Resistance 2 is infinitely better than the original, and then some.
Resistance 2 is a sci-fi shooter game that has you playing as Nathan Hale, an sentinel of SRPA, a secret agency bent on destroying a mysterious alien threat known as the Chimera. The irony is, Nathan Hale is slowly becoming what he has spent the last two years of his life trying to destroy, and as he receives cryptic telepathic messages from a god-like entity known as Daedalus, he becomes more monster than man. In his last months, Nathan will fight with every still human cell in his body to rid the Earth of the Chimera, no matter the cost.
Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it definitely has a story, and although the complexity of it is dwarfed by RPG's such as Final Fantasy, it holds up and keeps you interested long enough.
The game has three basic modes, Campaign, Cooperative, and Competitive. The Campaign mode is basically the story mode, where you lead Nathan through a wide variety of locales and cities in the United States, from Chicago to San Francisco. Your basic goal is to kill Chimera, and that you will do. Although the wide variety of weapons and enemies keeps battle challenging and entertaining, there are a few moments where you wonder when they will stop coming at you.
The Campaign does do one thing very well, it makes your heart race. One level in particular has you trudging through a dark hotel, as you listen closely for the inhuman sounds of the Chimera, which are hiding in almost every corner. Another white-knuckler has you sloshing through a swampy forest, listening for the cooing sounds of invisible monsters that you can't see until it is too late. In short, although it's not a horror game, be ready for a few jumpy moments.
Cooperative mode is also very entertaining. It has you and some friends/strangers travelling through familiar locations, working together to kill Chimera, but usually with a goal of finding an item of some sort.
Competitive shouldn't require too much of an explanation. You shoot the other players to win. There are other modes, including a Capture-the-Flag type-game, among others.
The graphics in Resistance 2 are great, fully animated character models, gruesomely ugly creatures, and colorful, highly detailed levels, a huge step over the dull grays and browns of Resistance: Fall of Man.
The characters in Resistance 2 have full voice acting, and David Kaye delivers an excellent Nathan Hale. However, you won't find anything ground-breaking in the music department. The sound effects of a battle, especially with booming surround sound, are incredible, gunshots all around you, explosions of vehicles and grenades pounding your eardrums, and the screams of the wounded and dying, both human and Chimera will make your blood pump fast.
All in all, Resistance 2 is a great game for anyone who loves a shooter, or is just trying one out for the first time. This game trumps over most shooters on the market today, I would definitely recommend purchasing this game, if not, at least renting it. I give it a 9.5, just shy of a 10 because, well, it's just too short.
"Can you hear them... they are calling us... they are beautiful..."