[PS3] Resistance 2

That would be kind of a long wait.

To be honest, I think if you like these types of games, you should probably get both and try to cut back somewhere else. R2 definitely seems to be a great game, and KZ2 has a chance to be the same way (I'm personally more skeptical of it than I was of R2, but things do look good so far).

Although I will say, as continuation of my last post, that R2 seems probably about 10x more annoying/frustrating than R1, at least from what I can remember, and I'm not even close to beating the game yet. It seems like I've died WAY more than I did in R1, yet nearly all of those deaths have been due to one-hit kills by certain enemies. Just found another enemy that has one-hit kills as well, and when they put these in sections of levels with basically no checkpoints, you can expect to do the same stupid things over and over. Hopefully these are rare moments in the game, and it won't really affect the rest of it. But I'm pretty disappointed in this part of the game so far. I realize that they were probably trying to make things tense, but this makes things more frustrating, even if you don't actually die much (dying once from these things takes away any bonus they would have provided IMO).

edit: And right after I post this, I get past the "frustrating" part I was angry about.

 

Just finished the SP campaign...

Kind of disappointed actually. I feel like R1 was definitely better. Not to say R2's SP is bad since I thought very highly of the SP in R1, but I thought it could have been much better. There are a lot of things that R2 is much better in, such as graphics, scale (CRAZY SCALE IN THIS GAME!), AI (IMO), audio, cinematics/production values, etc., but there a few things that hurt the game a lot IMO (see some of my earlier frustrations for example).

 

In that case, maybe hold off until you finish some of those games. I think I'd still suggest getting both games, but maybe you could get R2 at a slight discount in another 3-4 months or so.

Gametrailers finally put up their review in the last day or so I believe:
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Seems more or less like the IGN review though. I will say that while it doesn't spoil the story, it does show a lot from levels from past the half-way point in the game IIRC (particularly bosses).

BTW, for those of you who played both R1 and R2, how do you feel about the change to the 2-weapon system? That was one of the things that really bothered me months ago, but I was going to wait to play it to see if it worked (Insomniac said it would allow them to create for better, more intense situations...or something like that). Can't say I really changed my mind about it. Not really a huge deal, but I still believe they should have allowed you to carry (nearly) all weapons at once (or some compromise), especially since I believe the weapons are a highlight of this franchise. Restricting the player to two weapons at a time is a mistake IMO.

About to watch the behind-the-scenes disc...

 

Here's my quick-but-lengthy review. As to be expected, it is only about the single-player campaign:

Spoiler

Pros
-Good visuals and environments
-Incredible scale, especially in boss fights
-Intense battles
-Better cinematics, production values, and music than R1
-GORE!!!

Cons
-A little short, compared to the first game
-Visuals are very inconsistent
-Lots of cheap deaths
-Some changes from R1 do not seem to make for a better game

Final Comments
It has been 2 years since R1 came out, and Insomniac has put in a lot of work to improve on the original. R2 offers huge scale that is pretty much unmatched in any other game, let alone its predecessor. The productions values in the game also seem to match its status as a AAA game, unlike the original (at least to a degree), and the visuals and environments are much better than the original. However, along with these changes, Insomniac has also brought on a slew of other changes...some good, some not so good IMO. Some things are to be expected, such as new weapons and enemies, although this means some weapons and enemies from the original are not present. Others, like a completely different health system and weapon system, are such a drastic change from the original, which can result in a love it or hate it response from fans (of course, R1 fans might be more likely to hate it). Unfortunately, some negatives like inconsistent visuals from the first game also find their way into the sequel.

Spoiler

Story
The story in R2 starts off where R1 left off...literally. Nathan Hale, after his heroics in R1, is picked up by the by members of SRPA, a top-secret division of the US military. He is introduced to Richard Blake, director of SRPA. Hale finds out that he is not the only human resistant to the Chimeran virus. The Sentinels are a task-force created by SRPA made up of humans with attributes similar to Hale (regeneration, heightened senses, resistance to the virus, etc.). Hale becomes a member of the Sentinels, and as the Chimera set their sights on invading the United States, Hale and his team must attempt to defend their country and the Human species from the Chimera. The game takes you through a number of locations in the US, including places like San Francisco, Louisiana, Idaho and Chicago. As most of the game takes place 2 years after the Chimera begin their invasion of the US, most of these places are abandoned...well....not counting the hordes of Chimera.

Unlike the original, the game has no narration. The story is told through cinematic and in-game cutscenes, normally from Nathan Hale's perspective. Of course, this means the silent Nathan Hale from the original is gone, replaced with a much more chatty Nathan Hale. I personally preferred the former, but it isn't really that big of a deal. I do think that Insomniac could have done a little more work on the Hale's personality, as well as the personality of pretty much all the characters in the game (all are pretty much generic soldier personalities). I didn't really feel any attachment to the characters, which is a bit disappointing given the new focus of the narrative. This was pretty much the case in R1 too, although I think I did prefer the characters of Rachel Parker and Stephen Cartwright to any of the characters in R2. Despite my comments, I don't particularly have a big problem with the lack of character depth, although it is something I'd like them to work on, especially if they continue this type of storytelling. In the first game, while we were playing as Nathan Hale, the story seemed to focus on the Chimeran invasion and not so much any emotional connections between Hale and any other characters. In R2, it seems a much bigger focus is placed on the characters and the emotional ties between them (pretty sure the behind-the-scenes disc confirmed this as well). I won't spoil things directly, but one or more characters end up dying in the game, and I can't say I really cared all that much.

With the removal of a narration, it is often difficult to actually figure out what exactly is going on in the game. As mentioned, the game takes place in a variety of locations, but for the most part, the game does a poor job (IMO) of connecting them. I know once that I ended up going to a location to help rescue a person, but at that point, I didn't even realize that person needed rescuing (didn't even realize he/she wasn't with my group). Fortunately, we do get a little more info about Nathan Hale, the Chimera, and even a little bit about The Cloven. The information itself and especially the presentation of it is a bit cliché and predictable though. Additionally, a lot of things are still left unanswered or unclear...even some things just in the scope of R2 and not a potential sequel. A narration isn't necessary, but given the way Insomniac seems to be telling the story in R2, I think it ( or something similar...maybe briefings like MGS4 or something) could have helped out a lot.

I alluded to this earlier, but as for the story itself, I felt as thought it took a small step backwards compared to R1. To be fair, it had the unenviable task of trying to explain things that were introduced R1, but not spoiling things that might be key plot points in future Resistance games . While it didn't have the greatest story, I enjoyed the plot of R1 and learning as much as I could about the mystery of the Chimera and Nathan Hale. In R2, you lose a bit of this sense of mystery as you get some definite (albeit predictable) answers. Some of the important plot points of the Resistance franchise are rarely touched on though, which I suppose will be a bigger focus in future games. While I don't want to spoil things, the ending certainly provides a lot of questions to the player and is actually well-done IMO...although it is a bit of cliffhanger (not nearly as bad as other games/movies/etc though).

The one thing that I thought was clearly better than the original was the presentation and production values. While the narration was important for telling the story in R1, it didn't really help Insomniac win any awards in presentation. R2, on the other hand, has some really nice cinematics, taking advantage of some new motion-capture and camera technology. Although to be honest, the cinematics do seem a bit out-of-place and random at times.

Gameplay
While I was somewhat disappointed in the story in R2, the biggest disappointment for me was the gameplay. To be fair, the core of the game is still roughly the same...and probably improved. You still have these crazy weapons that are a lot of fun to use. You still have epic skirmishes with hordes of Chimera. While still not a huge focus of the game, horror elements also make a return, especially with the new zombie-like Grim enemies. And, in addition to all that, Insomniac has experimented with adding some boss battles to the FPS. Some of the boss battles are highly scripted and a bit hit-and-miss, but they do provide for some intense action.

There is a bigger focus on squad play in R2 it seems, which makes sense given that you are part of the Sentinels. From what I could tell, the ally AI is pretty good and will definitely kill their fair share of Chimera. They seem to do an OK job of taking cover and staying out of your way, but then again...the Sentinels are invincible, so not really a big deal. I believe the normal SRPA infantry are vulnerable however. The one negative might be that your allies aren't quite as effective against some enemies versus others (Chimera Hybrids vs Grim for example). Enemy AI seems about the same as the original, maybe a little better (seem pretty good at taking cover, flanking you, etc.). I noticed some reviews pointed out how the enemy AI seems to pinpoint on you and only you, but it didn't quite seem that extreme to me. They certainly focus more on you than your allies, but since this is a game (and most of your allies are invincible), that makes sense.

The biggest problems I have with the game are the major and minor changes they made to the original. While some of them ended up improving the game, I feel like most of them hurt it, at least IMO. For example, Insomniac announced a while back that R2 would use a regenerative health system with no health packs, similar to other popular games today. It would also limit the player to 2 weapons at a time, also similar to other popular games. I was a bit skeptical of these changes, particularly the latter, but because of their reasoning, I decided to wait and play the game before making any final judgments. After finishing the game, I still don't like these changes.

While the R2 health system does seem a little more forgiving, in reality it seems more like R1's Nathan Hale is down to a single bar throughout the game. In other words, Hale dies a lot more quickly. Personally, I thought the health system made things pretty strategic and intense in the original, which is absent in the sequel. To be fair, backtracking for medkits is not fun, but then again, I found myself backtracking to pick up ammo or other weapons anyway. Additionally, given that most of the checkpoints are well-placed through most of the game, this is even less of a problem; for example, while you may only have one bar of health while you fight a large horde of Chimera, if you die, you'll restart with full health, no backtracking necessary.

For the most part, while I preferred the health system in R1, the health system in R2 isn't too bad, especially if they tweaked a few things. On the other hand, the weapon system will need more than a few tweaks to make me happy. As I stated in my review for R1, I felt like the weapons were partly what made the game so great. While the weapons in R2 are still pretty good, limiting the player to two weapons seems like a bad idea to me. This is especially true if you're like me and always try to carry the Carbine or Bullseye as your primary weapon (but rarely both...which kind of sucks), limiting yourself to one other weapon. In Insomniac's defense, there is rarely (if ever) a situation when you don't have the necessary weapon to defeat an enemy. If there is a large enemy present, several rocket launchers will be placed across the ground. Of course, this makes the game somewhat predictable as well (EX: a minigun is placed right before a horde of leapers appear). Part of the fun of the original for me was using a variety of weapons to get the same job done, allowing for some creativity on the part of the player. This is gone in R2.

This is perhaps related to the weapon system, but I felt like the weapons in R2 weren't quite as good as the weapons in R1. Several weapons from R1 make their return (perhaps with some modifications), including the Carbine, Bullseye, Auger, LAARK, and Fareye. The new weapons, however, are a bit hit-and-miss. I really enjoyed the Markman, which is a long-distance assault rifle. The Splicer on the other hand, while great for gore, didn't really get a lot of use from me. Again, perhaps this was due to the restriction to two weapons, but I barely used some of these weapons, while in R1, I tended to use pretty much all the weapons (especially when trying to be creative). I definitely missed the Sapper, and even the Hailstorm would have been pretty nice (especially compared to the Splicer). Actually, while I didn't notice this until after finishing the game, the newer weapons are a bit more generic than that first, which is a bit disappointing given Insomniac's history with great, unique weapons.

I also preferred the enemies in R1 to those in R2. To be honest, the only new enemy that I actually liked were the Grim. The other new enemies were all pretty much more of an annoyance than something fun and unique. The best example of this are the Chameleon chimera. In theory, I thought these enemies might be pretty cool, and with a few tweaks, they probably could have been. Basically, these are invisible Chimera that will leap out and attack you at random points in the game. The problem is that if they hit you, you die instantly. Now generally speaking, you'll have plenty of warning that a Chameleon is nearby. Right before they strike, you'll hear them running, the screen will shake a bit, and you'll see them decloak. They generally die pretty quickly, although some weapons work better than others. While they are used throughout the game, I probably didn't die all that much because of them. That said, I felt like all of these deaths were cheap deaths and are something I pretty much find inexcusable in a game like this. It would possibly be different if the Chameleon's added something to the game, but there isn't really that much benefit to them being in the game IMO. If they make their return in future games, I really hope they make some tweaks. Assuming they go back to the R1 system, they could simply do the same thing as they did with the traps in R1 (take off 25% or so of damage)...although this would a bit annoying too, but not nearly as much. Of course, if they were to add more to their behavior, making them a bit more Predator-ish...

The new Ravagers, while they look awesome, are pretty annoying too. While incredibly powerful, they also have a giant shield that prevents them from taking damage...which they use quite a bit, often using it to run over the player. I do like the idea behind them, but I think their behavior or the shield itself should have been tweaked a bit. Often times, they just keep the shield up and you can't really do any damage...until they're less than foot in front of you. The Fury is technically a new enemy in R2, although you'll never really fight it. It is basically a fish-like Chimera that prevents you from going into the water in some parts of the game. In other words, they act as a hazard, not unlike electrified water or lava. For whatever reason, they are invincible. Some of the massive bosses seem to take damage from your weapons, but these creatures are immune to them. Of course, the reason for this is obvious since their objective is to keep you from going into the water. A minor complaint about realism here, but I think Insomniac could have easily done a better job here, going with more traditional hazards that don't have the same faults (EX: Chimera piranha).

Some returning enemies also seem more annoying. The Titans, which I never really had too much trouble with in R1, seem to be much better shots in this game. For whatever reason, it very difficult to strafe past the rockets they shoots towards the player (partly due to their speed and partly due to the splash damage). The Stalkers seem a bit more annoying and difficult to take down, although there aren't quite as many to take on, so I might be wrong.

But like I said, not all the enemies are bad. The Grim can be a lot of fun. As some of you have probably seen in videos, these enemies are sort of like zombies. In fact, they're pretty much the most important parts of the horror-segments of the game. You'll often be walking through dimly-lit areas with tons of cocoons everywhere, wondering if they may burst open at any moment. Insomniac did a great job with these guys, and I would definitely enjoy seeing them in future games.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of the enemies from the original. Enemies like the Slipskulls, Widowmakers, Howlers, Menials, etc., seemed to take different strategies to kill, but their replacements in R2 don't really seem to make up for their removal. It seems like many enemies in R2 simply require you to keep hitting them with your weapons and/or throwing all your grenades at them until they die...well, technically, all enemies in games are like that, but hopefully you get the idea.

Vehicles are gone from R2, which is yet another disappointment to me. While the gameplay in R1 could have used a lot more work, the vehicle segments were a lot of fun and broke up the gameplay. Also briefly mentioned earlier, but the numerous traps in R1 are also gone. Firing from turrets...also gone, at least from what I could tell. Some of these things aren't a big deal, but like I said, they did offer something different in the original.

As mentioned, boss fights are hit-and-miss. On one hand, their immense size and design create for some great moments in the game (see Leviathan). On the other hand, they're also very scripted and not very difficult to fight (again...see Leviathan). I haven't tested this theory out, but I'm guessing that once you replay the game multiple times, these fights will be more of a chore than anything. The final boss “fight” is a little disappointing though, especially in comparison to the final “battle” in R1.

R2 is a much more difficult game than the original. Depending on how you look at things, this can be a plus or a minus. Personally, I think most of the difficulty comes from cheap attacks and poorly designed enemies/battles, so this isn't a good thing to me. I died a lot...on casual. I think for most players, casual will be the best difficulty to try out at first, and this also seems to be the suggestion I've seen online from what I could tell. This minimizes the amount of frustration you'll experience (although some points will be just as frustrating on any difficulty level), and once you beat it, you can replay it on a harder difficulty level for extra challenge. I forgot to see how long it took me to finish the game, but it was definitely shorter than R1. The consensus I've seen online seems to be around 10 hours, which is a bit shorter than I would have liked, especially since I liked the length of the original. That said, the 10 hours are pretty much full of action.

To sum things up, while the core gameplay is still pretty strong, I came away disappointed with some of the design changes and amount of polish Insomniac put into the gameplay. It isn't bad; in fact, far from it. Despite my complaints, there are some awesome battles in the game, and I still had a lot of fun. It just didn't quite meet my high expectations. Given that most of my complaints are about how I preferred the way things were done in R1, I'd assume that many players that didn't play R1 will not find these as problems...and in fact, I'm sure many people that played R1 will disagree with my preferences. I haven't tried out the multiplayer parts of the game yet, but given the praise I've seen for them, the SP part might easily be the worst part of the game. That basically means this is an amazing game...unless maybe you're like me and mostly just like SP action, in which case, it is only "really good" or something like that.

Graphics
The only complaint I have is that the game has somewhat inconsistent visuals, like the original. But other than that, the graphics in this game are great, especially given the sense of scale in the game. There are a number of moments in the game where I just can't believe what Insomniac is doing with the PS3. The water in the game looks really nice and has nice physics...although perhaps a bit cartoony. The variety of locations also allow for some different environments, which all look pretty nice. This is unlike the original, which all took place in similar environments (although snow did changes things somewhat). Insomniac also added quite a bit of gore to the game, which is always good. Nothing like seeing a Titan explode into various little chunks.

Sound
Voice-acting could have been better, but it wasn't too bad, especially given the genre. While still largely forgettable, the music in the game seems a lot better than the original. Rest of audio is pretty similar to R1, although some of the sounds of the bosses and new enemies are pretty nice and add to the experience. The Henry Stillman radio broadcasts are awesome, and really add to how bleak things are for humanity.

 

I actually checked out the co-op stuff in an offline game I created to see what it was like. Yes, apparently you can play this mode with only one player, although it's probably 100x harder (one death = game over). Not exactly the best way to try it out, but I think I understand what the fuss is about. It definitely seems pretty addicting and a lot of fun. Would definitely like to see this is more games.

For those of you that have been playing this mode, there are some story elements right? Not expecting anything close to the single-player campaign, but I thought I read something about intel documents or something. I noticed the loading screen had some info about President Grace and Chicago (is it sad that I know a decent amount about who President Grace is?). If they're anything like the intel documents in R1 (or R2 I guess), I definitely would be interested. I was wanting to play around with LBP a little more this week (or better yet, get some school work done), but I might put a lot more attention to this game mode than I thought. Of course, I guess I could just read the plot points online, but that wouldn't be any fun.

Oh and if anyone cared, I double-checked, and my playtime for R2 single-player was about 8 hours. A little shorter than I expected. I don't remember what it was for R1, but I thought it was around 12-15 hours.