One side of me finds this game truly impressive, while the other side of me thinks it's nothing special.
The game takes place right after Resistance: Fall of Man as far as the story goes. The cutscenes look great, while the rest of the game looks okay, with some areas shining very well compared to other drab, dull animations. The game tries to get you inside its world, but it fails to do so, for the most part. Presentation is over-the-top with impressive CGI animation and bright lighting, but it lacks detail. Around you, everything appears dull, though this was also the case in Resistance: Fall of Man.
The story is disappointing. There is a huge 2-year gap in the story after the "prologue" of the game. It can be very difficult to follow the story from here on, as things aren't well explained and alot of stuff is just slapped on. The game actually feels nothing like the first in gameplay or story. I like how the game evolved, though, and this is what gives it the chance to stay fresh.
Unfortunately, it doesn't stay fresh. The gameplay in the campaign is very shallow. Useless, unnecessary mechanics like auto-aim, full health regen, absence of recoil, and even underpowered weapons like the Carbine(which feels like shooting a stick now) tone down the game. Enemies are thrown at you like crazy, but the shooting action never differs throughout the campaign, and sometimes I just wish the camera would zoom out as it feels like it's too zoomed in. Levels feel extremely linear path-based without much freedom of exploration. The story has its weird points, though it is kinda interesting while it lasts. What may be fun, though, is searching for intel and achieving trophies. There's a good variation of weapons, but you can only equip 2 at a time. However, the game handles this weapon system quite well, and then it's just a matter of choosing which weapons you prefer or are suitable for the situation. There's a good variation of weapons. In most of the game, you're not required to use a specific weapon, but you can formulate your own strategy to defeat the Chimera whilst struggling to survive.
The Chimera are thrown at you in large numbers. Their firepower is overwhelming. They will attempt to dive away from grenades you hurl at them, and will sometimes hurl grenades towards your direction. They will run at you and melee you if you're nearby, and they move with lightning-speed. There's a good variation of Chimeran enemies in the game, including swimming Chimera(Furies), Ravagers(they use shields and shoot lasers, and up-close they will saw through you or whack you with their saws), Chameleons(they lash at you and on impact kill you in 1 hit), Grims("zombie-like" Chimera), and some other types of Chimera. The game has interesting boss fights, but most are easy and just require one strategy which, once you know it, is not so interesting anymore. The game ends at 8 hours on the normal difficulty level, and the ending is not very fulfilling. And by the end, there is no bright moment even once in the game, which is kinda depressing. Heck, even RFOM had some bright moments, but this game is completely dark and depressing. Since the whole game feels like this, there are hardly any interesting twists, and you basically know that everyone dies in the end.
However, the fun of the multiplayer is ruined by several technical issues that get in the way of matchmaking. The matchmaking often puts you on the same maps over and over, and while some issues have been resolved in later patches, it's still overrun by several other issues, some new and others still recurring. Matches can be terribly unbalanced with veterans on one team and rookies on the other. This causes the matches to be very frustrating and not very fun. Spawning is random, so it's pretty much a "rinse and repeat" deal, with no teamwork, and everyone fending for themselves. Split-screen does not save it from the terrible issues, and even then, split-screen gameplay is frustrating.
Co-op is fun, but classes are unbalanced, with medics getting the most experience, and the missions are too repetitive. Every mission plays the same as the next, so this mode doesn't last long. Bosses take forever to fall, and the game is just overall a huge mess.
Honestly, the game's not a failure, but it didn't quite meet expectations. With some tweaks, it could be made very thrilling. I got the game because after playing the beta, it blew me away. After playing through it, however, I realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Alas, Insomniac doesn't seem to be making those moves, so the game remains in the current state it is right now. If Insomniac had held back on the game for a bit longer to fix most of the issues, it would've been more impressive. Hopefully, they'll fix the game in a way in which it changes the game for the better. Until then, I'm left longing for more.