The final two main bits of the game, Co-Op and Competitive, are fairly similar. The former refers to the fact that there's an entirely separate 8-player online story mode that tells a parallel but different side of the Resistance 2 than Hale's solo experience. According to Insomniac, the two campaigns will cross over briefly in bits, but they're meant to be stand-alone experiences that flesh out the story more -- a far cry from the minimalistic, voiceover-driven approach from the first game (which has since been ditched). Sorry to see you go, Rachael Parker, but at least you and your sweet voice will be back to guide PSP players through the storyline of Resistance: Retribution.

If the first Resistance's 40 player online games were impressive, the fact that Resistance 2 sports 60 might make your head explode -- especially when you consider that, yes, there are deathmatch modes that actually put 60 people on a map and let them duke it out. Fortunately, the bulk of the online experience is a little different. Rather than turning everyone loose, players are dropped into squads with specific objectives (like, say, capturing a node), which in turn keeps things focused despite the scale.

You can certainly run off and do anything you'd like, but to keep earning experience to crank up that level, you'll want to follow the on-screen prompts and help out your buddies. We managed to get some hands-on time with the game, and while the framerate right now was a little dodgy at times (it rarely touched the smoothness of the 30 frames a second seen in the first game), Insomniac is nothing if not a house of sticklers for solid framerates, so we're hardly concerned.

It also helps that the online multiplayer is ridiculously fun, due in large part to that experience system we mentioned before. Doing just about anything, from assisting in a kill to notching one of your own to helping to capture or defend something in a level nets you a few points, but we saw instances where the point totals actually climbed above 1000, and when you go on a killing streak, a multiplier appears above your head. Anyone that downs you gets to collect that multiplier, thus leaving you with an even bigger bulls-eye on your head if you're especially good. To say that the prospect of leveling up in real-time while playing a first-person shooter online with 59 other people is exhilarating is the understatement of E3. We can't wait to actually have a preview build of the game spinning away in our PS3s.

Luckily, it seems like we won't have to wait all that long. Just as the first Resistance did, Resistance 2 will launch in November, making the interminable wait for what could well end up being the biggest time sink the system will offer this year that much less painful. Between massive online battles, 8-player online co-op and a story that promises to answer many of the questions posed in the first game, Resistance 2 is understandable leading Sony's charge into the Holiday season, and they couldn't have asked for a better way to do it.