Resistance: Fall of Man is a Hit for PSP 3: Game Perfects and Improves the FPS Genre

The developers had one thought in mind when creating Resistance: Fall of Man. They figured if they're going to make a first-person shooter, then they'd better make the best one out there. I don't know about it being the "best" one, but this game comes darn close. Action-packed and full of well-planned graphics and sound, Resistance is easily one of the best first-generation games for the PS3-perhaps for first-person shooters, period.

While not going out of their way to do anything differently from recent games in the same genre, it's obvious that great pains were taken to improve on almost every aspect of them. Well-designed enemies (and enemy AI), fancy weaponry, and an almost seamless environment makes other recent FPS games pale in comparison. Top it off with a multiplayer mode that can handle up to 40 players, and you've got yourself a party.

The main concept of Resistance is that World War II never occurred, but something worse took its place. Creatures start appearing and committing mass murders and it's assumed they were created by the Russians as a weapon. Known as the Chimera, they've pretty much wiped out all of Asia and Eastern Europe and are marching across the UK. Your job as US soldier Nathan Hale is to go to England as backup, but eventually you find yourself going one-on-one with the beasties.

Perhaps a bit awkwardly, the story comes from the viewpoint of someone not even remotely related to Hale, but another officer who only momentarily meets up with him. This doesn't really give you any insight into Hale's steely personality or the Chimera's bad attitude. Even through the end of the game you never really hear Hale say anything, or completely understand what the creature's problem is, but most first-person-shooters aren't played for their intricate plot line anyway.

The controls aren't really different from other similar games. Moving, aiming and shooting have their respective sticks/buttons. The biggest difference you might notice with this game is how you recover your health: the health bar is sectioned off, and you'll only regenerate up to the section you're in if you lay low for a while. This is much different from games like Call of Duty, where avoiding the firefight gains you full health. This doesn't drastically alter game play, but it does make you watch your back a little more. The checkpoints can seem a little too far apart, especially towards the end of the game, but you eventually get used to replaying some fights over again. Another major difference is the use Resistance makes of the Sixaxis controller: you'll find it necessary to "shake off" some Chimeras to break free of their grasp.

Once you've won the game, you can go back and use previously locked weapons for an almost brand-new game. You can also rack up "skill points" that unlock bonus features to the game by performing certain feats, such as killing several Chimeras at once with a well-planned attack. There's also a multiplayer mode that will blow you away (quite literally if you aren't careful) with options for games like capture-the-flag. You can also, of all things, play as the very creature you've been blasting to bits in the single player campaign: a Chimera. As a Chimera you have your own unique abilities, like seeing through walls when enraged, but you're also an easier target for the human side.

Resistance: Fall of Man is a must-have for any first-person-shooter fan. Even if you're not a fan of the genre you may want to give it a shot-pun intended. It's truly a red-letter day when a game of this caliber is introduced to the world, and whether you prefer single or multiplayer campaigns it's sure to please.