Resistance 2 Thread

[duckman2000]

I don't think I've ever played one that even had zombies. The last one I played was in Orick, pretty intense but ended with a really lame encounter with an immobile Stalker. Co-op is overall just far too dependent on people knowing how to use their class-specific abilities.

[AdmiralViscen]

Cool, the game froze again.

[duckman2000]

That's really weird, that's never happened to me. And my system is usually prone to freezing up.

[WrikaWrek]

The IGN review really forced that 9.5 

Their Fallout 3 overrating is hilarious too, IGN sucks.

[duckman2000]

Neat SP screen. Sort of an R&Cish creature, but it meshes pretty well with the Resistance look.

[duckman2000]

Alright, got to that fucking Stalker again. Is that all it does, sit there? The Stalkers in R1 were dangerous as hell due to their speed and ability to traverse littered paths, but this one just sits there. Bug?

[WrikaWrek]

The IGN review really forced that 9.5

IGN throw out a 9.5 and their credibility with people suddenly goes up.

this is why i tried to goad GEFFots into nominating who had credibility prior to big game reviews.

Only Parrish was named for MGS4, everyone else ignored my post like it was TEH ADIS KOSMA VIRUS

Of course. Hypocrisy is but a nice blanket where fandom finds welcome.

[patrickula]

I tried this for a bit this evening, having only played a bit of Resistance 1.  The only gun that felt good to me was the default human assault rifle and maybe the shotgun... which felt pretty meh as far as shotguns go.  Had an OK time but didn't really feel special at all to me.  59 other dudes were in a game with me but I couldn't tell.  Just ran wherever it told me and fought whatever enemy dudes I saw... they all look the same anyway 
Most interesting to me was XP accumulation.  I love me some XP, and in a game without great weapon feedback, the floating numbers help.  The zoom/iron sights are lame-o.

Coop dumped me nowhere near anyone else, then when I got to the bad guys I died right away and spawned in the middle of the enemy swarms.  Wonky shit, I guess you really need to know your party and what the hell you're doing on a map.

[AdmiralViscen]

What does the EXP even do? Is it just Halo 3 style rank ups, or do you actually get perks and shit?

[cool breeze]

I only unlocked one level in the brief time I played co-op, but it unlocked an extra gun for me.  It also unlocks other skills/perks to use and armor.

[cool breeze]

B+ from 1up.  I think thats either a 8.5 or 9 on the number scale.

[Smooth Groove]

They got rid of the narrator?  It was one of the few things that I liked about Resistance. 

[duckman2000]

Is the review worth reading?

They got rid of the narrator?  It was one of the few things that I liked about Resistance. 

Critics bitched up a mighty storm about the narrator. Granted that they could have found some middle ground that allowed her to stay in, but I can totally understand why they took her out.

[Mr. Gundam]

They got rid of the narrator?  It was one of the few things that I liked about Resistance. 

I really liked the narrator and the British Army guy you hook up with in the second half of the game. Too bad neither are in R2.

[cool breeze]

The British Army guy (wasn't his name Pierce or something?) was cool, but the narrator was a bit boring.  The one cutscene they have shown of R2 was cool if only because it had a Predator vibe to it, plus they made the Jason Statham guy an asshole.  All I remember about him R1 was turning and looking at the camera before the level began.

[Smooth Groove]

Is the review worth reading?

They got rid of the narrator?  It was one of the few things that I liked about Resistance. 

Critics bitched up a mighty storm about the narrator. Granted that they could have found some middle ground that allowed her to stay in, but I can totally understand why they took her out.

Why?

The narrator in R1 was a good voice actor.  She made everything sound more epic. 

[Bebpo]

They got rid of the narrator?  It was one of the few things that I liked about Resistance. 

I really liked the narrator and the British Army guy you hook up with in the second half of the game. Too bad neither are in R2.

Agreed.  I thought the presentation in Resistance was really good for an FPS.  I really enjoyed the story.

Hopefully whatever changes to the presentation are made for R2 are for the better.  While I think Insomniac is a great company, I don't think their games are consistently great.  Some are awesome, some are just good.

[Smooth Groove]

Because the campaign -- with its lavish production values, interesting enemies, and terrific boss fights -- is so much better than the one in Resistance, its annoyances become more prominent. The most aggravating: Ninety percent of the time, the enemies only target you specifically. That's fine if you're the only guy around...but when you're with a squad of fellow badasses, it's a bit illusion-shattering. Two of your buddies are pelting a Titan with rockets and gunfire, and somehow the Titan makes a beeline to you -- even if you're not doing anything. The Chameleon -- a Chimera straight out of Predator -- only decloaks to attack you, brushing by two redshirt A.I. soldiers and swiping you with a one-hit-kill swing. Grims come rushing out of the woodwork -- and, hey look, they all swarm right toward you! It's damn annoying.

This bothers me the most.  Sounds like R2 has that typical Insomniac aim-bot AI again. 

I'm still getting it though.  The huge boss fights sound awesome. 

[duckman2000]

Why?

The narrator in R1 was a good voice actor.  She made everything sound more epic. 

I guess they needed something to bitch about.

Critics

This bothers me the most.  Sounds like R2 has that typical Insomniac aim-bot AI again. 

I'm still getting it though.  The huge boss fights sound awesome. 

What games differ in this way, though? It seems pretty standard that enemy attention is focused on you. Hell, one game even made a point out of introducing a special ability given to you that would turn this around so that enemies would focus on your teammate, but the base behavior was still "get THAT guy!"

[duckman2000]

Hopefully whatever changes to the presentation are made for R2 are for the better.  While I think Insomniac is a great company, I don't think their games are consistently great.  Some are awesome, some are just good.

I used to consider Insomniac one of the best and most consistent suppliers of purely entertaining games, which is a surprisingly rare. I don't think Insomniac has ever broken the barrier and hit genuine greatness, and at this point, I'm sort of expecting them to. Resistance 1 felt like a stab at it (and at competing with other games in the genre, and in the process I think it lost some of the entertainment value of their earlier games. Ratchet was a fine-tuned Ratchet, nothing more and nothing less. It looked marvelous and was Ratchet-fun, but I'm not sure if that was a necessary game. We'll see where this one falls.

[cool breeze]

Ratchet 2 was 'greatness' from them imo.  I don't think they have topped it yet and I'm hoping R2 can.

[duckman2000]

That's true, and I'm a bit surprised by how many people point at UYA as the best of Insomniac. Not a bad game, but it felt like they had already begun itching to make a gritty FPS. But then I also consider Deadlocked to be a better shooter than Resistance 1, so I tend to be excluded from discussions on Insomniac highs and lows.

[duckman2000]

a battle against hefty Titans (who sport rocket launchers now, by the way)

A bit like in Resistance 1, then?

The Bullseye still fires homing bullets, and it also comes in a more powerful "Mark II" mode (it fires blue bullets that inflict more damage than the regular yellow-bullet-belching Bullseye)

A bit like in Resistance 1, then?

two new grenades (my favorite explosive -- the fuel-air explosive -- now comes in grenade form

A bit like in Resistance 1, then?

Critics 


All those fuck-ups, and the tards on NeoGAF are focusing on him mislabeling a gun? Amateurs.

[cool breeze]

I put the disk in, then I see I need to update my PS3 software...5-10 minutes. Load up the game and see I need to download the game update...another 5 or so minutes.  Game actually loads up this time and it needs to install...2 minutes (according to them).  Come on

[Smooth Groove]

From what I heard in the latest 1up podcast, R2's SP is just as stale as R1's.  I hope they've at least improved the graphics.  Otherwise, I can't think of any reason why I'd pick it up since I ain't gonna play MP. 

[cool breeze]

So far it's alright.  It's scripted like crazy, but it isn't so much like CoD4 where you're taken from room to room so your ass can be filled with grenades; it just feels like you're always rushing for some reason, you just don't know why.  It's a lot less arcade/halo like and more like CoD now.  Actually, the CoD influence is sticking out a lot in this game.  It's a bit because it still feels like Halo despite being forced to play it like CoD.

Graphically it is also a bit weird.  It's really uneven in terms of quality, and even the parts that look good (like the amazing water) get a bit ruined since you have your shimmering gun on the screen.  It's actually reminding me a bit of the graphical transition from Halo 1 to Halo 2.  So many unnecessary effects in places they don't belong.  Still, that whole "SCALE" thing they've been pushing is already apparent and that stuff is impressive, but not so much appealing to look at.

I almost forgot the biggest problem, and one that actually sort of bothers me -- the fov.  Normal view is close up enough (and it almost seems like it's on a bias to make it feel higher), but when you sprint it zooms way in to the point where it is just annoying.  At least they have sprint in single player now.

If I sound overly negative, well, there are bad parts and despite them I'm enjoying the game.  I think it's because it's just the start of the game that I'm feeling this way, because what their doing is another weird thing.  In the first two levels you use almost every weapon from the first game (that remained in R2).  It's weird considering how long it took to get some of them in Resistance 1.  The two new weapons are pretty awesome so far.

[duckman2000]

From what I heard in the latest 1up podcast, R2's SP is just as stale as R1's.  I hope they've at least improved the graphics.  Otherwise, I can't think of any reason why I'd pick it up since I ain't gonna play MP. 

That would then be the only outlet I've seen that have suggested that. Not surprising, given 1up's aggressively shitty nature, what with being staffed with aggressively shitty shitholes. Did you see the "review round-up?" And the review, good grief. 1up, the distinguished mentally-challenged shitmuncher's choice.

If anything, the SP seems to be too different from the first for my taste. I was hoping that they'd make it more cartoony and over the top, but it sounds like it's been tailored to go straight for Halo and COD. Smart move on their part, I guess, but I'm not convinced that I'm going to be in for that ride.

[Smooth Groove]

From what I heard in the latest 1up podcast, R2's SP is just as stale as R1's.  I hope they've at least improved the graphics.  Otherwise, I can't think of any reason why I'd pick it up since I ain't gonna play MP. 

That would then be the only outlet I've seen that have suggested that. Not surprising, given 1up's aggressively shitty nature, what with being staffed with aggressively shitty shitholes. Did you see the "review round-up?" And the review, good grief. 1up, the distinguished mentally-challenged shitmuncher's choice.

If anything, the SP seems to be too different from the first for my taste. I was hoping that they'd make it more cartoony and over the top, but it sounds like it's been tailored to go straight for Halo and COD. Smart move on their part, I guess, but I'm not convinced that I'm going to be in for that ride.

I dunno.  Swaggaz's impressions sound pretty much like what the 1up guy is saying.

The 1up guy's complaint was that R2's SP tries too hard to imitate other popular shooters and therefore lacks its own identity.  That's how I felt about R1. 

It just seems that instead of copying from Halo and Half-life, Insomniac has chosen to follow in COD's path w/R2. 

Frankly, the scores for the reviews I've read seem far too generous compared to what the reviewers actually say about the game. 

[duckman2000]

Must be some selective reading, as I don't think I've read many review that have claimed that it lacks identity. The 1up review was ridiculously positive, if shit. It even had cloaked references to mythical standards, like any modern review should have.

I guess what I don't get is a complaint about creating more of the same, when more of the same is exactly what people want. It still takes place in the same universe which already had a shit ton of back story in R1, and it still has a good crop of Insomniac-style weaponry, so the differences seem to be in scale, gameplay and to some part presentation. And for fuck's sake, what other shooter these days even feature bosses, let alone with this variety and on this scale?

And barring the idiotic vehicle sequences, I'm not sure exactly which shooter R1 copied. It felt a good deal more unique than what I've played of R2, and with its weapon (and weapon selection) complexity and speed felt more like a PC shooter than anything on consoles.

[Smooth Groove]

WTF do you keep talking about mythical standards for?  R1's SP was average by NORMAL standards and it looks like R2 will most likely be the same. 

Also, I was talking about the 1up guy on the podcast who mentioned that R2 lacks identity. 

I don't see how that has to do with me thinking the game is being overrated anyways.  In almost every review, the lukewarm comments about the game's SP just haven't been consistent with the 9s it's getting. 

Unless, a shooter is obviously MP focused like UT3 or Quake Wars, a 9 should mean that the SP is at least very good. 

[duckman2000]

WTF do you keep talking about mythical standards for?  R1's SP was average by NORMAL standards and it looks like R2 will most likely be the same. 

Also, I was talking about the 1up guy on the podcast who mentioned that R2 lacks identity. 

I don't see how that has to do with me thinking the game is being overrated anyways.  In almost every review, the lukewarm comments about the game's SP just haven't been consistent with the 9s it's getting. 

Unless, a shooter is obviously MP focused like UT3 or Quake Wars, a 9 should mean that the SP is at least very good. 

Which, incidentally, is what the reviews have generally claimed, were you not selectively picking out single negative phrases to fill in the blanks in your preconceived notion of the game's nature. Hell, find me some reviews that suggests that Resistance 2 SP borders on just average. If anything, the MP has been the neglected child in reviews, which is odd given how deep it is.

And, considering what has actually been mentioned in reviews combined with the scores it has been given, saying that it's average most certainly suggests a reference to a mythical standards. No normal standards, for sure.

For me, I wish reviews were less enthusiastic about it, maybe that could mean that it's still Resistance and not just this years New Big Dumb FPS.

[Smooth Groove]

I guess what I don't get is a complaint about creating more of the same, when more of the same is exactly what people want.

IMO, Insomniac didn't reallly nail the level designs, control mechanics or AI in their first game so more of the same in those areas wouldn't be a good thing. 

Things that I liked about R1 were its atmosphere and story telling.  I'm not worried about those areas though.   Insomniac has traditionally been strong at them. 

I guess I'll have to see for myself when I try it out this weekend. TBH, it'd be hard for R2 to disappoint me.  My expectations for the SP aren't great after what I've heard and read about it. 

Which, incidentally, is what the reviews have generally claimed, were you not selectively picking out single negative phrases to fill in the blanks in your preconceived notion of the game's nature. Hell, find me some reviews that suggests that Resistance 2 SP borders on just average. If anything, the MP has been the neglected child in reviews, which is odd given how deep it is.

And, considering what has actually been mentioned in reviews combined with the scores it has been given, saying that it's average most certainly suggests a reference to a mythical standards. No normal standards, for sure.

For me, I wish reviews were less enthusiastic about it, maybe that could mean that it's still Resistance and not just this years New Big Dumb FPS.

This is just a random review that I picked from gamerankings.  http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=975931oes

Does this sound like a 9 to you? 

The AI of the game is a little hit and miss. There are times when it seems the dev team replaced tactics with inane rushes in numbers. One particularly hazardous scene is in Twin Falls in a theater where the former residents assault the player and his AI teammates. Forget your teammates, they do little to draw off the spawn simply because they are not the focus of the attack – you are. So you can run around, try to separate the creatures into smaller manageable groupings, but don’t expect your ‘teammates’ to actually do anything to aid you. That is a failing of the game. Perhaps the Chimera are mentally bereft in spite of the technology they wield, but it took brains somewhere along the line to implement the building of the technology, but that mental acuity is missing from the peons and even boss battles. And as the challenge ramps up slightly during the game, you may find yourself standing in the middle of a swarm, while your AI-guided teammates stand about shooting, but not doing much damage.



While Resistance 2 is a solid game, the way the game is directed feels, at times, a bit forced. What is bonafide, though, is the feeling of growing urgency, of growing terror that is coupled with a bit of persistent despair. This is a well-crafted game, but without a tidbit of hope, it can also leave a bit of a depressing aftertaste. Still, for gamers looking for a thrill ride, R2 is definitely it this winter.


The game is rather linear in the single-player campaign mode. Sure you can up the ante by altering the difficulty settings, but that’s about it. Still, if you want to collect all the trophies available, you will spend some time here. For other comments about the gameplay, you need to refer to comments connected to the graphics in the section below.

The control schemes are easy to use, but be prepared for load times. The AI is also not as good as it could have been. If you do die, you can expect the Chimera to pop from the same locations in the next attempt at the area.

[cool breeze]

What review is that? "be prepared for load times"? what? It isn't CoD4 instant, but respawning after dying is under 5 seconds and between missions the cutscenes mask the loading.  Also, at least in the missions so far the AI teammates did do damage.

The main feeling I'm having with this game is that it's really odd.  The first two missions felt like the CoD stuff with weird orange glow graphics and all that, then the two following are great and play like you would expect a sequel to Resistance to play.  The graphics also get a big bump up from those initial missions, although it's still not amazing looking game.  It's odd because the ho-hum starting missions end with a boss battle, then after that it becomes the fun arcade-like Resistance gameplay.  It almost feels like the start was meant as a joke to other games that are somewhat similar, then they whip out the big ass boss enemies and try to show how it's different...but that would just be incredibly stupid to still have more than a hour of gameplay that isn't much fun.  Now I'm worried that there will be another big turn in the game where it becomes different yet again; maybe it could be for the better, but right now it is the enjoyable Resistance 1 gameplay, only better.  The three new weapons so far are great, especially the revolver.  You can shoot 4 enemies at once, then hit alt fire and watch them all explode into gibs at the same time.

One thing did bother me that I noticed and that's the respawning enemies.  It isn't like CoD4 where they come out of the same area over and over again for you to kill, it's more the enemies that you are supposed to run past that keep coming back.  It was annoying because I thought I was supposed to kill them...guess not.

[Bebpo]

I played the first level.  The graphics are pretty last-gen PC game but the scale of environments is nice.  

Gameplay does feel really different from the first.  In the first game I played it like I play Dead Space.  I walk around at my own pace and scope out every room, taking each fight as they come with as much strategy as possible.  The start of this game was just RUN RUN SHOOT RUN RUN SHOOT.  Hopefully it lets me play at my own pace later.

I loved R1's SP campaign.  The first 3 or so levels suck, but once you get to Manchester I found the atmosphere, the intense challenging fights, and the story to be excellent.  To me R1's SP campaign is up there with Halo and Half-life for fantastic sci-fi FPS experiences.  I'm reaaaaaaally hoping they don't fuck it up, but I'm wary after the intro.  I don't like the in your face story.  I preferred the x-files mystery feel of the original where you were trying to piece together what is happening.

[duckman2000]

I guess what I don't get is a complaint about creating more of the same, when more of the same is exactly what people want.

IMO, Insomniac didn't reallly nail the level designs, control mechanics or AI in their first game so more of the same in those areas wouldn't be a good thing. 

Things that I liked about R1 were its atmosphere and story telling.  I'm not worried about those areas though.   Insomniac has traditionally been strong at them. 

I guess I'll have to see for myself when I try it out this weekend. TBH, it'd be hard for R2 to disappoint me.  My expectations for the SP aren't great after what I've heard and read about it. 

Which, incidentally, is what the reviews have generally claimed, were you not selectively picking out single negative phrases to fill in the blanks in your preconceived notion of the game's nature. Hell, find me some reviews that suggests that Resistance 2 SP borders on just average. If anything, the MP has been the neglected child in reviews, which is odd given how deep it is.

And, considering what has actually been mentioned in reviews combined with the scores it has been given, saying that it's average most certainly suggests a reference to a mythical standards. No normal standards, for sure.

For me, I wish reviews were less enthusiastic about it, maybe that could mean that it's still Resistance and not just this years New Big Dumb FPS.

This is just a random review that I picked from gamerankings.  http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=975931oes

Does this sound like a 9 to you? 

Compared to what standard? The A.I. complaint that has become popular among critics (lol) is based on the same enemy behavior that you will see in most games, shooters or otherwise; fire will focus on you, and (in good cases, "or") your team mates won't be too bright. And that's taking into account both close quarters and large scale games. In terms of enemy battle performance, it seems by most account to be well above the current acceptable standard. You can "wonder" what this mythical standard stuff is all about until you're blue in the face, as it's presence is quite apparent. I guess that wouldn't be so obnoxious if it wasn't selectively applied.

Motorstorm 2 is the current shining example of this bullshit method. I've seen a few reviews now try to get away with claiming that the racing genre has somehow moved past Motorstorm, despite reality being that it's nothing even remotely like that game out there. Very few dirty, crazy arcade racers have been released in the past years. Even fewer of the off-road, mixed vehicle, borderline combat racing sort. Mythical standards, and now mythical genre evolution.

The three new weapons so far are great, especially the revolver.  You can shoot 4 enemies at once, then hit alt fire and watch them all explode into gibs at the same time.

Which are the other ones? I really didn't like the revolver as much as I thought I would, but maybe it's different in SP.

[cool breeze]

The revolver, the marksman (mid zoom burst fire gun), and some plasma nuke bazooka thing.  I didn't play the beta that much so I didn't get a good impression of the new weapons, but they are kicking ass in single player.  A big part of this is because they really toned down the Carbine as the 'do it all' weapon.

[duckman2000]

I was hoping they would reintroduce the mini-nuke. For all of the weapon smarts that made it into the game, R1 still lacked a purely destructive mass-death weapon.

[Cormacaroni]

Motorstorm 2 is the current shining example of this bullshit method. I've seen a few reviews now try to get away with claiming that the racing genre has somehow moved past Motorstorm, despite reality being that it's nothing even remotely like that game out there. Very few dirty, crazy arcade racers have been released in the past years. Even fewer of the off-road, mixed vehicle, borderline combat racing sort. Mythical standards, and now mythical genre evolution.

I don't get how Motorstorm's rarity can be used to argue that the rest of racing genre HASN'T moved past it. What more evidence of such a phenomenon could you ask for than for there to be no more games being produced in that vein?

[duckman2000]

The specifics has been that it has somehow evolved since MotorStorm 1, which is complete bullshit. Arcade and off-road racing has been largely stagnant for longer than that, yet a mythical standard is applied and suddenly massive leaps in evolution when it comes to everything from gameplay to visual presentation have occurred. The racing genre as a whole hasn't evolved much, so it's more than a little bit curious that a sequel with apparent and wide ranging improvements would be criticized for somehow not being up to snuff.

[y2kev]

Motorstorm 2 is the current shining example of this bullshit method. I've seen a few reviews now try to get away with claiming that the racing genre has somehow moved past Motorstorm, despite reality being that it's nothing even remotely like that game out there. Very few dirty, crazy arcade racers have been released in the past years. Even fewer of the off-road, mixed vehicle, borderline combat racing sort. Mythical standards, and now mythical genre evolution.

I don't get how Motorstorm's rarity can be used to argue that the rest of racing genre HASN'T moved past it. What more evidence of such a phenomenon could you ask for than for there to be no more games being produced in that vein?

I think the racing genre has kind of moved on in general. Look at the console racing games out there today-- two sims, two arcade franchises, and stragglers. GT, Forza, Need for Speed, and Midnight Club. Racers seems to be the next fighters.

If this were the N64 era, we'd have lost like 90% of our games.

[duckman2000]

Resistance 2 is arguably more cohesive than any of Halo's single-players, and while the game never quite matches Bungie's highs, it never plunges to the same depths either.

Not surprising given that it's Insomniac, but I was hoping for a few more highs. Then again, Halo's high points are basically some of the highest points for the genre, so maybe that's asking for too much.

[TVC15]

I'm kinda bummed by how meh the game looks.  I thought the first one held its ground decently against Gears, but this just doesn't look very impressive, aside from nice effects.  I'd even go so far to say that the modeling is sub-par.  So far the campaign seems a bit better than the first one, but I didn't get to play very long because of the election and all.

[cool breeze]

The game gets much better after the initial shitty levels, but the one complaint I have is how easily you die.  It feels like you're a flimsy piece of toilet paper fighting bullet sponges.  You can get killed so fast while enemies are so resistant to your gunfire at times.  Well, this is only for some enemies.  They did try to make headshots count more for the average guys, but the big ones are just annoying to fight.

I'm kinda bummed by how meh the game looks.  I thought the first one held its ground decently against Gears, but this just doesn't look very impressive, aside from nice effects.  I'd even go so far to say that the modeling is sub-par.  So far the campaign seems a bit better than the first one, but I didn't get to play very long because of the election and all.

how far are you into it? the first two levels look bad, but the visual style becomes like a better Resistance after that stuff.  It confuses me why they had that intro in the first place.

[TVC15]

I only did the first section.  I'll play a bit more before I comment again.

[y2kev]

It really looks that bad? Because the beginning of Resistance 1 is absolutely fugly. Up through cheddar gorge looks like an xbox game.

[Bebpo]

It really looks that bad? Because the beginning of Resistance 1 is absolutely fugly. Up through cheddar gorge looks like an xbox game.

:\

Manchester looked good.  Running up that mountain of trenches looked fine.

R2's first level looks maybe 2x better than R1's first level.

[TVC15]

It really looks that bad? Because the beginning of Resistance 1 is absolutely fugly. Up through cheddar gorge looks like an xbox game.

Don't take my word on it yet.  I need to get more time in.  Still, time won't change the weak character modeling.

[duckman2000]

Weird, the character modeling in the previews I've seen has been top notch. Or, what does "weak" imply?

[TVC15]

Weird, the character modeling in the previews I've seen has been top notch. Or, what does "weak" imply?

It's a nitpick, but your character model (which you only see in cutscenes) is just flat out poor.  You'll notice it right away in the opening cutscene.  There's no detail to it whatsoever.  The details on his outfit/straps are just flat textures, so it just looks like he's wearing a flat bodysuit, despite obviously having elements that are supposed to protrude or be 3d.  It was very Xbox, or Solid Snake in the first MGS.

I also remember not being impressed with the models in the beta, but I'm not dredging my memory for details.

Again, just a nitpick, but why cut corners on something like that?  It's the very first thing you see in the game.  It's like Indy 4 opening with an incredibly shitty camera shot.

[cool breeze]

Yeah, that really stood out in the start.  You do change outfits after that prologue mission and never see anything like it anymore, but it's still a bit lazy.  The character models later on (grunt soldiers and 'important' characters) look good.

And I thought the beginning of Resistance 2 looked worse than Resistance 1 because of how inconsistent it was, but after the first two or so missions it looks good.  It isn't a graphical beast or anything like that, but it is a notable step up from the first game.

The story is actually not too bad so far.  I don't remember anything from the first game other than some British guy yelling at you in a jeep, but this time it at least has a story on the level of something like The Predator.  Nathan Hale is a jackass now (I don't remember him speaking in the first game at all), then Mos Def is some mechanic guy, then there is a roided up Italian guy who has roid rage, and to round off the crew there is Vic Mackey if he's balls were chopped off.

[dark1x]

I also think the game is pretty damn ugly.  Some of the background scenery (which is fully 3D) is stunning, but you spend so much time running around poorly lit hallways with an odd sense of scale (Hale feels tiny in comparison to the scenery).  It does seem to improve as you proceed, but the areas immediately following the training level are ugly as hell (except for the water, which looks fantastic).  What's odd is that they've put a LOT of detail into so many random objects while leaving the bulk of the scenery looking like shit.  I also still very much dislike the way they handle the iron sights as there is really no transitional animation.  I understand that they wanted this to be quick, but it just looks akward.  The game itself feels rather dated to me as well.

Hopefully R2 is back loaded like the original game.  I felt that the first half of Resistance was pretty ho-hum, but they really kicked it up a notch for the second half of the game and delivered some truly beautiful locales and fantastic scenarios.

I don't remember him speaking in the first game at all

He did, actually, but it was pretty rare.

[duckman2000]

Care to explain your comment that the music is practically the same as in R1? As for ugliness, I thought the forest was pretty incredible looking, but the SF area in the beta felt like it was styled after Warhawk, except not as clean.

[dark1x]

I really dislike the soundtrack.  It's the same type of generic sound "movie synth" music that Insomniac has continued to produce.  Naughty Dog used to be even worse in this regard but completely redeemed themselves with Uncharted (which featured a fantastic score).  It really adds nothing to the game and I feel that a lot of scenes would have received a great boost from a powerful score.

[TVC15]

Care to explain your comment that the music is practically the same as in R1? As for ugliness, I thought the forest was pretty incredible looking, but the SF area in the beta felt like it was styled after Warhawk, except not as clean.

How about this:  I don't quite understand how Insomniac could go from making one of the best looking games on any system with R&C to something as meh looking as Resistance.

[duckman2000]

Presumably, it's for the same reason that the snow/ice and alien environments were the best of Resistance 1, to the point where they were genuinely impressive, while more traditional environments felt lacking. I figured since the quality of the forested environments had improved so much, other previous weak areas would have followed the same path. But, apparently that's not true. :/

This brings to mind a complaint I had with R1, which was that I think they could have balanced the cartoony with the gritty in a much better way. They basically shunned the cartoony in favor of Standard Gritty, and I guess that has stuck. That's a shame. Deadlocked felt more brutal and crazy than Resistance ever did, and this despite being decidedly cartoony.

[cool breeze]

The game does end up getting better, and even looking better, as it progresses.  I'm pretty sure I'm on the last chapter and it's been enjoyable, nothing incredibly amazing (I don't think many console shooters are) or 'must buy' (this might change after more coop), but it worth playing.  I think it's better than Resistance 1 for the most part.

Biggest disappointments are the lack of new weapons (an even getting rid of half the old weapons), changed health system, and boss battles.  Boss battles look cool but actually playing them is just shooting a rocket into their mouth.  This is literally the solution to every boss battles in the game.

[duckman2000]

I guess that shouldn't be surprising; that's how most bosses have been in the Ratchet games as well. So, not even "shoot the soft underbelly" or "trap it with fire?"

[cool breeze]

Most of them are just avoiding the random attacks, which are slow and obvious, and waiting for them to open their mouth.  The leviathan one (from the E3 demo) is the easiest one and requires little input from the player to actually defeat, but hey, at least it looks better than it did at E3.  So far (I'm expecting one more at the end) the only different boss is one that you need to bait into traps before shooting it in the mouth.

[Smooth Groove]

Care to explain your comment that the music is practically the same as in R1? As for ugliness, I thought the forest was pretty incredible looking, but the SF area in the beta felt like it was styled after Warhawk, except not as clean.

How about this:  I don't quite understand how Insomniac could go from making one of the best looking games on any system with R&C to something as meh looking as Resistance.

What mythical standards are you using? 

[cool breeze]

Only thing to add after finishing the game is that the last boss sucked.  It was literally just waiting for about 5 minutes.  This isn't a joke at all, you literally stand in a room as he slowly tears it apart, then the door will open.  I actually sat my controller down during this moment.

As for the final ending stuff

spoiler (click to show/hide)

playing as super human Hale was slightly cool for a bit, almost like the end of Half Life 2.  The final cinema is a bit, uhh, surprising? don't know what the fuck happened by they seem to be on another planet after blowing up the nuke (THIS IS THE PLOT FROM THAT FUTURAMA EPISODE), then Hale is all Chimera'd out and talking strange, to Capelli shoots him...the end. what.

[close]

On a side note, the Auger in Resistance 2 is probably one of the best weapons in any FPS game ever.  If Insomniac designed a game all around the Auger, it would be awesome.  The few bits where it's you using an Auger vs others is so damn cool.  The dynamic between going through walls, enemies appearing through walls (you have to target them before you can see them through the wall), and the new shield is great.