Resistance Redemption
Who would've thunk all our issues with the Resistance mythos could've been fixed by... a portable game? Yep, Resistance: Retribution does all that and it's a damn fine game to boot.
Published: March 17, 2009
Once you've piled through the single-player portion, there's a solid, if slightly underwhelming online experience to be had too. You'll rank up, just as you can in the console big brothers, but the match types are fairly limited in that it's mostly deathmatch/capture-and-hold gametypes. By no means are they bad, and the games run rather smoothly for the most part -- even with voice chat -- but this isn't a console-level multiplayer experience. Still, ranking up, getting new skins and of course running through the single-player game again provides more than enough longevity to justify the purchase price. If you're the sort that dug the skill point challenges in Insomniac's other games, you'll likely get a kick out of the level-specific versions that SCEA Bend came up with, which in turn unlock more goodies in the root menu. Because they're level-specific, there's plenty of reason to go back and retry levels, which you can do at your leisure once you've finished them.
Unquestionably, though, the highlight of Resistance: Retribution for me was seeing it all pulled off on the PSP hardware. This is a damned impressive game, not just because the main character looks so good up close (particularly the texturing on things like his jacket), nor because of the scale of the environments (which can indeed be quite large, and are big enough that the load times to pull them up seem well justified), but it's that it all just feels real. This world that Grayson sees is actually different from either of the bits of the Chimeran architecture that Hale sees in his respective games, and though they share thematic and aesthetic flourishes that help unite the three games, Retribution does indeed feel like you're exploring a different side of the Resistance world.
It's also a game that makes fantastic use of audio. The soundtrack alternates between moody, atmospheric bits while exploring new areas, then rolls right into more action-driven big, brassy swells during combat. Bend Studio made great use of Insomniac's sound libraries, and as a result, all the snarls and pew-pewing weapons fire sounds great as well. The voice acting, on the other hand, is a little less consistent. Grayson's little snarky quips have a bit o' Jason Statham in 'em, and Parker's refined, proper narration and dialogue is wonderful, but the French accents in the game are pretty laughable at best, and actually had me cringing a few times.
Though it's not entirely consistent, Resistance: Retribution is a fantastically composed shooter. It's almost entirely action-driven, and for it not to get tired (no doubt thanks stuff like the mech driving sections -- apparently the new hot thing for games -- and the added bits of exploration that can come from Grayson being able to breathe underwater if he's infected) is quite the accomplishment. Any self-respecting action game fan absolutely needs to check this one out, and with all the stuff that's been packed in, there's weeks of stuff to dig into.
