Resistance: Fall of Man for the Sony PS3

Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the first game titles made available for the Sony PlayStation 3 video game system. It was such a success that its sequel is due out later this year. In the meantime, you can pick up a copy of this game for a discounted price.

The game is set in the early 50's where a mutant race of people called the Chimera are taking over the world. You play in a setting reminiscent of post-WWII Europe, and are of a small handful of humans trying to take on the Chimera. Your character is a soldier named Nathan Hale, and for some reason he seems to be immune to the effects of whatever it is that turns people into Chimera.

This game is a pure FPS (first person shooter) that is above average in overall fun and presentation. When playing single player, most of the maps are pretty linear in how you progress through them, but on multiplayer you can freely roam around. Your character has a ton of weapons available, and the enemy is both smart and relentless. This is the type of shooter where you need to find cover before you start shooting, otherwise you won't last long. Instead of developing a strategy against a particular opponent, you have to strategize using the environment and determining the best approach.

The graphics in this game are very good and it all runs quite smoothly on the PS3. It supports 720p HD resolution, and looks great on my 47" Philips 1080p HDTV. It uses a lot of grays and browns for the color scheme, and obviously tries to mimic the look of most WWII-era games and movies. One thing I did like about the maps is there were plenty of opportunities for pulling off long distance shots. This is much better than taking on an enemy up close. I didn't think the sound was all that special, mainly because it gets to be repetitive after a while. It does make pretty good use of the PS3's surround sound capabilities.

What I didn't like about the game, other than the overly linear level design, was that you don't get that many different enemies to combat. It's mainly just the same type Chimera shooting back at you every time. Sure, there are a few little variances, but throughout most of the game you fight the same thing over and over again.

Although the single player portion of the game is quite fun and challenging, the real fun is in online play. There are tons of people out there blasting each other away, and the game even employs a ranking system to let you keep track of your kills and such. You can also buy a double map back bonus from the PlayStation Network for $7.99, though you can still get by without having those extra maps. As always, online play on the PS3 is free.

I am still enjoying Resistance: Fall of Man online and find it always fun when there's a good group on there. With the sequel coming out soon, this game is definitely worth playing if you haven't already.