Resistance 3 Review — Third Times the Charm
Almost ten years on from its initial release, and Resistance 3 still packs enough punch to impress me. On a gameplay level, it’s unarguably the best in the series, boasting a plethora of well-crafted action set pieces, and one of the most creative arsenals in gaming. But it’s Resistance 3’s story that sets it apart from its predecessors, taking players on a deeply personal journey across post-apocalyptic America, that’s not afraid to ask some tough questions about what it means to resist when all that’s left to do is survive.
Things are not looking good for humanity at the start of Resistance 3. In four short years, the Chimera horde has conquered the globe, alien death squads scour the planet of human life, and a wormhole to their frozen homeworld now dominates the sky above New York. Games don’t come much bleaker.
Enter one Joseph Cappelli, your hot-headed teammate from Resistance 2. Joe, like the rest of humanity, has given up believing the Chimera can be defeated and instead devotes his life to protecting his family and the inhabitants of Haven, Oklahoma. That is until Dr. Malikov informs Joe that the Chimera have begun terraforming the planet, and it’s only a matter of time until the Earth becomes uninhabitable. Cappelli and Malikov set out on one last mission to the east coast to stop the alien menace before it’s too late.
I’ve spent eight hours completing Resistance 3’s campaign and can safely say that killing Nathan Hale was the best thing the Resistance series could have done. He was boring, and while Resistance 2 gave him a modicum of personality, I found myself more engrossed by Cappelli’s story than I ever did with Hale’s. You see, Cappelli’s isn’t out to save the world, his only motivation is to save his family. And you feel that throughout the game, as Cappelli clings to his son’s mitten, his only reminder of his family. He even turns down Malikov’s plea for help until his wife forces him to go for the sake of their son. It’s a surprisingly human story, from a series whose protagonist often felt inhuman.
Resistance 3 marks quite the thematic leap for the series. While previous Resistance entries were thematically dark, Humanity could still put up a fight. But what happens when the Resistance fails and all that’s left to do is survive? Resistance 3 is not afraid to ask that question, and Cappelli’s journey across ravaged America sees him collide with its many answers. Some don’t stop fighting, others cling to what they have left, and the worst ones turn on the weak. It’s surprisingly deep for an fps and kept me engaged from location to location, eager to see how the next settlement was coping with their inevitable annihilation.
The story is not flawless, however, with many plot points left unanswered. The Chimera’s origins have been teased for two games now, we know how they got here but not why. Seeing the fractured remains of a Chimera planet through the wormhole provides plenty of fuel for speculation, but I finished Resistance 3 feeling like I still knew very little about them. It’s beyond frustrating considering it’s the last in the series. Resistance 3 also introduces a new type of enemy, the feral Chimera that have evolved outside the control of the hive mind. You stumble into the crossfire between the feral and military factions, but the plotline goes nowhere, seemingly to allow for possible future titles. Ultimately, Insomniac leaves too many questions unanswered to bring the franchise as a whole to a satisfying conclusion.
Of course, the star of every Resistance game is its weapons, and this one boasts the best arsenal in the series. All the old favourites like the Bullseye, Marksman, and Magnum make their returns, with perfected versions of their alternate firing abilities. The new weapons are undeniably on the creative side too. The Cryogun freeze’s your enemies and its alternate firing ability lets out a shattering blast. The Mutator shots a toxic blob of mutagenic chemicals, that quickly turn enemies into walking explosive pustules. And my personal favourite, the Atomizer, discharges lethal beams of lightning. It can also fire an electric anti-gravitational orb that picks up enemies unfortunate enough to get too close and viciously spins them around. Seeing how many of the close-combat Grims I could get trapped in its twirling gravitational vortex gave me real visceral joy, especially considering how overwhelming they can be.
But Resistance 3’s biggest change to combat is also its best. Killing enemies now fills up that weapons upgrade meter. When filled, it unlocks a new upgrade which can range from an upgraded sight for the Marksmen to firing three explosive rounds with the Magnum. It’s a simple yet effective way of pushing players to experiment with their weapons and a lot less playstyle hampering than limiting ammo.
Visually Resistance 3 blows the other two games out of the water. The sheer amount of things happening on screen at once is still impressive nine years later. Defending the little town of Haven from a Chimera attack while a Terraformer whips up a storm and dropships flew in increasing numbers of enemy foot soldiers still packed enough wow factor to make my jaw drop.
Resistance 3 undoes the changes that soured fan to Resistance 2 while at the same taking the series to all new heights. Cappelli is a more compelling protagonist than Hale ever was, and a more personal story proves that the series is more than just shooting some terrifying aliens. Resistance finally throws off the shackles of mediocrity and cements itself as one of the Playstation 3’s best shooters.
