"A great way to kick off next-gen"

Resistance: Fall of Man is a first person shooter which recounts the exploits of Sgt. Nathan Hale in the campaign against the Chimera, an aggressive species intent on dominating all of Asia and Europe, and with the ability to strengthen their numbers with every human death with a virus that converts dead bodies into new Chimera. This game offers excellent single player and multi-player modes, and a great story. If you have a PS3, then this game definitely belongs in your game library.

Graphics: 8/10
Next-gen visuals look great in this game. From the opening scene of the campaign to the multiplayer battlefield, everything looks sharp and clear, and there is no slowdown. When you get up close to the body of a Chimera, you can really see the detail put into them. The only problem is that there are a limited number of Chimera enemy models. I can forgive this fact because they are supposed to be a virus like race. However, it shouldn't be like that for the humans, who should all look different. You don't spend that much time looking at each humans face anyway, so it's not a big deal.

The environments all look good, with lots of detail. Building rubble, foliage, destroyed cars in the roads, and the size of each area look great. Try shooting at a glass window and look at the amazing effects.

Its maximum HD resolution is 720p and it looks terrific. Overall you will not be disappointed with these graphics.

Sound: 7/10
The reason sound gets a seven is because few sounds really stand out when you play the game. All of the guns sound as you would think they should. When you're in the middle of a fight you can hear guns and explosions all around you, and you can hear NPCs in campaign yelling to each other for cover or to pass them some ammo. The Chimera don't really make that much noise unless you're shooting them and they are growling from it. The music is more noticeable during calm breaks in between the action, and you don't notice it during frantic skirmishes with Chimera.

Controls: 9/10
If you've played a FPS on PS2, or even Xbox/360, then you'll be familiar with the controls for this game. It used a tried and true layout. Shoot your primary with R1, secondary with L1, crouch with L2, and change weapons by tapping R2, or hold it down to bring up a menu displaying each available weapon. Movement with the analog stick is easy. An added bonus is if a Chimera grabs you, you shake the sixaxis controller to free yourself. The controls are easy to use, and for beginners, easy to learn.

Story: 8/10
The story in Resistance: Fall of Man follows Sgt. Nathan Hale through several days of fighting the chimera, helping turn the tide in the fight against their domination of an entire continent. At the beginning of the game, you learn that there were reports of Russia conducting strange biological experiments and that this is possibly the source of the Chimera. You learn more about them by picking up intel throughout each stage. It provides more background as well as hints about fighting the Chimera. The story is well done and keeps you playing the campaign to the end.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay in Resistance: Fall of Man is what sets it apart from other shooters. Most other shooters will give you the “one man army” feel, in which you can simply charge through all the enemies who run in fear from your insane amount of firepower. In Resistance, you can't do that. Yes, you are better than most of the other humans fighting by your side, but this game really gives you the feel of being just another guy in the war. You have to take cover as much as the Chimera do or you will be toast in no time.

Levels range from open skirmishes in the streets of England to just you in a Chimeran complex, and the balance between them is perfect so you don't get too much of either one. There are vehicles in some of the levels too. You get to drive the tank and the off road vehicle early on, and driving them is simple and fun. The tank is controlled with both analog sticks, and you go wherever the turret points. You can either drive the off road vehicle, sit in the passenger seat, or man the machine gun in the back. The vehicles add a lot of fun to the game.

In campaign mode you'll notice that your health is broken up into four bars. At first, there is no way to recover your health. But early in the game, you gain the ability to regenerate one bar of your health if you don't lose all of it. This comes in very handy.

The variety of weapons is a major draw to this game for many people, and there is something for everyone. Included are your basic carbine, shotgun, and sniper rifle; but this game has very creative weapons. There are guns that can shoot through walls, guns that shoot bullets that ricochet off every surface, cluster mine guns, just to name a few. You also have grenades. There is your standard frag grenade, and then there's the hedgehog, which jumps up into the air about a meter after thrown and launches metal spikes in every direction. Another grenade is the fuel air grenade, which sticks to any surface, emits a highly flammable gas in the area, and then explosively ignites. The great variety of weapons adds a high level of strategy in both campaign and multiplayer modes.

Multiplayer supports up to 40 people in a match, and offers many different modes. They are all familiar to anyone who has played a FPS online, they just have different names.

Overall: 9/10
Resistance: Fall of Man is great looking, great playing FPS that any PS3 owner should have. It is very easy to pick up and play, and offers hours of replay value with a great campaign and excellent online multiplayer.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/07