Resistance 3 (PS3, 2011)

It's the 1950s. World War 2 is going down and everyone is watching to see what happens next. Then Aliens attack and start taking over the world with a deadly mutating virus that turns us into them. One brave British soldier, named Nathan Hale dared to fight his way through hoards of these monstrous beasts after being enhanced with a slight dose of the alien virus, causing him rapid healing. He fights and delivers a devastating blow to the Chimera (the aliens), before finally succumbing to the virus and turning into one of them. His final reward is to be put down like a rabid dog by one of his own friends. That is where we left off with Resistance 2.

Resistance 3 starts us off with Joseph Capelli. The man who killed the worlds greatest hero. He has been dishonourably discharged from the military and has gone into hiding with a small pocket of survivors. After Hale died, the Chimera won. Joseph and his family's situation just keeps getting worse as the Chimera are on a search and destroy mission to finish off the human race once and for all and Joseph no longer has the will to fight. There is an overwhelming feeling that they are just buying time until their final dirt nap. When a character from the first two games shows up and tells Joseph of a plan that he thinks could turn the tide of the war against the Chimera. Joseph's wife demands that he go and at least try to stop it and what follows is a journey across the ruins of the USA, from Oklahoma to New York.

This game is VERY good. The modern convention of the first person shooter is to have regenerating health and only to carry 2 different guns, but Resistance 3 feels like a throwback to the initial core values of shooters. My favorite thing about this game, aside from the feeling of dire importance in the journey, is that you get to carry every gun in the game and switch between them as you like. The guns are amazing. From the standard automatics to the lightening shooting alien weaponry. You can use them all. The Rossmore shotgun, when fully upgraded, is what I want in every shooter from now on. You also have to find health packs to keep yourself alive. After all, Capelli is not infected with a superhuman virus. He is just a man encountering overwhelming odds. The game also has great moments of unpredictability. Especially during a whole train sequence about halfway through the game. There is no way you'll see that one coming.

Another feature that I love very much about this game is that it has a split screen storyline coop. This is good, because I actually have friends that I like to hang out with. I believe it has online coop too, but I don't subscribe to the whole, "hey dude, go home so we can play video games together." There is also an online component which I hear is pretty good, however I don't care about that either. I wanted a storyline. I wanted an adventure. I wanted an epic journey. I did not want to be tea bagged every time some 12 year old camper decides to kill me.

This game was a pleasant surprise and a huge improvement over the first two Resistance games. I can't recommend it enough for fans of first person shooters. This is definitely not another Halo clone.

Hey, you got some flame thrower in my shotgun!