Resistance 3

When I awoke my PS3 from it's slumber, Resistance was the game I started my trip down memory lane with. Resistance 3 was my cheif reason for doing so. I had such fond memories of an incredible game from my younger years, and I was itching to revisit it. Normally I'd be worried about having rose-tinted glasses, but my revisit of games 1 and 2 (I have reviewed these) went so well, I figured I had nothing to worry about.

My revisit confirmed for me that Resistance 3 was absolutely the best FPS of the PS3 era.

Gameplay-wise, Insomniac listened to the fan bases displeasure with 2s changes and so brought us back to health packs and weapon wheels. What they did keep from 2, which game 1 did lack in areas, was the sense of scale. When a giant spider monster turns up, it isn't just another thing to shoot, it's a house sized monster that you need to outwit to survive. Survival being the word, as this whole game feels like you are fighting just to see the next level. It's incredible how immersive this game is, even compared to the already incredibly engaging past 2 games.

The story helps out a lot. At times it can get distractingly like Half Life 2 (namely the mouthain town chapter), but it works great as an apocalyptic road trip. It's a suicide mission, and the story does a great job at bringing hope in a hopeless situation. It's much more character focused, and Cappelli is a much better protagonist than Hale in that regard. There's a lot of humanity to this fallen soldier, and you do feel what he feels. The prison character in particular makes his character shine through.

If I had a complaint though, it would be that the game just kinda stops. It feels like we played through another general chapter and then we've suddenly beaten the game. It kinda feels like Insomniac didn't really know how to end it. Narratively it works well enough, but as a game it is a little weak to end on. But the rest of it is so good that it doesn't really bother me. This isn't a Mass Effect 3 situation.

While FPS games may have had better released after, or before, or possibly on the 360, Resistance 3 is an absolute cut above the rest of the FPS games released for the PS3. And considering that includes Resistance 1 and 2, Killzone, COD4, Far Cry 3, Doom BFG and Crisis, among others, that is a huge bar to reach. If you need just 1 game to convince you to fire up the old console, Resistance 3 is definitely it.

I jumped into Resistance 3 without playing the first two games in the series. Being late to the PS3 party meant I had to carefully pick my games, starting with heavy hitters like Killzone 2. But when Resistance 3 was announced, some trailers caught my attention, so I decided to dive in on launch day. It turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable experience.

The plot picks up several years after Resistance 2. You play as Joseph Capelli, a former soldier trying to keep his family safe in a small town in Oklahoma. As the Chimera push humanity to the brink, Joseph finds out about a group of survivors seeking refuge in New York City, the last hope against the alien menace. Without giving too much away, I liked how personal and grounded the story felt, especially for a first-person shooter.

The game follows a mostly linear path, where you move from level to level. There are secrets to discover, but for the most part, you're guided through the game. That's not a bad thing, though; the journey is quite enjoyable.

You'll mainly be battling the Chimera aliens, which come in all shapes and sizes. They often overwhelm you with numbers, leading to some frantic combat. The game features boss-like enemies that are a mix of machine and alien, making for some of the most intense and visually impressive moments. They often act as bullet sponges, and you'll need to keep moving around to take them down effectively. It all adds up to a pretty entertaining experience.

One of the best parts of Resistance 3 is the weaponry. Insomniac is known for their creative weapon design, and they definitely deliver here. My favorite was the magnum revolver with a detonator button that made every shot explode. It was incredibly satisfying. The game adopts a bit of old-school gameplay, too, featuring a weapon wheel and health packs instead of automatic regeneration.

The sound design and music are on point, enhancing the immersive experience. The voice acting is professional, and it really helps drive the story along.

Now, let's talk graphics. Honestly, they're a mixed bag. I never thought the Resistance series looked all that great, especially when compared to other titles like Killzone. There are some impressive moments, particularly with boss battles, but a lot of the environments felt a bit dull-too many brown levels and inconsistent frame rates. There's one level where you're swinging a huge mallet, and it felt particularly uninspired. It's not that the game is ugly, but for a PS3 exclusive, I expected more.

The entire experience lasts about 10 hours, and I had a great time with it. It's a shame the game didn't meet sales expectations. While the first two games sold well-likely helped by being bundled with PS3 consoles-Resistance 3 deserved more recognition.

I truly hope we see the series revived one day. It has so much potential!

Resistance 3 successfully combines the strengths of the first two installments to gratifying effect in this fresh yet familiar title. The game retains Resistance 2's big boss battles and diverse environments, as well as Fall of Man's lone and silent everyman as its protagonist. As the weapon wheel is also back, you pack a diverse arsenal through the vast majority of the campaign. With some new additions (including a few unexpected toys) at your disposal, every battlefield offers the chance to apply different tactics. Visuals: While the graphics are nothing to write home about, I will say that in terms of detail, the game is done competently. More importantly, however, the atmosphere, weather, and dynamic lighting are all incredible and make for an immersing visual feast. The art direction has grown up from the simple and charming Fall of Man, through Resistance 2's rich palette, to create some stunning locations. The retro vibes are more eminent here than the first two, to boot. Gameplay: The "levels" (it's more of a streamlined journey) are still linear in the traditional sense, but far more expansive and intricate than Fall of Man or Resistance 2. Furthermore, it's an incredibly diverse and well-paced game to play through. There is a lessened variety of enemies than featured in Resistance 2, but there is more gore to compensate for that. Unfortunately a few story and gameplay points will feel very familiar, re-purposed from the last two installments. More than once you'll feel as though you're back in Half-Life 2 though, once or twice a little Uncharted, and even some Killzone 2/3 vibes during other parts. Depending on whether your glass is half full or half empty, you'll enjoy these parts. Beta?: There are a couple of bugs, but nothing that intrudes on your gameplay or stops the game altogether. Being minor, I'm sure it's fixed, but I skipped the updates so I could get into the action. Music: Hardly any recognizable melodies are recycled in the score, but the background music is never melodramatic blockbuster-esque (like Modern Warfare or Halo), and definitely has character. Again, like the environments, the music is subtle and extremely atmospheric. Online: Unfortunately I'm not a multiplayer style of gamer, so I can't help you out there, though reviews generally describe it as being quite different, but fantastically done and maddeningly addictive. Overall, the campaign is certainly worth a couple of playthroughs. This isn't a difficult or ground-breaking game, but the smooth gameplay, diverse locations, ridiculous atmospheres and varied arsenal make it a refreshing and satisfactory game in a market saturated with soul-less, movie-esque FPS titles.

After the grim forboding of the first game and the exciting forshadowing of the second game. We are given a second rate zombie game. How people can say this is the best of the three is beyond me. The FPS elements of the game just about hold up. There is at least a story to follow, even though it doesn't make a lot of sense when compared with the first 2 games.

Best chapter of the whole trilogy. If you add to this game 1080p, better textures and smoothing, it will be similar to the game from PS4. The design of everything in the game is very good, nice picture at all. I liked shooting mechanics, you can finally carry more than 2 weapons. A more interesting plot, real adventure, although the ending is too obvious, just a happy ending. In general, the developers have improved everything that was in the previous chapter. I enjoyed this walkthrough, maybe this is the best PS3 shooter game.