The J-TAC

Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: uk.playstation.com Unlike its predecessor, "Resistance 2" only allows players to carry two guns at a time when blasting enemy Chimera.

The annual lull in video game production has come once again, which finally gives me a chance to review some of the games from this past holiday season that I didn't have time to do before.

"Resistance 2" comes to us from Insomniac Games, the same people who made such memorable classics as the first three "Spyro the Dragon" games, all of the "Ratchet and Clank" games and "Resistance: Fall of Man.w" With such a wonderful platforming background it's surprising to see that these developers could create such a great first person shooter, but have done so twice.

"Resistance 2" is set in an alternate post World War II era where the Chimera (the alien enemies encountered in the first game) have overtaken Britain and have now set their sights on the United States. You play as Lieutenant Nathan Hale, same as the previous game, who is now part of the group known as the Sentinels. This group is comprised of several people who, like Hale, have been exposed to the Chimeran virus but have not changed into one yet. You and your group of Sentinels must fight the invading Chimeran threat.

The gameplay in "Resistance 2" is good. The handling and controls are similar to the last two installments in the "Call of Duty" franchise, which is never a bad thing. There is a co-op mode in this game which makes the player play through an entirely different story line than in the single player campaign, as well as an extensive multiplayer mode. Some of the problems with the guns in the first game have been resolved. For instance, the Auger, a gun that shoots through walls, lets you actually see the enemies through walls, rather than just guessing where they might be.

The sounds and music are good as well. There's nothing particularly spectacular about them, but they're still good. The visuals, however, could have used a bit more polishing. They're good, but there are some textures that look fairly flat and some water effects that could use some serious work.

Other than the texture problems this game is nearly flawless, except for one major problem. Fans of "Resistance: Fall of Man" will be disappointed to know that the beloved inventory that allowed you to carry all of the guns at the same time is not present in "Resistance 2." Instead, the developers favored the more conventional "two gun at a time" gameplay style, which made me rather sad.

One other drawback to "Resistance 2" is that it's a Playstation 3 exclusive, meaning that Xbox 360 owners won't be able to experience this great game. This game has some rather innovative weapons to use. "Resistance 2" is a great game that is part of a great franchise that will hopefully continue for quite some time.

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