AS YOU watch the intro movie to Resistance 3 you get a pretty good idea what to expect.
You’re treated to a cinematic showing a seriously ugly looking alien race trample all over the earth leaving pockets of ‘resistance’ fighters all over the planet - basically you know from there that you’re looking at some kind of ‘against all odds’ bloodfest.
The first two games in the series told the story of exactly that - human kind’s attempt to fight back after the Chimera invade the majority of the planet.
Unsurprisingly this latest instalment follows the same path.
To prevent any confusion Resistance is a straight up first person shooter with lots of big guns and hordes of bad guys to use them on.
The single player campaign (co-op is available) is good quality and about 10 hours gameplay on average. It sees you forced to leave your family on a quest for New York and the only possible means of stopping the Chimera virus (which is responsible for the aliens).
The action along the way feels frenetic, there are some great chase scenes, some massive set piece shoot outs and some great bosses to take on and most importantly your armoury is one of the strongest aspects of the title. No being limited to carrying two weapons, instead you’ll find yourself armed to the teeth with a stack of great guns, which all include pretty impressive secondary functions.
The visuals are top notch with crisp presentation screens setting the tone while the cut scenes and early animated movies do a great job of telling the story.
There’s no escaping the fact that the whole mood in Resistance 3 is bleak. There’s a real sense of desperation and almost futility to your mission.
In fact the longer I played the more it felt like my aim was completely unachievable but that’s where it does well. It sucks you into the mood and provides huge action and great suspense as you fight/sneak to your destination.
Resistance 3 also has a pretty impressive multiplayer package although the problem for all shooters is the dominance of that Call of Duty series. Still if you’re prepared to tear yourself away from the ‘industry standard’ then you’ll find a quality on-line shooter with plenty to keep you interested.
County Times rating ****