Resistance: Fall of Man

Overview

Resistance: Fall of Man is a first-person shooter that was initially launched for the PlayStation 3 and was one of the most widely anticipated launch games for the system. It was developed by Insomniac, the creators of the Ratchet and Clank series and Spyro during its time on the original PlayStation, and it was published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Resistance takes place in an alternate history in which World War II never occurred. However the enmity between America and Russia still developed, leading to Russian scientists accidentally creating a virus in the early 1950s that quickly mutated out of control, turning the humans it infected into humanoid creatures called Chimera.

The virus quickly spread across Europe reaching Paris within one week of spreading across the Russian border. Players control the American soldier Nathan Hale, who is part of an American assistance group who is sent to Britain to help the British army try to fight off the invading Chimeran forces. Players must do battle throughout many of Britain's cities, seeing them crumble under the seemingly unstoppable advance of the Chimera.

The game boasts a wide array of unorthodox weaponry, ranging from standard assault rifles to crazy, over-the-top goo launchers developed by the Chimera. Other weapons include rocket launchers, sniper rifles, shotguns and flamethrowers.

The multiplayer features games of between 2-40 people, which was the largest multiplayer game on consoles at its time though it has since been beaten by its sequel Resistance 2 in October 2008 which itself was beaten by MAG in January 2010. In total there are ten multiplayer maps to choose from, all designed from levels in the single-player campaign.

Gameplay

Resistance uses the gameplay elements of many first-person shooters while adding its own changes to the genre. The most noticeable elements to the gameplay are the exotic weapons and vehicles, which developer Insomniac are known particularly in their Ratchet and Clank series of games.

During the single player experience, players are able to pick up and keep every new weapon they encounter, promoting the use of specific weapons at certain times when they are more suited to the current combat scenario. The firearms consist of historical, man-made weapons used circa-1950s, as well as the fictional, futuristic weapons used by the invading Chimeran forces. In addition to unique weapon abilities from each firearm, each gun has its own secondary fire as well. For example, the Chimeran "Bullseye" is a standard-issue Chimeran firearm which acts as a standard alien-like assault rifle. However, its secondary fire option is a "tagging" mode which allows one to "tag" an enemy with special bullets, allowing the standard fired bullets to home in on its tagged targets. There are many exotic grenades as well, ranging from the standard "frag grenade" to a unique "hedgehog grenade" which explodes upon impact, sending hundreds of spikes in every direction. Some of the weapons can be found only during the second play-through of the single-player mode, such as the Reapers - dual auto-pistols, each with their own ammo reserve.

This game also features local split-screen co-op that allows the player to play through the entire campaign with a buddy; player one controls Nathan Hale as before, and player two controls an anonymous black companion.

Resistance also takes advantage of the SIXAXIS motion sensing capability by implementing it in many scenarios: Such as shaking the controller when the player character catches on fire, or shaking it as a Chimera leaps towards the player. During multiplayer modes, one can tip their controller sideways to quickly reveal the map or scoreboard. Resistance is also one of the few PlayStation 3 games to receive vibration support for the DualShock 3 via patch update.

"Skill points" (similar to Xbox achievements though the concept is frequently used in other many other of Insomniac's games) are awarded to players who fill out certain requirements in certain conditions. Each unlockable skill point has a title which provides a clue as to what the unlock conditions for the particular point are. These skill points are used to unlock special bonus art packs and goodies within the game and there are also many hidden pieces of "intel" scattered about each level, providing more back-story to the game as well has foreshadowing the future of the story and series.

Plot

The story starts off with a narration that explains how the tension between Russia and America increased after the end of the first world war and how it had led the Russian to create a wall to isolate themselves from the world. Even so, the world started hearing of reports of biological experiments being conducted in Russia, followed by reports of villages and cities being destroyed overnight. Then around 1949 there was an invasion by creatures known only as chimera from Russia who started systemically destroying all of countries in Europe one by one until all of Europe was in ruins. Britain, being an island, was thought to be safe but in 1950 the Chimera burrowed under the English Channel and invaded Britain as well and overwhelmed their forces with ease. Most of the remaining people scattered and lived in bases around England putting up as much resistance as they could.

The game picks up in 1951 where the US Army Rangers sends a task force to help Britain against the Chimera in exchange for a secret weapon that would help the US against the Chimera. It was claimed to something so valuable that the US could not possibly make it themselves. The hero of the game, Sgt. Nathan Hale, is part of this American task force that is on its way to York to rendezvous with the British forces but both of these forces are ambushed on their way and the US rangers are forced to repel the attack of enemies that they had no idea about. This was because after the destruction of Europe the US government started to control the flow of information. News channels became state property and the news about the Chimera was not told to the general public. During this battle, Nathan Hale seemingly gets infected with the Chimeran virus but survives instead of going into a coma, which is what usually happened to humans after being infected by the Chimera. The battle doesn't end well as most of the forces are wiped out and Nathan Hale makes his way to a bus depot that they are hoping to secure so that they may land reinforcements. With the help of Hale the US forces seem to have pushed out the Chimeran forces from the bus depot and prematurely celebrate as they soon after hit with a spire attack. A spire attack involves missiles pods that land and release crawlers, small beetle-like creatures that infect humans with the Chimeran virus. Everyone is infected and Hale is knocked unconscious.

Hale wakes up in a Chimeran conversion center in Grimsby where he manages to get out of his cell and rescue Rachel Parker, a captain in the British army. She assists Hale through the radio and they both escape from the Chimeran conversion center. Here Hale witnesses how the humans were being converted into Chimera. Humans went into coma's after which their bodies started to mutate and became cocoons. These cocoons would later set forth the Chimeran creatures such as the hybrids who were attached with a cooling apparatus. This was because the Chimera had 12 times faster metabolism which led to their body generating a lot of body heat, which left unchecked would cause them to burn up.

Hale then joins the British forces in Manchester as they tried to reclaim their lost convoy, that was carrying the secret weapon that the British were going to give to the US. With Nathan Hale's help the British are able to win the ensuing battle and recover the weapon which is then airlifted to a British army base in Cheshire. But when he arrives there all is not well, as the base has been overrun by Chimeran forces. Hale becomes separated from the others and fights his way into a briefing room where he learns about Angels, a special Chimeran strain that controlled all other Chimera through telepathy. He learns that the convoy that they recovered held an angel that the British had been able to capture.

Through Hale's adventures, it is also revealed that the Chimera are not a result from a Russian experiment gone horribly wrong, but a race that supposedly existed on Earth long before man. The Chimera invasion seems to have taken place shortly after the Tunguska event, an explosion in northern Russia by a large object carrying the Chimera back to Earth.

The next destination is Nottingham, to help the British military destroy an underground network burrowed underneath the city by the Chimera. It becomes apparent that these tunnels are Chimera's means of transportation, and that they seem to connect to huge towers all over England. The towers are however not built by the Chimera, but excavated from the ground, which leads to more speculation concerning the origins of the Chimera. After successfully completing the operation in Nottingham, Hale is sent to deliver the secret weapon to a resistance stronghold in Chesire. Upon arrival, it turns out the headquarters has already been attacked, and the Chimera have staged an ambush on them. As the squad gets separated from each other, it is up to Hale to make it out alive from the overrun facility. His traversal through the headquarters leads him to a huge storage tank, containing the secret weapon. It turns out that the weapon is actually a higher form of Chimera called an Angel, in effect the Chimera version of a general. Given Hale's contact with the virus, the Angel makes an effort to telepathically control him. However, Hale is somehow able to resist the Angel long enough to shoot and kill him.

The following mission takes place in Somerset, and is a search and rescue operation with the retrieval of one Lieutenant Stephen Cartwright in mind. After having evacuated the last of the major British strongholds in Bristol, Hale and Cartwright find out that the towers all over England is a central part of the Chimera infrastructure. Destroying them will hopefully cripple the Chimera forces. They also learn that the main Chimera tower is in London, and that taking it out could tip the war in the favor of the resistance. Hence, the final chapters take place in London, as the remaining American and British forces launch a final attack on the main tower. Hale manages to fight his way to the top of the tower and destroy its core. This results in a massive explosion that completely destroys the tower, and through a chain reaction, all of the remaining towers in England. England has apparently been saved from the Chimera, and the war is won. The final cut-scene shows that Hale is presumed dead by the American forces, and is listed as killed in action. However, the very last cut-scene shows Nathan Hale walking through a snowy landscape, where he is captured by unknown soldiers.

Weapons

Carbine

This is the first weapon that players receive in the game and is the gun primarily used by human soldiers. The primary fire just shoots regular rounds while the secondary fire acts as a 40 mm grenade launcher.

Bullseye

This weapon is also acquired early on in the game and is the gun primarily used by the Hybrid and advanced hybrid Chimera. The primary fire just shoots rounds out rapidly while the secondary fire allows players to tag enemies. Once tagged the primary fire rounds will hone in on the target.

Rossmore Shotgun

Primary fire shoots out regular shotgun shells while the secondary fire discharges both barrels creating a stronger attack.

Auger

Often carried by the Steelhead Chimera, this gun's primary fire shoots out rounds that can pass through solid objects such as walls and crates. The secondary fire creates a shield panel that protects the player for all weapons except other auger rounds which can p ass through it. The shield will also hurt anyone who passes through it

Sniper Rifle

This sniper rifle's primary fire is a normal shot but when the secondary fire is held the player can view through the scope in bullet time, making it easier to get head shots.

Sapper

This weapon's primary fire releases blobs that if touched act as mines and explode. The secondary fire allows players to detonate the mines whenever they want.

Hailstorm

The primary fire of this gun shoots out a large number of small projectiles that bounces of anything they hit. The secondary fire unloads the rest of the clip to create a ball of bullets that act as a turret that automatically attack enemies nearby.

LAARK Rocket Launcher

The primary fire of this rocket launcher, predictably, shoots out standard rockets, while the secondary fire allows players to stop the rocket in mid flight and change its direction so that players can hit the target even if it tries to move out of the way.

Reaper SMGs

Used by the Slipskulls, primary fire shoots out rounds from the right gun while the secondary fire shoots out rounds from the left gun.

Dragon:

The primary fire shoots out flames while the secondary fire releases gas. While the secondary fire is held gas will start to leak from the gun and then releasing the button causes a flame to appear that will last longer.

Arc Charger

A gun that shoots out arcs of electricity and is used by the Hardfang Chimera.

Multiplayer

Resistance: Fall of Man allows two players to play through the singleplayer campaign co-operatively , with player one as Nathan Hale and player two as an anonymous black companion.

Resistance features a full multiplayer experience. For local multiplayer, the game allows up to 4 players. For online, the game allows up to 40 players; all connected through the PlayStation Network IDs.

Online multiplayer allows the creation of clans, creation of matches, or joining ranked games.

Different Species during Online Multiplayer

Humans

have a radar, allowing one to distinguish where friends and foes are at any time. Being smaller (and harder to hit), they can sprint and crouch forever. Spawns with one fragmentation grenade and an M5A2 Carbine.

The Chimera

are easier targets due to their size, but they possess "rage mode" which allows them to see through walls and sprint. However, one must keep an eye on the thermal meter to prevent overheating - a side effect for staying in "rage mode" for too long. Spawns with a Bullseye.

Manchester Cathedral Controversy

On June 9, 2007, the Church of England threatened legal action against Sony for featuring Manchester Cathedral in a Resistance level without permission. The part in question is titled "The Cathedral", and takes part in the "Manchester" chapter. Said level features a rather lengthy gun battle against the Chimera inside the cathedral in question. Church officials claimed this use to not only be simply in poor taste, but also "sick" and even "sacrilegious". To compound this problem, gun violence has been an issue for Manchester authorities as a whole. So this glorification of violence, they claimed, would only encourage more.

The Church demanded that Sony remove the game from store shelves and issue an apology. They also wanted Sony to make what they called " a substantial donation", that would go to agencies working to prevent gun crime in the Manchester area. After a brief period the Church of England dropped its case against Sony in the belief that they could not prove that any copyright infringements had been made, which is strange, given that their lawsuit never involved copyright infringement in the first place, and was instead closer to libel or slander.

Though Sony never officially admitted fault, they did issue an apology to the Church of England:

"We do not accept that there is any connection between contemporary issues of 21st Century Manchester and a work of science fiction in which a fictitious 1950s Britain is under attack by aliens. It is not our intention to cause offence by using a representation of Manchester Cathedral in chapter eight of the work. If we have done so we sincerely apologize."