[E3 2008] Resistance 2
What's that? You'd like some hands-on impressions of what Insomniac has been up to for the past year or so? Sure!
Published: July 19, 2008
Opinions on Burbank, CA-based Insomniac Games' first PS3 title, Resistance: Fall of Man are surprisingly mixed, with some of the naysayers blaming the system's rather weak launch lineup for the praise that was heaped upon the game when it first shipped. Others (like us) feel the game could have stood well at any point in the PS3 timeline, but we'll certainly concede that the game wasn't exactly a visual monster on par with some of the other FPSes that have hit the system since. That the game didn't really get going until the second half didn't really help either.
These are things that Insomniac knows all too well. The developer is keenly tied into its fanbase, both through comments left on other forums and the dialogue they regularly strike up on their own community site, MyResistance.net. Community is so important, in fact, that is forms one of the cornerstones of what the company is calling "The Four Cs" of Resistance 2 -- more specifically Community, Campaign, Co-Op and Competitive.
It's that first one that will serve as the rallying cry for the facelift to MyResistance.net as the game nears release in November. In a breakout session at E3 this year, Insomnaic Head Cheese Ted Price filled us in on what that face lift will mean. Much like the rest of Resistance 2 (which we'll get to in a bit), choices on how the content will be displayed are offered right from the start. For those only interested in getting game info, a streamlined site will be offered. Those that want a more all-encompassing look at the game's timeline and lore will have their own site and finally those looking to mix it up with other players will have their own community portal to delve into.
Resistance 1's online destination was actually rather impressive for being just an effort by a couple of guys on staff (the new site is being designed by far more people and is much more intricately tied into the data from the game). It offered detailed stats that updated quickly (the new site will be even faster), and the stat-tracking service that was originally piggybacked off of Sony's info will now be moved internally. Insomniac claims it's so good and detailed, in fact, that other publishers will be using their systems rather than Sony's. All this means for the end user is that the same forums, stats and information will be available, with a cleaner, AJAX-powered interface similar to Google's set-up (meaning you can move around the different sections, collapse or even delete them until you're happy with all the info presented on the page).
Now about those other Cs. The Campaign aspect is still fairly hush-hush -- at least in terms of what the storyline actually entails. Things pick up quite literally at the end of the first game in a pre-rendered cinematic using assets from the game engines for both games. The shift is fairly subtle; what begins with leading dude Nathan Hale walking toward a chopper by U.S. Army Special Forces in the old engine switches seamlessly to the new one, and the engine is used to great effect, with soldiers offering far more in the way of details, not to mention all animations being motion captured. Hale is given a sedative injection, briefed shortly and then heads off to Iceland.
These are things that Insomniac knows all too well. The developer is keenly tied into its fanbase, both through comments left on other forums and the dialogue they regularly strike up on their own community site, MyResistance.net. Community is so important, in fact, that is forms one of the cornerstones of what the company is calling "The Four Cs" of Resistance 2 -- more specifically Community, Campaign, Co-Op and Competitive.
It's that first one that will serve as the rallying cry for the facelift to MyResistance.net as the game nears release in November. In a breakout session at E3 this year, Insomnaic Head Cheese Ted Price filled us in on what that face lift will mean. Much like the rest of Resistance 2 (which we'll get to in a bit), choices on how the content will be displayed are offered right from the start. For those only interested in getting game info, a streamlined site will be offered. Those that want a more all-encompassing look at the game's timeline and lore will have their own site and finally those looking to mix it up with other players will have their own community portal to delve into.
Resistance 1's online destination was actually rather impressive for being just an effort by a couple of guys on staff (the new site is being designed by far more people and is much more intricately tied into the data from the game). It offered detailed stats that updated quickly (the new site will be even faster), and the stat-tracking service that was originally piggybacked off of Sony's info will now be moved internally. Insomniac claims it's so good and detailed, in fact, that other publishers will be using their systems rather than Sony's. All this means for the end user is that the same forums, stats and information will be available, with a cleaner, AJAX-powered interface similar to Google's set-up (meaning you can move around the different sections, collapse or even delete them until you're happy with all the info presented on the page).
Now about those other Cs. The Campaign aspect is still fairly hush-hush -- at least in terms of what the storyline actually entails. Things pick up quite literally at the end of the first game in a pre-rendered cinematic using assets from the game engines for both games. The shift is fairly subtle; what begins with leading dude Nathan Hale walking toward a chopper by U.S. Army Special Forces in the old engine switches seamlessly to the new one, and the engine is used to great effect, with soldiers offering far more in the way of details, not to mention all animations being motion captured. Hale is given a sedative injection, briefed shortly and then heads off to Iceland.
