Nathan Hale returns to battle against the brutality of the chimera invasion once more
Resistance 2 begins straight from when the first game ended. Nathan Hale is retrieved by SRPA forces, and is transported to there main facility in Iceland. However the Chimera invade the location, and SRPA retreat to America. Two Years later the chimera unleash a full scale invasion of both the east and west side of America, killing anyone who stand in there way. The story in Resistance 2 has positive and negative aspects. There are good moments such as venturing through the many cities of America the game is set, eradicating the chimeran threat within each city, completing various objectives along the way. However the story is, at certain points, difficult to keep up with and along with the various characters in the game being uninteresting this further doesn't help the cause. The story in Resistance 2 isn't necessarily bad, it just however isn't a completely gripping experience when certain moments lack momentum or detail. The characters in Resistance 2 are one of the worst points of the game. The characters are not bad or hateable, however just completely uninteresting with a few exceptions. Nathan Hale as the main protagonist is unfortunately undeveloped. He is likable from the experience, and the ending captures some real emotion towards him, but throughout the game there could have been some key moments in which Insomniac could have showed him off much better. Locations are incredibly well varied throughout the game. From the dense jungle areas of Orick, to the city based action of Chicago the games locations never let down.
Resistance 2's gameplay is incredibly fun and brilliant to play through. The gunplay is solid, with some great hit detection, and well varied death animations. The guns are incredibly detailed and varied, with some excellent designs and firing uses to make the gameplay different and to the players taste. Each weapon has primary fire as well as secondary fire. This is a really good implementation which follows the first game, because as well as changing up combat it also makes a gun more useful in different situations. Each weapon is either human designed weapons, or chimeran technology, examples of these being the M5A2 Carbine assault rifle as a human main weapon throughout the game, or the bullseye assault rifle of the chimera. Weapons are well varied throughout the campaign, for some being a necessity at certain points due to moments in the game, or some simply being loaded as a default weapon for either allies or enemies, it makes it really good having the option to switch to different weapons at many points in the game. However a downside to this is the weapon wheel is gone. The weapon wheel was implemented in the game, and it allowed that when any weapon had been picked up by the player they were able to keep this throughout the game. However the player is now only allow to carry two weapons at a time, in this is a bad point because combat now is not as varied as it could have been. The animations are solid of the characters, with realistic dashes to cover, and well represented detail in movement. The AI of the chimera are smart and clever, and they will often take cover to save being shot, or try to manoeuvre around you during combat. This adds a sense of realistic motion to combat, as not only are the chimera battling against you, but also have the wits and skills to counter during combat. The sound design in Resistance 2 is realistic and effective, with each weapon having there different sound, and being greatly recognised during combat, as well as the groans of the chimera as you lay a deadly shot, or persist in attacking them. Voice acting is fairly strong throughout the game, and this adds to the sense of scale that the characters are under pressure and tension arises as the war breaks loose. Also a new addition to combat is the regenerative health system. Gone is the health bar of the first game, and now implemented is when you take a lot of damage the screen appears more red and blurred until you eventually die. This is a change to keep up with the modern shooters, and is good for the fact you don't have to look out for health items in the environment to restore health, however it also proves that combat this time around is more challenging. Boss battles in the game are incredibly enjoyable. Whether its unleashing a devastating blast from the pulse cannon on the Kraken, or launching a Laark Rocket at the leviathan all are really enjoyable, most notably the epicness of the Leviathan.
Resistance 2 has taken a new approach to the presentation in its sequel. The familiar narrative from the first game exploiting description from one of the main characters has now gone, and in this game now it has a usual cut scene where it sets up the scene for what follows. This is more to focus on the story of Nathan Hale and to not distract from the experience of the gameplay, however the story being confusing at times could have benefited from the same narrative style of the first game, as it may have proven to help out. Graphics in Resistance 2 are nothing else but stunning. Visually the game looks beautiful, and this is apparent from the lustrous and beauty of the American landscapes. This game took away the grittiness of the first game, to exchange it to a new feel and this in no way is bad, it is a good change and one that is very effective. One thing to mention about the graphics however is that blood sometimes when shooting an enemy ends up being overly colourful (too bright). This isn't a bad feature, it is just something to point out as some people claim this to be a bad feature to the game graphically.
Resistance 2's online experience is incredibly fun and entertaining and offers countless of hours playing. Most of these hours will be spent in the complete new cooperative mode, a new feature to the game. In this cooperative mode, up to eight players are assigned to a specific mission on many maps on offer. Each of these maps offers a range of different missions, and in total there is an Intel count for missions to complete in cooperative mode up to above 50 missions. There are three different classes to choose from; The soldier - who's loadout is the Wraith and wreaks the most damage upon the chimeran threat. The Special Ops - loadout is the Marksman and is most effective from long range attacks. And the Medic - has a specialized loadout weapon which drains the health from enemies and provides it to team-mates. Each class has a specific and required effect during combat, and all are fun to play as to unlock further abilities and loadouts. There are several number of 'berserks' able to be used during combat. These special abilities add a number of unique advantages during combat; invisibility, protective orb, etc. These berserks require experience points (xp) during combat to use them, and this adds even more use during shootouts, because they are not reusable until you provide support against the chimeran threat at hand. The multiplayer in Resistance 2 supports up to 60 players online. This is an incredible amount of players, and for this the maps are usually very large. During online multiplayer weapons do not have to be unlocked, which provide a fair fight from the start to determine who can be a better player, and usually tactics have to overcome this. There are the same berserks similar to cooperative mode, and have to be unlocked as you gain xp and level up. Also by gaining xp and levelling up, new skins can be unlocked for your character, as well as new enhancements to the way you look whilst in combat. However a downside to the completive mode is game usually become too chaotic too quickly. The game is fun and a joy to play, however increased amount of players make this competitive experience a tad short of supreme.
Overall Resistance 2 is an incredible experience, with an amazing campaign from start to finish, as well as increased fun and customization online, this game really does deliver as one of the best on the Playstation 3 system.
Good Points:
-- Excellent Visuals
-- Incredibly varied weapon designs
-- Enemy AI proves intelligent
-- Gunplay is solid
-- Cooperative mode is a great new feature
-- Boss battles are surprisingly brilliant
-- Well varied locations during campaign
Bad Point:
-- Characters are undeveloped
-- Weapon wheel is gone
-- Competitive mode is too chaotic
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Gameplay: 9.5/10
Presentation: 9/10
Graphics: 9.5/10
Story: 7.5/10
Characters: 7.5/10
Enemy AI: 9.5/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Online: 8.5/10
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Overall: 9.5