A few weeks back the net was set ablaze. Insomniac Games finally released a teaser trailer for the world worst secret, Resistance 3. It was hauntingly very well made, with a mix of live actors, disturbing imagery, and old southern chain gang song. There was no game play shown, but it delivered a punch at the end. People tore the trailer apart, examining every frame, looking for any glimpses of hints. They mentioned locations and time frames, but could the biggest hint be right in front of them?
I wasn’t the biggest FPS fan. I played through the Medal of Honor series on my PS2, but was really disappointed in the length of MOH: Rising Sun. I felt like I didn’t get my monies worth, and it was back to sports games for me. In the summer of 2007, I bought a used 60 gig PS3. It came with the latest Madden and a new title called Resistance: Fall of Man. At first I really didn’t care about the Resistance title, I was more than stoked to play some next-gen sports. I popped in the Madden and was sorely disappointed. Sports titles seem like they cannot handle the graphics load and always seem to play sluggish. To this day I have only bought one next gen sports title, and to think that is all my gaming dollar pretty much went to for the last 20 years. I played one half, and was longing for my 3 year old copy of NCAA football, so I figured I would give this Resistance game a chance. I was immediately enthralled, it had smooth controls, and a very compelling story. I wasn’t as impressed with Resistance 2′s choice of action over a slower deliberate pacing that fleshed out a very good story line, but was still a great game.
The Resistance series also has kind of a weird distinction, as it has turned at least 3 women in their 30′s, into hard core gamers. My friends followed my suit by trying to get their girls to play through R:FoM, using the co-op story mode. The girls would hang back a bit, but eventually would all find their inner Rambos, and start blasting away with giggles. My girlfriend uses Resistance 2′s online co-op as a relaxation tool, and usually plays a couple hours a night. With the release of the R3 trailer, something came out of my girlfriend’s mouth that I never expected to hear, especially about a FPS. “Is it available for pre-order yet?” she asked. All I can say is, it is awesome having your girlfriend wanting to go to Gamestop as a fun outing. I have to admit, I was just as stoked as everyone else, and I too am craving more info for R3. While all the trailer dissections lead to speculations of locals, I just couldn’t shake the images of the huddled masses of migrating refugees on the train.
Through out the trailer they all appear in a state of glassy eyed shock, until the final build up. Then the guns come out, and all hell breaks loose, with munitions spraying everywhere in a bullet filled hell. My thoughts of the trailer brought me to think that they will borrow a bit from MAG to pull of an awesome multi-player experience. MAG is a pretty decent game when you can find a game on-line within a decent time frame. It also kind of seems like it is a perpetual beta test for upcoming Sony products. Its giant maps and player count per game can be used for Sony’s upcoming MMOs, and itself went back into a beta, to add move support and to tidy up your tech tree. This also could be used to test new modes and features for upcoming games, like Killzone 3. I really don’t have a problem with this, as long as it don’t ruin MAG. The Uncharted 2 community seems to be up in arms every other week, thanks to constant tweaks to the on-line portion of the game.
Ok, back to R3, and I will add my 2 cents to the mix. What if these people on the train were really a resistance? People have speculated that the time frame of the game was advanced, thanks to the inclusion of the St. Louis arch in the trailer. What if the military was wiped out, and you played as a skill less survivor, who has lived by luck or chance. You find other bastions of hope and work your way across the country to take back your planet. Along the way your character could build skills from the weapons and items you pick up as you go. This would add RPG elements, and make you more personally involved in the game, because you can build your character anyway you wanted. The Resistance 2 co-op is really fun but it only gives you 3 classes, and only 8 players per game. This is where the MAG bits would come in. Instead of 8 players could you imagine, a giant map with at least 64 players, taking on an insurmountable opponent. They all banding together with various makeshift weapons, living by the mantra, “GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH.”
Another thing it could borrow from MAG is one difficulty level. While there are hundreds co-op of games on R2, it is hard to find a superhuman difficulty game. I find a game on normal, not as fun. All it takes is one maxed heavy gunner to rush their way through the game, and it never feels like a challenge. That is one thing the Resistance series has been known for, a challenge. The tougher than nails enemies, who actually have a little bit of a brain. I can’t remember how many times in my play through, I would get a surprise melee from a Chimera up-side my head. That is the fun of playing on the higher difficulty, when sometimes it just drops you in a dirty place. Before you know it, your crew is wiped out and the highest XP was like 125 points. I know people get pissed and run back to normal, but I think it is hilarious and makes me love the game more.
This is where the one difficulty level would come in handy. As you level up, you become more seasoned and skilled, and then the game will slow down for you a bit. Newbies and people who don’t put any effort into learning the game, should get pwned. I think these ideas would work well, and the Resistance community is one of the best to play with in gaming. These are my ideas what do you guys think, and what are your ideas? Please share them with us.
