Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3) - Part 9

Channel:

Louis B

Subscribers:

2,490

Published on July 8, 2020 11:00:12 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmZv_CIjJ80

Game:

Resistance: Fall of Man (2006)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 44:43

60 views

2

Nearly fifteen years ago, the Playstation 3 released to a surprisingly lukewarm reception. It was a dark time to be a fan of the system, with the sparse line-up of games doing little to convince it was worth the steep $599 price tag. However, there did exist one in particular that challenged this notion - Resistance: Fall of Man.

With no level of hyperbole, Resistance is as close as Sony might ever get to making a “Halo killer” and it seems peculiar even saying that. While certainly Resistance had its fair shake of attention, especially at E3 when it was demonstrated live by Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price, it ultimately was seen as the odd pre-requisite launch shooter and nothing more. The reason I say this is that Resistance gets the right things right: The controls are tight and responsive, the weapons and challenge are varied, map design is paced appropriately from set-piece to set-piece and even vehicle sequences never overstay their welcome.

For its time, Resistance had a unique look, taking the overtired World War 2 shooter in a different direction. There is a pseudo-historical alternate reality setting, with the mysterious origin of the alien threat of the Chimera providing an interesting enough myth-arc to keep players hooked.

Perhaps another reason I enjoy Resistance so much is that it anticipates and avoids first-person shooter tropes popularised infamously by the likes of Call of Duty 4 and Battlefield 3. For instance, there is a helpful aim assist in Resistance that guides shots but ADS, snap ’n' lock, shooting does not exist at all. Similarly, you have regenerating health but it is limited in four struts, and you have to be conscious of your available health pick-ups because of it. Conserving and returning for health and ammo in levels is genuinely something you have to consider.

While it is true the brown and beiges of Resistance’s visual make-up are now generally mocked and parodied as the de-facto template of seventh generation action games, it made this work to the benefit the game’s mood and atmosphere to the more tense moments in the experience. The protagonist, Nathan Hale, is very much a generic bald white guy, but on this occasion, this bald white guy is purposefully silent and dehumanised as if to invoke the feeling that he is not all that different from the Chimera himself. The design of Resistance throughout is thoughtful in that way and not enough credit is given to acknowledge the hard-work Insomniac Games put into realising it.

I first played Resistance: Fall of Man during either 2008 or 2009, not far removed from the point of which its sequel had hit store shelves and had really begun to usher in the beginning of better things for Playstation 3. Though, with the quality of its presentation, and the measures Insomniac had gone to make the first Resistance as strong of a game as it was, you could have fooled me by saying it were a new release at that time. By 2009, Resistance, as well the Playstation 3 itself, would have gone through numerous updates and revisions to improve the endmost experience, but the fact it felt so smooth and played so well goes to show how outstanding its design actually was.

In all, I really can’t recommend Resistance enough. Please go play it.

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Some Necessary Pointers:
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-This entire playthrough is played on Hard Difficulty as it is treated as the first playthrough of Resistance. I may eventually play the game on Superhuman with the New Game+ weapons but it is not something I plan on doing just yet.

-While I do collect all the available intel pickups with each level, I avoided doing the skill points for the most part. Skill points again are something I can do on the second playthrough.

-Audio Capture was made using AC3 5.1 Dolby Digital however I opted to down-mix this for Dolby Pro Logic II, so if you happen to have a sound system that decodes it, you should still have surround sound listening to this video series. Otherwise, you should still be able to enjoy these videos in stereo format.

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A LEGAL NOTICE:
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Any copyrighted footage I use is covered under fair use laws, or more specifically those listed under Section 30(1) of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1989 and under section 107 of US Copyright Act 1976. This video exists purely for the purpose of research and criticism. I do not make a profit from any uploaded content, nor do I intend to. Thank you for watching.

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