter | YouTube | Facebook