Resistance sequel a sure thing

By Robert Purchese Published 14 January, 2008

Eight player co-op and 60 online.

The inevitable sequel to Resistance: Fall of Man has finally been unveiled.

It's the cover story on the February issue of US magazine Game Informer. The game will feature boasts co-operative play for up to eight players, plus enormous 60-player battles over PSN.

On top of this are two full campaigns (one may be a co-operative endeavour) set in what could be New York, if the Brooklyn Bridge-alike on the cover is anything to go by. We'll call it Earth for now.

There is no clarification as to whether Manchester Cathedral will return for a cameo.

Resistance was developed by Ratchet & Clank brainbox Insomniac Games and launched alongside the PS3 in the US and Europe.

Unfortunately it failed to command top-end scores; the game was chastised for its generic environments and enemies and a disappointing range of weaponry from a usually abundant creative talent. "Just a bit limp," reckons Tom.

Pop your head into our Resistance: Fall of Man gamepage for our US and European reviews of the game.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • Tejstar #1 4 years ago

    Enjoyed the first one in local co-op, so this should beeven better!

  • Beano #2 4 years ago

    "On top of this are two full campaigns (one may be a co-operative endeavour) set in what could be New York..."

    According to 1UP, the second campaign is only for co-op (up to 8 players online).

    The game wil also feature veichles in multiplayer modes and semi-random maps.

    Can't wait for this one :)

  • Beano #3 4 years ago

    @disc: I didn't find the range of weapons in R:FoM disappointing either - but I would have been nice if some of the unlockable weapons (like the bubble-shield thingy and the reapers) were available in the first play-thru and in online modes also.

  • Kenshin001 #4 4 years ago

    I hope the sequel is better than a 6/10.

  • lambtron #5 4 years ago

    Yeah I thought the weapons were very so-so.

    I mean you had an assault rifle, a shotgun, a sniper rifle and a few other normal human weapons. So nothing new there. And the alien (or whatever they are supposed to be) weapons were either ill thought out or just plain dull. I'd much rather play a game like COD4 that is based on real weapons that are well balanced and faithfully recreated than some half-hearted attempt at creativity.

    All in all the game felt very generic and just combining two well-trod genres (WWII and Aliens) didn't do anything to change that.

  • symbiote #6 4 years ago

    "I hope the sequel is better than a 6/10"

    I hope the reviewer of the sequel isn't an snob

  • Yaster #7 4 years ago

    60 plyer rooms eh? Lets hope they increase the friends list to more than 50 so we don't have to play with randoms all the time to exploit this. Oh wait, Resistance has it's own FL

  • drumbaby #8 4 years ago

    "a disappointing range of weaponry"

    Oh yes, they should have had a gravity gun, right? So much fun pinging barrels off NPCs that don't even react to the impact.

  • Arwin #9 4 years ago

    Seconded @Symbiote.

  • Yaster #10 4 years ago

    If you ask me Resistance had some of the most inspired weapons in a futuristic FPS

  • Darren #11 4 years ago

    I thought the first game was v. good, definitely a solid 8/10 game, only spoilt by the lack of rumble effects (rectified via a patch and a DualShock 3 controller), slightly generic design and some low-res textures. Otherwise it ran smooth and slick, looked nice, had some great weapons and played absolutely fine plus it's entertaining online.I had a lot of fun with it, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Insomniac can do with the sequel following the excellent Ratchet & Clank ToD, particularly as the first game didn't use streaming technology at all, each level was a self-contained load.

  • Kenshin001 #12 4 years ago

    Yeah, I was kinda joking with that 6/10 comment. Loved the game personally. All this talk of R2 makes me want to play through it again. Thought the weapons were great too. Fun to try out different weapons for different situations. Stuff like the Backlash grenade, Arc charger, Air Fuel Grenade, Metalstorm, Sapper, Auger etc I thought were great ideas. Definitely allowed a lot of strategies to kill the Chimera.

  • dazzaman #13 4 years ago

    Liked the first game a lot, will be putting the sequel on my wish list, multiplayer still good fun now, will be really looking forward to team deathmatch if they really can squeeze that many players in a map.

    Wepaons WTF - OK so Human wepaons were a bit generic (how can it not be), none of the wepaons in COD4 were out of this world but noone seemed to mind that eh, the Alien stuff was pretty well thought out not to spoil the balance of the game or multi player.

  • Steroyd #14 4 years ago

    60 multiplayer

    Finally a Console game that catches up to PC games. :p

    Crazy number of multiplayer online was one of my most anticipated features of "next gen" and it only just took 3 years for me to check that off my list.

  • Beano #15 4 years ago

    "I mean you had an assault rifle, a shotgun, a sniper rifle and a few other normal human weapons. So nothing new there. "

    Yes the human weapon were "normal" - because it was set in 1950'es... what did you expect, plasma rifles?

    The interesting weapons (IMO) are the alien weapons... but as Darren also notes, they may have lacked a bit of "ommpf" due to the lack of rumble.
    The unlockable weapons are also nice... but not many discovered them which is a shame.

  • Moz #16 4 years ago

    Really looking forward to this, R:FM single player from a lot of in co-op split screen and was even a decent length.
    But the game really shines when it comes to fast online play, though I hope they come up with some more complex maps as currently 40 player games involve next to no stratagie.

    My main wish list for the new game has split-screen online play and more complex multi-player maps.

    If what Insomniac say is true then it should look pretty sweet too as apparent R&C gets 4 times more out of the engine then R:FM so the sequal should be able to do something sweet.

  • penguin_overlord #17 4 years ago

    Further proof that the PS3 is the console to own in 2008!

  • Beano #18 4 years ago

    Bad scans here :

    [link url=http ://videogamerx.gamedonga.co.kr/zbxe/801652#0
    ]http://vi deogamerx.gamedonga.co.kr/zbxe/...[/link]

    Looks promising ;)

  • Darren #19 4 years ago

    V. nice find there, Beano! :)

  • Beano #20 4 years ago

    Notice the text on the second image... sounds like they may be taking a Warhawk-like approach on the big maps and not just drop 60 players into a big arena.

  • BigE0n #21 4 years ago

    8 player coop, wow on a machine that can only support 7 pads????? even 7 on one machine would be hideous the tv would have to be 70" plus to see what each person is doing :)

    Ok I guess they mean either PSN Networked 8 play co-op or 4 systems linked???
    Edited by 1 at 14/01/08 @ 11:18

  • Beano #22 4 years ago

    Info from GameSpot news article :

    "Unconfirmed reports say the game will support three character classes--including a heavy weapons, special operations, and the all-important medic. It will also incorporate vehicles, including the alien-built Stalker, which will have cloaking abilities."

    http://ww w.gamespot.com/news/6184625.htm...

  • Yaster #23 4 years ago

    @ BigE0n

    I think it's just 2 players local and 8 players online

  • Drpwnage #24 4 years ago

    8 player Co-op sounds fun.Aas for 60 player MP Meh, personally I get tired of the spawn-die-spawn-die-spawn-die, zerg fest you tend to find in games with more than 20 players.

  • Ihya #25 4 years ago

    I'll have to buy it then. I thought the first one was kinda bland, but as we all know, co-op play turns a so-so game into an excellent game.

  • Diomedes #26 4 years ago

    I wonder how MS will defend themselves from two beasts as Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 headed to the core of their gaming fanbase ...

  • Ihya #27 4 years ago

    Diomedes, I expect Gears 2 to happen this fall so it'll keep some of the xbox faithful sated, but they'll bleed some of the FPS nuts to the playstation brand.

  • penguin_overlord #28 4 years ago

    Actually, the PS3 has a third FPS exclusive as well in the form of Haze (if it remains exclusive that is) and Unreal Tournament won't be out for the 360 until later this year at the earliest.

    The PS3 definitely has a more exciting line-up this year.

  • Skooch #29 4 years ago

    Great, a game that can support 60 chavs in one go - that'll be fun! Multiplayer games are great but anything beyond around 16-20 players just falls apart into a bore fest. There is no way that teams upwards of 8-10 players can organise themselves to do anything meaningful and instead of the buzz of some great team play going to plan you get frustration and irritation.

    And LOL at all the PS3 fanboys singing the praises of Resistance - it was bland, graphically poor and although had some nice ideas didn't seserve anything more than 7 - an entertaining game at best, but mediocre probably describes it better. A second installment really isn't all that.

  • Beano #30 4 years ago

    So basicly all people how looked past the initial 2-3 levels in Resistance and the color-less graphics, and discovered a great game which was even better online, is a PS3 fanboy ?

    Nice.

  • kangarootoo #31 4 years ago

    I also thought that unlocking new weapons only after a full playthrough was a mistake. Some of the unlocked weapons were the best in the game, and it was only chance that made me discover them.

    And lets try not to make this some console war issue please children.

  • Steroyd #32 4 years ago

    though I hope they come up with some more complex maps as currently 40 player games involve next to no stratagie.

    You break into seperate squads and even those squads even have their own lobbies!!

    Here's the details from Gameinformer (Warning: this coments section is going to get a little crowded heh heh)

    EDIT 1: HUGE cooperative game... EIGHT-PLAYER story-driven campaign along side single-player campaign. SIXTY-PLAYER Competitive modes... HUGE United States Landscapes as backdrops.

    EDIT 2: "It is, in short, a tour de force for the untapped might of the PlayStation 3"

    EDIT 3: Narrative stays with Hale the whole time... not Rachel. Hale shot down in Iceland, escapes to US and becomes part of program called Sentinels...

    EDIT 4: Chameleon.. Stalker with total cloaking ability

    EDIT 5: Overcoming stigma that boss encounters don't work in FPS games..

    EDIT 6: Eight player coop over PSN, two player local

    EDIT 7: CLASSES! Unique character with one of three basic templates... tank with heavy weaponry, special ops for distance (bullseye modified with zoom), medic

    I'm READING FAST!

    [link url=http://boards.ign.com/ps3_general_bo...7131205/p1/?13 ]http://bo ards.ign.com/ps3_general_bo...7...[/link]

    EDIT 8: Online matching... standard difficulty discarded for scaled challenges for team skill..

    EDIT 9: Partially randomized geometry... levels are different with each playthrough

    EDIT 10: again... 60 players online. want sense of epic b attle.. dont want fast-furious gameplay to be focus, more focused on squad v squad.

    EDIT 11: will log into smaller four-to-eight man lobbies for each squad... encouraging communication and camaraderie, squad will be tasked witha particular objective. careful level design aims to deliver intense combat zones or small team conflicts that flow within arena of larger battle.

    EDIT 12: Dedicated gaming community with stat servers for faster matchmaching than any console game of 2007. full-featured profile pages through myresistance.net will incorporate social networking concepts. open clan and party system to encourage community...no player invites needed.

    EDIT 13: Aiming to deliver mobile-phone-quality sound.

    EDIT 14: Futher tapped power of PS3... more enemies onscreen, better AI, better lighting and shaders (SCREENSHOTS LOOK AMAZING!!!). More comples normal mapping and detail mapping combine to deliver textures that look amazing from afar and at extremely close distances.

    EDIT 15: AI getting a lot more attention.. will scaled on-the-fly to players perspective and viewpoint... aka enemies cloesr to the player will actually have more spohisicated AI routines than those further away. assailants in your direct field of view received heightened intelligence. easily more cunning than before

    sorry for typos... typing fast

    EDIT 16: listened to complaints... working on solution to long checkpoints and health system. not positive what final solution will be.

    EDIT 17: "Our time playing was a blast"... each character class contributes in a unique way and "we loved the strategy-laden medic"... unique sense of teamwork

    EDIT 18: Mysterious "Cloven"

    EDIT 19: "Resistance 2 will be too epic to dismiss as anything but one of the biggest, boldest, and most high-reaching titles of 2008. It's a game that won't be ignored." [END ARTICLE]


    RELEASE: FALL 2008

    How do Insomiac do that!?

  • bioreit #33 4 years ago

    Looks good - R:FOM seemed like a flawed gem to me (coming from the fps-heavy PC/Xbox/360 background that I do) that looked promising, but was receiving a good reception due its platform, rather than explicitly objective criteria. Not a system-seller to me, but a definite budget-buy when I get a PS3 later on (the first one, I mean, not this one).

    Not too sure about the distinct single-player and co-op campaigns, though. Really didn't like the seperate campaigns in Rainbow Six: Vegas - vastly preferred the hop-in/hop-out co-op of Gears of War, etc.

    Put me down as quietly hopeful, with a weather eye out for more news.

    Edit 1: Speeling errurz. And clarifications.
    Edited by 2 at 14/01/08 @ 13:07

  • DrDamn #34 4 years ago

    @Skooch
    That from the man who once wrote about someone else ... "... - you're such a PS3 fanboy it's funny. Barely a comments section goes by without some trolling comment. Loser."

  • DrDamn #35 4 years ago

    One to watch but not hold your breath for I think. I agree Resistance was a flawed gem. It lacked consistent design - at least early on in the game where there were some very dull bits. There were some really good stuff though. Good frame rate and draw distance hint at what they could do without the restrictions and pressure of being an early launch title. The online stuff was slick and had lots of features and variety too.

    As for 60 player levels? They handled 32 very well from what I played. It just needs big enough levels to accomodate them.

  • Beano #36 4 years ago

    @DrDamn : R:FoM actually handles 40p games 99.5% lagfree but the worldwide server option can cause lag but very rare in my experience.

  • DrDamn #37 4 years ago

    Ah sorry - yes it does - been a while since I played. Quite an achievement when other console games start to stutter badly at levels not even close to that. You do need map size and game modes to support that level of play. If vehicles are going to be included then increased map size is also needed. You just need a game mode which focuses people on particular points to bring some cohesion to the game experience.

  • Beano #38 4 years ago

    As I wrote earlier - based on the very brief description on one of the scanned screenshots... 60p games in R2 sound like it *could* be something like Warhawk with multiple battle areas/zones and vehicles in a single map. But that's only (wild?) speculation on my part ;)
    Edited by 2 at 14/01/08 @ 15:09

  • Scimarad #39 4 years ago

    Unfortunately it failed to command top-end scores...because you lot are around the bend!

  • frankthurk #40 4 years ago

    > and a disappointing range of weaponry

    Seriously? Complain about other things all you want but this is just ridiculous and seriously calls into question either weather you guys actually played through the game or are just out of your mind.

  • AHiFi #41 4 years ago

    Black Hawk Down for the Xbox managed 50 on Xbox Live. That was fun. Shame about the game.