Mini Review: Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)

Well, before I can post a review on Resistance 2, I figured I should at least do a small review of the first.  Please note that the score at the end of this review is the score that would have been given at this game's release, not what it would be rated now.  The reason for this is because games have evolved quite a bit in the past few years and it would receive a lower rating if it were reviewed by today's standards.

Resistance: Fall of Man is a game that probably 90% of PS3 owners have played at one point or another.  It was the system's first exclusive game that made an impact.  You play an American soldier named Lieutenant Hale that has been sent to Europe along with thousands of other American soldiers because there has been some sort of alien attack.  The game takes place about when World War 2 would have taken place if aliens hadn't attacked, so you get a nice alternate reality scenario.  In the beginning of the game, you are captured by the alien race (called Chimera) and are taken to a huge containment facility where the Chimera run people through machines that transform them into a Chimera.  Your character (Hale) is started into the process of turning into a Chimera but is then rescued by fellow soldiers before you could really "change".  Because of this, you gain traits and abilities that make you better than the average soldier.  You can heal using the Chimera health devices, etc.  

Overall, the story is well written and is told from a narrative perspective (kind of like the call of duty series).  The game is a pretty generic first person shooter in that it doesn't really bring too much innovation to the table.  The game does have its moments where the battles really shine and you thoroughly enjoy the experience, but for the most part, it's an average fps.  There are plenty of guns, all with secondary fire functions (nothing new).  The only real flaw the game has besides the lack of innovation, is the health system.  When this game was made, fps's were starting this new trend of regenerative health.  Insomniac decided not to use this system.  Instead you have a 4 block health bar.  Bad choice, with the large number of enemies in the game and intense battle sequences, the health system works in the enemies favor as there are not a lot of health pickups throughout.  As far as the story goes, it definitely helps bring the game up and out of its mediocrity, as it is very good.  With a so-so multi player mode (again, nothing that bad, but nothing new either), I'd score this game (when it was new in 2006) an 8 of 10.

8/10

-CA