• Posted September 15th, 2008 at 16:16 EDT by Eric Blattberg
• 48 Comments

Resistance: Fall of Man was the clear standout title at the launch of the PlayStation 3. Many of us look back at the game fondly as our first PlayStation 3 title. We remember playing and replaying the campaign, then hopping online for a quick dose of multiplayer, only to stay on until the sun left the sky and our friends wondered what had become of us.

With such a full set of modes in the original, we used to wonder what Insomniac could actually do in order to improve the game's sequel, other than perhaps touching up the graphics and including a few new weapons. We're not wondering any more. As the game's launch date creeps closer and closer, our anticipation for Resistance 2 continues to rise for a multitude of reasons. There are so many reasons, in fact, that we were easily able to compile a list of the top 10 reasons we're so excited for the game. Let the list begin!

Here's the thing: lots of studios launch great titles, but Insomniac hasn't made any bad games. Not one. Their lowest rated game on Metacritic, Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, has a 76 average. Resistance: Fall of Man has an 86 average. Simply put, Insomniac's titles maintain an incredibly high standard of quality, and we expect Resistance 2 to continue the trend.

From the rocky, windblown crags of Iceland to the remnants of 1950s Chicago decimated by war, Resistance 2 will lead players across a variety of entrancing areas. The full list of confirmed locales includes San Francisco, CA; Orick, CA; Twin Falls, ID; Chicago, IL; and Iceland. Featuring epic scale without forgetting the minute details, the environments look to top those in the first game by a massive margin. We can't wait to explore them.

Multiplayer seems to be wholly online-oriented these days, but there's a reason we endure squinting at a fourth of the screen as often as we play online –– playing with buddies on the couch next to you is plain, old-fashioned fun. Luckily, Resistance 2 has both of the offline multiplayer bases covered. Not only can you team up as a two-man Chimera-killing team running through the game's unique cooperative mode split-screen, but there's also competitive four-player offline play you can use to remind your friends who's boss when they start getting too cocky for your liking.

Resistance 2 may have you venture into brand new locales, but you can be sure to encounter familiar foes. The Chimera are back and stronger than ever. As Hale continues to resist their torment, new enemy types will find increasingly more effective ways of dispatching him. The Grim will overpower you with their sheer numbers, charging repeatedly in tireless packs. Chameleons will, as their name implies, cloak themselves and catch you unaware. Ravagers will smack you senseless, and then take cover behind their shields. A rumored Chimera type, the Fury, is said to lurk in the waters. In total, 12 new Chimeran enemies will be making their debut in Resistance 2, and we can't wait to kill each and every one of them.

With such strong opposition, you’ve got to have a powerful arsenal to blast your way through the game alive. Luckily, the folks at Insomniac are renowned for their brilliant weapon design, and Resistance 2 is an opportunity for them to display their creative prowess. While old favorites like the Bullseye and L23 Fareye are returning, some new tech will inevitably see the light of day as you trudge through wave after wave of Chimeran foe. Expect a semi-automatic rifle dubbed the Marksman, a .44 Magnum revolver with an “explosive” secondary fire, a massive chain-gun which will tear through Chimeran flesh, and a blade-flinging weapon called the Splicer to make their debut among others. In a notable difference from the first game, you'll only be able to carry two firearms at once, rather than the game's entire weapon set. This design decision will help Insomniac better "direct" each enemy encounter. They can generally control what weapons you'll use in a specific situation, lending them more creative freedom.

The Leviathan is 300 feet tall. Just to give you some perspective, that's approximately the height of a 30-story building. And you've got to bring it to the ground. While we don't expect every boss battle in Resistance 2 to have such epic scale, it's clear that a lot of thought and effort is going into making these encounters exciting and memorable. We can't wait to play through the game and see who else -- or what else -- we get the chance to face off against.

Everyone remembers Resistance: Fall of Man as a game with great gameplay and an average presentation. Why? Because it came out right around the same time as Epic Games' visual masterpiece, Gears of War. With Resistance 2 slated to launch on the exact same day as Gears of War 2, gamers will inevitably begin drawing conclusions once again. Even if Resistance 2 doesn't end up on top, there's plenty to suggest it'll put up a much better fight than the original. Textures and normal maps have been entirely overhauled, the lighting system has been completely revamped to include dynamic lights and self-shadowing, character movement is now based on motion capture instead of hand-animation, engine upgrades allow for larger vistas and enemies, and so on. And that's without any hitches or framerate drops. For all you non-techy people, the gist of that is that it'll look really, really pretty. Be aware that Insomniac likes to nail the gameplay before polishing the graphics, so the game will look much better than the E3 media or even the closed beta suggest.

Imagine drop in, drop out online co-op with a unique campaign, eight players slots, three character classes, and difficulty that dynamically scales based on the number of players present. Well, imagine no longer, for it will soon become reality. Resistance 2's online cooperative play is the most ambitious ever seen in any game. Whether people cooperate and act as a team is up to the group, but the developers are doing all they can to provide an amazing framework for players, and we're duly impressed.

Nathan Hale walks wearily up a snowy hillside, head hanging, about to collapse. A helicopter descends. Several men step out and forcefully escort Hale back to the copter. Cue Resistance 2. The game literally begins with the final cinematic from Resistance: Fall of Man, which then seamlessly transitions into the Resistance 2 intro sequence. You'll immediately notice a few distinct differences -- the narrator is gone, and Hale seems to have acquired vocal chords. Additionally, the use of motion capture and the InterSense camera create a vast improvement in cinematic direction. As for the actual plot, we can't wait to see how it plays out. Who exactly are The Cloven? Why was Hale able to resist the virus? What's the deal with that yellow shimmer in his eyes? Resistance: Fall of Man had an intriguing, intricate storyline, and we're eager to delve deeper into the alternate history of Resistance.

40 fight a skirmish, 60 wage a war. At least, that's what Resistance 2's competitive multiplayer aims to achieve. Before it came out, people said that Fall of Man's multiplayer would be hectic, messy, and unorganized. It wasn't, at least not when it wasn't intended to be, which is why we believe Ted Price when he says that not only will Resistance 2's massive 60-player multiplayer battles work, but they'll be a perfect balance of intimate play and massive warfare. Each side is divided into squads at the beginning of each game, which are assigned specific tasks to accomplish across the battlefield. Every squad faces an opposing rival squad, which will have a set of objectives that inversely mimics your own. So, if your squad's objective is to defend a certain point, your rival squad will be ordered to attack that area. Objectives change intelligently based on each team's actions and performance. Sometimes you'll fight off a faction of five or six, and other times you'll be pitted against two dozen or more enemies. It's an inventive system that keeps people focused and gameplay unique. Couple all of that with a merit system that rewards good players in a fair fashion, and the competitive multiplayer becomes the top reason that we're stoked for Resistance 2.