Resistance 3
Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma Chimereon
FORMAT PS3 / YEAR 2011 / PUB SONY / DEV INSOMNIAC GAMES / ISSUE OPM #63 / SCORE 8/10
65 We’re hiding in the remains of a small traditional American diner. The wet and muddied personal effects of its long-dead occupants are scattered across the floor. We scramble to reach a grenade made from a tin can and a handful of nails. Sounds like The Last Of Us? But it’s not. Resistance 3 predates Naughty Dog’s survival classic by two years.
You can play this final chapter of Resistance on PS Now, and though the previous games aren’t playable on PS4 or PS Now this entry is so distinct from the others they won’t be missed.
ROAD TRIPPED
Set in an alternative 1957, you play as Corporal Joseph Capelli, the last remaining member of the elite Sentinels and killer of the series’ hero Lieutenant Nathan Hale – the die was cast as the original protagonist mutated into one of the invading aliens threatening to wipe out mankind. Living with the guilt, but now married with a son, Capelli is one of PlayStation’s most interesting leads. A flawed hero embarking on a mission to prevent the Chimera from opening a wormhole over New York City and plunging the world into a new ice age, Capelli is doing it all to save his son, not the world. The world forced him to shoot his friend dead. The world can go to hell.
What follows is one of PlayStation’s most memorable road trips across the oftenoverlooked cities and states of America. The mist-shrouded Mississippi River jaunt, in which alien eyes peer from the gloom and the sound of war machines is audible through the murk, is pure War Of The Worlds. While the alien threat is obvious, the danger from greedy and lost human survivors gives Resistance 3 a darker layer to explore.
Amid the proto-Last-Of-Us gloom developer Insomniac is able to have fun with its weapons. The Ratchet & Clank team know how to create a unique gun or two, and this shooter’s artistic blend of alien tech and human weapons cobbled together from found parts is certainly unique.
While it lacks some of the flair of modern shooters – there’s no cover fire system – the blend of classic strafe and shoot gameplay with playful weapons, and that end-of-the-world art direction lift Resistance 3 above the competition.
We’ve come to accept there will never be a new game in this overlooked series, but we couldn’t have asked for a better instalment to sign off with. Resistance 3 is a classic worth playing, now.