Resistance: Fall of Man was no masterpiece, but it had enough going for it to be a pretty damn fine game. This sequel, which actually isn’t too different, manages to suck a lot of soul out of the series.

Almost all changes were poor decisions. The weapon wheel which allowed you to select any weapon at will has been replaced by the perhaps more realistic, but certainly less satisfying two weapons at a time model. The single best aspect of Fall of Man was its weaponry. Every gun was fresh, fun and useful; a truly rare occurrnce in shooters. Resistance 2 greatly reduces your opportunities to enjoy its wide range of weapons by forcing you to carry only two at a time and frequently shoving their weapon of choice down your throat for each encounter. There are a few new tools to play with, but they just don’t give you the free range to do so.

Another limitation placed on the player is the reduction of available grenades. Explosives were another thing done right originally, but toned down the second time around.

Health is where the limitations should have stayed. The original found a great middle ground between regenerating health and the need for medpacks. Your health bar was split in four, and would decrease as you took damage. If you remained untouched long enough, your health would recharge up to the start of the four segments. Any lost health past that would require a type of med pack. It was a great compromise between old and new schools of thougt. Resistance 2 wholly embraced full regeneration. It was a mistake.

One thing neither original nor sequel seems to know how to handle is any kind of boss fight or even a really good set piece. This new iteration tried harder, but with little success.

Story and plot development seem after thoughts to both titles, but there was a certain charm found in the predessor that its offspring seems to lack. Between levels there used to be a black and white narrated montage to move things along. This was cheap but oddly effective, as was the intel you occasionly collected off dead troops. This intel would open automatically for your perusal and fleshed things out just a bit to keep things interesting. Resistance 2 ditched the montages for less satisfying cutscenes and made the collected intel only accessible through menu diving. Fall of Man had a cool sense of mystery surrounding its lack of story, and introduced a cool new enemy. Resistance 2 had a story that just seemed haphazard. It answered some questions and revealed some mysteries, but did so very lackluster, and left the player even more questions.

I hope the inevitable third title finds its way back on the path, and finishes things off with a great ending. Resistance 2 may just be suffering from the common problems surrounding the middle installment of a larger series.

Take a stand!

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