Whenever folks discuss the biggest, best, or most loved first-party PlayStation series, there’s a lot that come up, including God of War, Ratchet & Clank, The Last of Us, Horizon, LittleBigPlanet, Jak and Daxter, Spider-Man, Sly Cooper, Death Stranding, and several others. There is one spectacular series, however, that seems to feel forgotten among the rest of PlayStation’s lineup of fan-favorites, and that’s Resistance.
Resistance is a series of shooting games (with most being first-person and one being third-person) developed by Insomniac Games, the same studio behind Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, and Spider-Man. The games covered an alien invasion of Earth during the early 1900s. The aliens, known as Chimera, brought their advanced technology with them, leading to weapons ranging from WWI-era rifles to some especially creative sci-fi guns and gadgets. The diverse weaponry made the gameplay fresh and unique for both the story campaign and the online matches.
The story is simply amazing. Nathan Hale taking on the Chimera threat while being infected by their DNA-altering tech and Capelli continuing his fight makes for one of the most riveting and surprisingly emotional stories in sci-fi shooters.
There were five games in all: Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, Resistance 3, Resistance: Retribution, and Resistance: Burning Skies. Each of them offered an incredible experience that allowed them to stand out from each other while building off of what the others set up.
The campaigns were fun to play through and the online multiplayer was a blast. The online modes mostly consisted of the usual Team Deathmatch and other similar modes seen in other online games, but they were still really entertaining. What stood out the most, though, were the cooperative multiplayer levels in Resistance 2. Teaming up with a platoon of other players going on a mission to take down the Chimera threat and helping each other out was something still not quite matched by other video games.
Despite there being five games and the series being all around great, there’s a lack of legacy. It’s rare to see the series discussed. There was no character representation to celebrate the series in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale – just a stage. There’s no word of an adaptation from PlayStation Productions. Some of the games are currently playable on PlayStation Plus, but there has been no talk of a continuation, remake, or rerelease of any sort.
The Resistance series could definitely use a remastered collection or something of the sort. The games were all fantastic times on the PS3, PSP, and PlayStation Vita. They deserve to be on people’s minds and in their hearts just as much as other long-ignored gaming franchises, like Ape Escape or Jet Set Radio.
Nonstop Nerd 