Resistance 3

The Resistance series can be considered one of the most underrated exclusive productions dedicated to PlayStation 3. The first part was prepared for the premiere of the console and did not stand out too much (apart from the rather original set of weapons) from other shootings available on the market. The continuation surprised, among others more spectacular gameplay and exciting battles with giant bosses, but it was still treated rather as a starter for the then upcoming Killzon 2 . The employees of the Insomniac Games studio had been preparing the "Three" for almost three years - such a long period had a chance to translate into a highly refined product. After completing the single-player campaign and testing the multiplayer mode, I have some doubts whether the authors used this time one hundred percent.

In Resistance 3 we will find a lot of references to the previous parts, so the full pleasure of discovering the story will be primarily for people familiar with the entire cycle. This time we play the role of a new hero. It is Joseph Capelli, who was expelled from the army as a result of an act he committed in the last installment of the series. Together with his wife and son, he took refuge in the basement of the town of Haven, where the surviving people are hiding from the hostile race of Chimeras, which killed over ninety percent of the population.

Wanting to slightly improve the situation, we go with Dr. Malikov to New York to destroy the giant tower that generates the wormhole. Its presence causes the planet to freeze gradually, which favors the existence of Chimeras preferring a frosty climate, but it can lead to the death of people. For the uninitiated, I would like to remind you that the events presented throughout the series show an alternative story, according to which Europe (and over time the rest of the world) was attacked and taken over by the aforementioned Chimeras. The outbreak of World War II never happened, and humanity has to contend with the deadly threat of an alien race.

Before we finally reach New York, we are on a journey of several hours through American cities. This procedure allowed the creators to prepare quite diverse locations. Guerrilla hiding in the basement does not pass the exam for too long, so with time we end up on the streets of a town destroyed by the war, and then sail by boat among the lairs of other types of Chimeras. There is no shortage of stages taking place at night, covered with snow or an abandoned mine with a monster residing in it.

The creators tried to properly balance the emotions accompanying the game. In one moment, we almost never take our finger off the trigger and we are overwhelmed by the growing number of enemies, another time we carefully move around the deserted town, which is almost full of cocoons with unborn Chimeras inside. Sometimes we deal with a kind of shooting on rails - even during the aforementioned boat crossing or a longer train ride. Then our main goal is to survive, because the room for maneuver has been limited and the enemies do not stop attacking.

Significant deficiencies in artificial intelligence are quickly noticeable. The behavior of opponents is usually limited to pushing forward and shooting at the player's position. Although they are familiar with the use of covers during more fierce skirmishes, they can often leave the shelter, making themselves a very easy target. I missed greater cooperation, wise movement around the battlefield or even attempts to flank the main character. All the problems become most apparent in the final parts of the campaign, when the authors apparently focused on quantity, forgetting a little about quality. At the end of the game, we deal with dozens of Chimeras attacking from each side, and then the fight begins to lose any tactical background. The adversaries are storming our position at all costs, as if their own death did not matter to them.

Relatively simple in their assumptions, battles become slightly more attractive thanks to various types of rivals trying to make our lives miserable. Standard Hybrids are unlikely to cause major problems, although units that use a rocket launcher can be quite bloody. The Grim are trying to quickly reach the main character and end his existence in the group, while the Long Legs jump on the roofs of buildings and are the hardest to hit. From time to time we face larger monsters, which we eliminate by hitting sensitive points, "accidentally" marked by a bright color. If we add to this many varieties of wild Chimeras and the occasional clash with humans, we get quite a large bestiary. For many people, the lack of real duels with powerful bosses may be a disappointment - although we encounter stronger opponents several times, it is difficult to compare them to those from the previous part.

The skirmishes remain attractive also thanks to the original set of weapons, which was also famous for the previous installments of the series. There are new guns in the game, but the already known ones have also returned. Each of them has two fire modes, although in the case of the latter, we usually do not have too much ammunition. For example, the electrocuting Atomizer in its alternative version can release an energy ball that paralyzes and attracts weaker opponents to it. The Mutator, on the other hand, spreads disorienting dust, while regular arrows infect enemies, creating huge blisters of oily substance on them. In Resistance 3 there is also a well-known Auger fans, whose bullets pierce walls, which turns out to be extremely helpful in the most hot battles. Rifles, a shotgun, a revolver, a rocket launcher or even an ordinary hammer complete the competition. It would seem that these are fairly standard types of weapons, but their use is not always exactly in line with what we see in competing productions.

The greatest advantage of the available arsenal is the fact that almost every type of weapon turns out to be really useful and most of it is worth using regularly. The developer has balanced them in such a way that they prove effective for a different type of Chimeras. Many shootings are characterized by the fact that after obtaining the theoretically best means of extermination, we do not use the others at all. It is different in the production of Insomniac Games, which is even more influenced by the introduced development system. Each weapon is subject to automatic improvement over the time we spend using it. Although we do not have any freedom in this regard and the game decides what will be improved, it nevertheless constitutes a very good motivation to test the next guns.

While playing Resistance 3, I had the overwhelming impression that the title in many aspects returns to the roots of the genre. This is certainly influenced by the fairly standard mission structure. The vast majority of tasks do not surprise with their originality, and many times we face traditional "time fillers", when for some time we simply have to repel the attacks of more and more waves of enemies. Ultimately, the creators managed to keep the campaign's vitality at a fairly decent level. Admittedly, after watching the credits, the counter showed 6 hours of gameplay, but the actual play time in my case was about 7-8 hours. The virtual stopwatch does not take into account the deaths of the main character, and they can happen relatively often, especially at the end of the adventure. This is certainly influenced by the old school energy system. The automatic health regeneration was abandoned in favor of first aid kits, which were a standard a decade ago, and today seem to be an archaic solution. Certainly not everyone will like it, although it also has its advantages - the player approaches the next skirmishes more carefully.

Many people had high hopes for the multiplayer mode, which in the second part of the cycle allowed up to sixty participants to play simultaneously. This time the number was reduced to sixteen people, which I took with great satisfaction. Previously, battles could be very chaotic, which was perfect evidence that quantity does not always equal quality. There are eight fun options available to users: three types of Deathmatch (regular, team and a special variant with fewer players), Capture the Flag, Breach (one team is defending the reactor and the other is trying to get it), War Games (a series of team tasks), Reaction chain (players take over and keep next points on the map), and the whole thing is closed by Classic Hardcore. As part of the latter mode, we fight without any helpers, which will certainly appeal to traditionalists who value their own skills.

In other variants, we develop our character, gaining experience points. The initial equipment is not very impressive, but over time we get access to more and more powerful weapons, upgrades, and several types of perks. Special skills allow you to properly support the team (e.g. by placing ammunition boxes), increase the rate of fire of the guns or gain an advantage in combat by creating a clone of your own hero that runs right next to us and thus misleads the enemy. Of course, there was also the popular killstreak system - the more kills we make, the more powerful abilities are unlocked. One of the basic ones is the ability to create a protective shield that forces enemies to come over you from behind.

Although in theory the whole thing looks quite interesting, in practice there are some shortcomings. First of all, the large variety of weapons makes the differences between individual players seem too big. A character with a high level of experience has the right to have an advantage over beginners, but in Resistance 3 the benefits of unlocking skills and upgrades really increase the chances of such a user. It could have been solved much better, although it must also be admitted that there is no complete tragedy and the multiplayer can attract you for longer. However, many players complain about lags and downtime in the game, which effectively reduce the pleasure of multiplayer struggles. Personally, this problem did not bother me regularly, but the developers are already working on the third patch, so something is up.

Resistance 3 certainly does not use all the possibilities of PlayStation 3. The latest work of Insomniac Games is a bit disappointing in technical terms, offering a nice, but not delightful graphic design. Here, the most impressive is the "dirty" colors and designs of individual locations. The authors managed to neatly combine the atmosphere of the 1950s with numerous elements of science fiction. As a result, the next stages are very pleasant and you can turn a blind eye a bit to the serrated edges, not well modeled characters, and at certain moments poor texture detail. The animations of the characters and the almost non-existent facial expressions look quite poor - sometimes you can get the impression that the developer stopped in development a few years ago.

The sound system is standard for this cycle. The music is nice and can sometimes emphasize the drama of a scene. The songs are listened to without a frown on the face, although I cannot say that they are particularly memorable to me. It is worth mentioning that the game has been fully localized. Dubbing has mixed feelings and is certainly no match for the English original. Many actors had obvious problems with empowering the role, and at other times they expressed their emotions too expressively. Occasionally I have come across instances where some dialogue was recorded too quietly or the issues overlapped. You should definitely appreciate the efforts of the Polish distributor in translating the titles he publishes, but many players will choose the original version. Unfortunately, it is impossible to combine English voices with Polish subtitles.

Resistance 3 has its ups and downs. The single-player campaign is quite engaging (possible cooperation for two people on a split screen or in the network), but rather not because of the story told. The plot is quite standard and does not stand out above the competition. The ending is very disappointing - forget about the hard hit that ends the trilogy. The gameplay itself is attractive and fun for several hours, and on the second try you can get on with the highest difficulty level and search for hidden logs. In turn, the multiplayer is quite uneven and certainly not everyone will like it. It is certain that the online skirmishes still require corrections - the authors are working on the third patch and it looks like it will not end there. PlayStation 3 owners got a very good exclusive title, but it's a bit lacking to perfection.

Marcin "Sarge" Skierski

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