Ben-DutkaResistance has always been one of my favorite games to play, and that includes the online multiplayer. For whatever reason, it has been one of the franchises that I enjoy playing against others and although I’m still a campaign lover at heart, I’m sure Resistance 3 will deliver for multiplayer fans. I’ve had a chance to try the beta (on my first attempt, Matchmaking had been disabled) and I have to say, it seems like a blend of the first two series entries. The speed is closer to that of Fall of Man and the number of players per map is similar as well. Gone are the insane 60-player competitions we had in Resistance 2 but in its place are riveting 16-player fragfests.
Well, I think it’s a fully competent multiplayer title. You can try Team Deathmatch and Chain Reaction, the latter of which is a domination-style mode that has teams try to hold multiple locations in order to fully open or close a wormhole. The wormhole is mostly just a cosmetic feature; this isn’t an entirely original mode but it does work well. Team Deathmatch is a staple and is about as fun as you might expect. There are only a couple maps thus far – Trainyard and Seaside – and I’m not the biggest fan of either, but they’re certainly pretty, and they put color and bright hues at a premium. This may come as a surprise to those who are expecting something darker, but really, these two maps are anything but “dark.” In terms of visuals, I don’t think this will compete with the heavy hitters this year, but it’s still an upgrade over R2.
I haven’t seen all the overhauled or entirely new weapons, but the weapons I have sampled are rock solid. And that goes double for the collision detection and general movement and control, which is both accessible and responsive. It moves a little too slow, though, and it may take some getting used to if you’re a CoD fanatic. It’s even slower than Killzone 3 , even though the sprint function might be similar in terms of speed. I haven’t come across any glaring issues, but there are a few inconsistencies: for instance, the motion blur when running, which gets irritating, and some possible balance issues.
However, with active and passive abilities, the chance to customize your loadout and character (upgrade weapons and abilities almost immediately!) almost any way you wish, and an excellent feel and pacing from the gameplay, Resistance 3 online is looking good. And now that Insomniac has fixed many of the biggest problems – spawning in the midst of a firefight, multiple crashes and time outs, freezing, glitching, etc. – it’s plenty playable and quite entertaining. The bottom line is that this is a stable, wicked fun experience and it’s a little different from Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 . Oh, and by the way, the R3 campaign should be pretty damn amazing, too.
Game looks really good, and I'm quite critical when it comes to first person shooter games.
me too
Glad to hear that its coming along well, and is a good combination of the first two games multiplayers. But, like you Ben, the campaign is what I'm really getting excited about. Especially from what I've recently seen of it.
Preordered. D1P for me!!
Nice to see some Aussie support this way too with the Alice Springs map included. Always love it when Australia gets a little nod. 🙂
But the cars in it are left hand drive… The least they could do is flip the map and rectify that :/
Alternate reality, guys. No WW2…left-hand drive cars in Oz.
😉
Last edited by Fane1024 on 8/20/2011 6:51:44 AM
Resistance 2 online co-op was actually pretty damn sweet.
R2 coop was cool for a while. But R3 coop is 4 player *campaign* coop – that's even sweeter imo 🙂
@Beamboom
Hold up… can you confirm that R3 has 4-player campaign coop? I thought it was 2-player only?
The Co-Optimius website says that it's only 2.
If you could supply a URL or something, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Sorry – you are right. Its just two player coop.
Still, at least it's campaign coop. THAT I am sure of. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/18/2011 10:23:58 AM
I liked online co-op as well, but eventually it got repetitive. I can see why they got rid of the 60 player online fragfest, but going down to 16 player online (8 vs 8) is kind of low. Didn't Fall of Man have like 32 player online or was it 48? I just remember being in a clan that was all on one side.
It was 40.
It was 60 player max on Skirmish
I like that Insomniac have dropped the speed of the game. Lends itself well to the immersive world that the game is sure to promote. But dat campaign man…
played the sp at a convention and wow its a pretty game!
only 4 things i can say about the beta.
LAG!
LAG!
LAG!
AND F*CKING LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O, and bugs, invisible men, and countless server drops!
my god, ive played games 6 months away from release that were better polished then this!
i always said this was going to be a mess, but my god they did not have to prove it to me!
insomniac, what the hells happened to you!?
Jesus effing Christ, did you forget your medication again?
Maybe play it after all the patches. I played it for several hours with no problems but because you can't stop freaking out and bouncing off the walls, you obviously never downloaded any updates.
Ben, Mr "____________" hardly has anything positive to say.
ahhhh, thats funny.
you do realize you need all the updates to play right?
It could be your ISP connection, mr Underline. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/18/2011 10:25:19 AM
i played the beta its the worst shooter i ever played online…its worse than R2
1 out of 5 from here
the good : nice controls
the bad: its very boring online game
the ugly : it's lagfest!!
….yeah yeah its a beta but they cant fix all that what a damaged game awww it really is very bad online….. i hoe the single player is better.
Sounds like someone that can actually appreciate Resistance for what it is should have been on the beta, like me.
Man, 16 player limit on line?!?!?!?!? That is truly dissappointing. I thought KZ3's 24 player downgrade was bad, but this is just ridiculous considering the fact RE2 had 60 player matches. Guess BF3 or MW2 will satisfy my MP appetite this fall because 8 vs 8 MP isn't appealing. Yeah I havent't played the game yet, but still…thats some weaka** news!
I think 32 players should be the optimal number for online FPS's. I mean look at KZ2, that was just plain awesome carnage. KZ3's 24 player matches…not so much!
Player limit means nothing. It's about the online gameplay. Uncharted is 5 on 5 and works great. No reason Resistance can't.
It's also all about the maps. Too large or intricate maps and any number of players might seem too few. Likewise the other way around. Too small map and even 10 players can be way too crowded.
In fact, good mp map design is quite the challenge! If you got Crysis2, go try a few rounds of mp there. I don't remember how many players that game support but I find those maps to be extremely well tuned for that number. You are given space and a chance to get started before hell break loose, still there's never a dull moment.
Last edited by Beamboom on 8/18/2011 10:35:10 AM
More players = fewer balance issues.
I wasn't thrilled and I didn't get that hooked feeling i got when i played resistance 2.
Great review and I just got this game yesterday. I'm still backed up in games (Infamous 2 still has plastic on it) but I can't wait to crack this baby open. I was never really concerned with this being bad anyway. Insomniac doesn't make bad games and the previous 2 entries were stellar.