GameXplain reviews single player and multiplayer separately

A fantastic return to form.

Insomniac has been one of my favorite developers since the days of Spyro the Dragon. The developer can seem to do no wrong and are always bustling with fun ideas and great gameplay. They proved it with Spyro, they proved it again with Ratchet & Clank, and they proved it with a vengeance with the original Resistance. Resistance 2, however, felt like a misstep to me. The game wasn’t bad, not even close, but it felt like it went through an identity crisis. Gone was the ability to hold every weapon, instead only carrying two at a time, which just seemed counterintuitive when you have such creative gun designs. Rechargeable health also became the norm and suddenly Resistance 2 was every other shooter out on the market. Good, but certainly not a standout. With the release of Resistance 3, Insomniac seems to have learned their lesson and intend to bring the series back to its roots.

Picking up four years after the end of the previous game, Resistance 3 focuses on Joseph Capelli, a former SRPA Sentinel and the man who was forced to kill Nathan Hale. He has since gotten married and had a son and tries to protect them while hiding away in rural Oklahoma with other survivors. With ninety percent of the human population decimated by the Chimaera invasion, there is no hope. However, events are sent into motion by the arrival of Dr. Malikov who insists that Capelli must travel with him to New York to stop the Chimaera from creating a wormhole to their home planet. With little chance of success, Capelli sets out across the country to save what’s left of humanity.

The alternate history of the Resistance series has always been compelling, mainly because no matter how hard humanity fights, it’s always a losing battle. Resistance 3 expertly continues that trend and finds ways, both big and small, to show how everything has changed. This is the bleakest the series has ever been because there isn’t even a military presence in the game. It’s just Capelli and the occasional ragtag group of survivors helping him along. While the personal story of Capelli isn’t exactly compelling, especially after playing as Hale, the atmosphere more than makes up for it. Unfortunately, that atmosphere is almost completely undone by the ending of the game. It isn’t horrendous, but it feels so out of place that all I could say was, “Really? That actually happened?”

Gameplay-wise, Resistance 3 returns the series to form. All the guns are kept on a wheel to be accessed at any time and there is no recharging health, instead players must hunt down med packs. It gives the game an old-school feel without feeling dated. Enemies are intelligent and varied, taking cover when fired at and becoming absolutely relentless at times. The new Chimaera types allow them to attack from all sides and even burst through cover. The game positively loves making players feel overwhelmed, outgunned, and stuck in a losing battle. But it’s not an endless barrage of set pieces and corridor battles. Quiet moments permeate the game, aiming to characterize Capelli or provide a chance to actually see the devastation the Chimaera have caused while also allowing players to catch a breath. The pacing isn’t perfect thanks to a jaunt into some mines, but Resistance 3 never fails to hold your attention.

Though most of the game is a callback to the original Resistance, Resistance 3 does have one new aspect that I instantly loved. Every gun in the game earns experience with use and can level up to become even deadlier. That immediately ensured that I’d use every gun in the game just to see what they could do. Of course I would have done that anyway just how effective the Atomizer, Mutator, and Cryogun really were. My personal favorite was the Mutator which turns enemies into giant puss balls that can be ignited to take out large groups. The upgrades are actually meaningful as well rather than just a higher ammo count or more power. The shotgun catches enemies on fire, the Marksman gets a better scope, and the sniper rifle highlights the Chimaera heads. Unfortunately some are better than others. Did Insomniac really expect players to be excited for a bayonet attachment on the Carbine? But with the return to a classic feel and the upgrade system, Resistance 3 is certainly the most fun of the series.

The graphics in Resistance 3 won’t wow anyone, but there are still moments that impress. Certain sections tell a story of what a town once was like and showing the devastation that the Chimaera have caused. Though most of the game is covered in a brown haze, there are moments where the color palette changes just enough to feel like something new. The world isn’t amazing but it’s well built. Character models on the other hand come across as stiff at times and scripted cutscenes do little to alleviate that impression. Some sequences do impress but, for the most part, Resistance 3 is visually bland. The music fails to be memorable as well. It does its job, but it never helps sweep the player into the game. It is just there. Voice acting is quite good though and the actors try to add depth to their characters despite little opportunity to do so. Overall, gamers will be drawn to Resistance 3 for its gameplay, not its technical merits.

I enjoyed Resistance 3’s campaign. It kept me entertained throughout, surprised me at parts, and gave me a mostly satisfying conclusion to its story. The game will never fool anyone into thinking it is better than other shooters though. Insomniac has crafted a fun game, but not a memorable one. Still, diehard fans like me will come away more than satisfied.

Fun, but far from unique.

Much like its single player, Insomniac decided to scale back and focus its multiplayer modes. Gone are the sixty man deathmatches and eight-player co-op. Cooperative mode is back to a two player affair as they work through the campaign which suited me fine since Resistance 2’s co-op story was muddled and incoherent. It’s more fun for me to work through the story with a friend than joining a group of strangers in the hope that we work well together.

Competitive multiplayer can be fun, but it hasn’t hooked me like other shooters. It contains all the standard modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Breach (where players capture or defend points), and Chain Reaction (which is similar to Battlefield’s Conquest mode). Each mode is fun in their own right with several maps of different sizes. I ended up enjoying Breach the most and Chain Reaction the least; mainly because once one side gained momentum it was difficult to reverse it. Unlike Resistance 2 competitive multiplayer is limited to sixteen players, immediately creating a far less chaotic multiplayer mode.

Like most other shooters, Resistance 3 incorporates an experience system where weapons, buffs, equipment, and character models can be unlocked. A new wrinkle to the system that I appreciated was skill points that could be assigned to the different guns, abilities, and grenades. Guns would gain levels from the single player, abilities became more effective, and players could start with more grenades. It leads to a great sense of customization rather than just unlocking what everyone else has.

Unfortunately, that’s all Resistance 3 has to stand out. The modes play the same, players act the same, and while it’s all well done, it doesn’t change the sameness of it all. If Insomniac had kept the sixty player count, the game would have felt different from every other out there. But with so many other shooters out there and the looming shadow of Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 on the horizon, I feel it will be quickly forgotten. It’s good but not enough to keep player interest.