Resistance 3 Hands-On

Following a bombastic announcement trailer at GamesCom last August, Insomniac has been a bit quiet on the Resistance 3 front. Thankfully, the developer was in London recently not only to show off the game, but also to let us don headphones, pick up a controller, and play the game for ourselves.

Our demo started with Ryan Schneider, Insomniac's community director, introducing us to the backstory. In Resistance 3, you play as Joe Capelli, a character who appeared in the second game and who has retreated to Oklahoma following the military's failure to stop the Chimera attack. Inevitably, Capelli's settlement of the Haven is discovered by the alien force, and it's his job to hold them off long enough to allow an escape.

The section we played took place near the beginning of the game. Chimeran scouts and soldiers were being delivered by air from huge dropships, and we immediately engaged them with the help of fellow villagers. That unmistakable Resistance feel was present--the varied and powerful weapons, the smart enemies, and, of course, the huge, huge bosses. After a couple of medium-sized firefights, we moved into a more open area and encountered the Brawler--a monstrous, heavily armoured brute as tall as a double-decker bus. The Brawler charged at anything in sight and flung cars around like they were toys--meaning it took us a few attempts to finally bring him down. The key was to take precise aim on his armour plating, taking out individual panels to reveal the vulnerable flesh underneath.

Some of the developer's design decisions are particularly noteworthy. First off, there's no health regeneration, so you have to constantly be on the lookout for med kits to refill your health bar. Regenerating health has become so de rigueur in modern action games that Resistance 3's move back to a health bar seems quite retro. However, our fight with the Brawler was made all the more intense because of our constant need to restock on health. The first Resistance's weapon wheel also makes a return, letting you quickly switch between sidearms in the heat of battle by holding down the triangle button.

It has been over two years since Resistance 2, and in the interim, two iterations of the Killzone series have redefined the visual benchmark in PlayStation 3-exclusive first-person shooters. Thankfully, Resistance 3 steps up to the plate in the looks department, with lighting and effects notably improved over its predecessor. Of course, one field in which the second game was pioneering was multiplayer, particularly the excellent eight-player cooperative mode and 60-player online matches. Insomniac is still tight-lipped in this area, but expect more information in the run up to release.

There's still a lot to find out about Resistance 3, but early signs are promising. Be sure to check out the latest trailer, which focusses on the level we described here, and stay tuned to GameSpot for more information as we get it.