It’s pretty incredible that I still remember March 2007; the month PlayStation 3 debuted in Europe. Resistance: Fall of Man was arguably the best launch game Sony’s new console had to offer and who would have known that it would spawn such a successful series culminating in September 2011, as Resistance 3 hits shelves worldwide.
Continuing the battle against the Chimeran invasion, Resistance 3 offers plenty of exciting gameplay, some old and some new to the series. A gripping campaign mode, very engaging multiplayer and some well-implemented mechanics makes this installment in the series, the best yet.
Resistance 3 tells the tale of Capelli, a survivor on a mission to defeat the Chimera once and for all. Capelli actually makes a return from Resistance 2 and while he’s not the most engaging of protagonists, his background, history and the characters around him, make for a well-rounded and engaging cast. You join Capelli and the acquaintances he meets on a thrilling journey, that unfortunately is a little bit brief, clocking in anywhere between 7 – 9 hours. That said, the campaign moves along at a good pace, there’s plenty of tense firefights and there’s decent variation in the environments you find yourself in. Overall, it may be a small package, but there’s plenty of bang for your buck here as there’s rarely a moment to rest with the Chimera constantly engaging you in combat.
The Chimera themselves are certainly a force to be reckoned with. Resistance 3 isn’t an easy game; there’s plenty of challenge here and playing on a higher difficulty will certainly increase the campaign’s life. You will find a plethora of awesome weapons throughout your journey, some old like the Bullseye, Carbine, Magnum and Auger – while new weapons making their debut including the Mutator, Deadeye Sniper and the Shrapnel Grenade. There’s no limitation to the amount of weapons you can carry, which is a good thing considering ammo isn’t exactly plentiful and enemies tend to over-run you consistently. This will give you loads of opportunity to try out all the weapons and get a feel for your favourites. Then when you start using weapons more often you begin unlocking awesome upgrades including stat increases and perks, giving Resistance 3 a little role-play like dimension.
Of course if you don’t fancy fighting an entire alien invasion on your own, then you can find plenty of content in Resistance 3’s multiplayer scene. You are provided with an offline and online cooperative campaign mode, allowing you to join forces with a friend to take on the Chimeran threat. If campaigns aren’t your thing then there’s also a robust competitive multiplayer mode. The ridiculous 60-player matches from Resistance 2 have been removed, with a cap of 16 players now enforced. This allows for more tactical gameplay as opposed to the carnage and random mayhem before. Plenty of well-crafted maps are available that offer diversity in gameplay, which is a testament to how well they are designed. You can take part in familiar game modes; your standard Deathmatch and flag-based games are all present. This all seems pretty generic, but Resistance 3 provides some intriguing battle abilities that help make this more than just another online shooter.
Resistance 3 shines gloriously with the in-game multiplayer perks and abilities that you unlock throughout your battles. Protective shields, power boosts, speed boosts, invisibility, clones, movement detectors, there’s so much stuff to sink your teeth into here. That’s not even mentioning the basic increases to reload time, damage, accuracy and so forth. Another interesting attribute here is like in the campaign mode, there’s no limit to the amount of weapons you can carry; thus when you scamper around the battlefield you inevitably pick up a variety of deadly goodies that you can use in that battle. This means that new players, who are yet to unlock some of the more advanced abilities, can still try their hand at the more powerful weapons by simply picking them up off of fallen friends and foes. These nifty perks help Resistance 3 to be a diverse and thrilling online experience where you’re unlikely to get bored easily.
From a technical perspective, Resistance 3 is hit and miss. It’s not the prettiest game; most environments are quite grey but that’s simply because of the setting. Character models aren’t fantastic but some of the bigger Chimera are pretty impressive. The voice acting again isn’t exactly fantastic, but the atmosphere created with a fantastic soundtrack makes Resistance 3 a gripping experience, especially throughout campaign mode. The game is also Move compatible in the single-player campaign and can be played in stereoscopic 3D (although I didn’t get a chance to try either so I can’t comment).
Ultimately Resistance 3 tries to offer something a little different to your generic FPS game and for the most part it succeeds. It brings to the table a thrilling campaign mode and supplements it with a multiplayer variant that has everything you’d expect in an online shooter, and more. These notable abilities and perks help keep combat fresh and exhilarating, making Resistance 3 a fantastic addition to any PlayStation 3 owner’s collection.
8.5 | Gameplay |
An engrossing campaign complimented with a fantastic online experience makes Resistance 3 a winner.
8.0 | Presentation |
Hit and miss, the setting forces a bland colour palette, but the Chimera in particular are terrifying and look awesome.
9.0 | Replay Value |
The campaign can be enjoyed alone or with a friend, but the online succeeds in bringing something a little different to the online FPS scene. As a result, it’s definitely worth checking out as you might find yourself completely engrossed.
8.5 | Final Thoughts |
A fitting end to a fantastic trilogy; Resistance 3 provides a larger-than-life conclusion to the war against the Chimera (although I’m sure we will see them again) and also lets you continue the battle online in an engaging and thoroughly entertaining online mode. Buy Resistance 3, it is great.
Igor Kharin, CeX UK Contributor
An engrossing campaign complimented with a fantastic online experience makes Resistance 3 a winner.
8.0 | Presentation |
Hit and miss, the setting forces a bland colour palette, but the Chimera in particular are terrifying and look awesome.
9.0 | Replay Value |
The campaign can be enjoyed alone or with a friend, but the online succeeds in bringing something a little different to the online FPS scene. As a result, it’s definitely worth checking out as you might find yourself completely engrossed.
8.5 | Final Thoughts |
A fitting end to a fantastic trilogy; Resistance 3 provides a larger-than-life conclusion to the war against the Chimera (although I’m sure we will see them again) and also lets you continue the battle online in an engaging and thoroughly entertaining online mode. Buy Resistance 3, it is great.
Igor Kharin, CeX UK Contributor
