Resistance 2

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Resistance 2
European boxart
Developer(s)	Insomniac Games
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Ted Price
Writer(s)	Todd Fixman Brian Hastings Ted Price
Composer(s)	Boris Salchow
Series	Resistance
Engine	Insomniac Engine v.2.0
Native resolution	720p (HDTV)
Version	1.60
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	NA November 4, 2008[1] JP November 13, 2008 AUS November 27, 2008[1] EU November 28, 2008[1]
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, co-op, online co-op, multiplayer, online multiplayer
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 CERO: D ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+ PEGI: 18+
Media	Blu-ray Disc
Input methods	Gamepad

Resistance 2 is a sci-fi first person shooter video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3.^[2] The game was released in North America on November 4, 2008, Japan on November 13, 2008^[3], and in Europe on November 28, 2008. Resistance 2 is the sequel to the best-selling PlayStation 3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man. Resistance 2 sees protagonist Nathan Hale travel to the United States in order to once again battle the Chimera, who have launched a full scale invasion of both the east and west coasts. This time out Hale is part of a special task force of soldiers called "The Sentinels", who, like him, are infected with the Chimeran virus, but keep it under control with special inhibitors and are thus able to reap the benefits.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Multiplayer 2 Plot 3 Development 3.1 Beta phase 4 Marketing 4.1 Project Abraham 4.2 Other websites 4.3 Collector's Edition 5 Playstation Home 6 Reception 7 Sales 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Resistance 2 is a single-player campaign, with the player controlling protagonist Nathan Hale. The game includes many of the weapons from Resistance: Fall of Man, as well as new weapons such as the "Marksman" and a mini gun called the "HVAP(High Velocity Armor Piercing) Wraith". The weapons are a mix of 1950s human technology and more advanced alien technology. Unlike the first game, where the player was able to carry as many weapons as they could get their hands on, Resistance 2 limited the player to two weapons, as well as a more limited number of grenades. Resistance 2 also does not use a health bar in the single player campaign as it did in the first, but instead it uses an automatic regenerative health system, whereby players must keep out of the line of fire in order to recover health.

[edit] Multiplayer

Resistance 2 features multiplayer in two variations. Both multiplayer modes track the player's performance, gaining experience and leading to benefits and rewards, as well as assigning the player a skill ranking.

Unlike its predecessor, Resistance 2 does not offer co-op for the single player campaign. Cooperative mode features a separate campaign mode which runs parallel to the single-player campaign. The cooperative campaign supports anything from two to eight players, taking the role of a special forces group called "Spectre Team". Players are tasked with many randomized objectives around the map, while defeating hordes of Chimera in the process. The strength of the enemy forces is altered based on the number of players and their skill levels. There are three classes to choose from: Special Ops - long-distance damage dealers, who also provide ammunition; Soldiers - the "tanks" who endure the most damage; and Medics - who drain life from enemies and impart to teammates.

Competitive mode features support for up to 60 players at any given time; which set a record for the highest amount of players in an online playstation 3 game when it was released, a record which was beaten by Zipper's Massive Action Game[1]. Five games modes are available: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag (Core Control),Skirmish, and recently released via update, Meltdown. Meltdown was added due to the high demand among fans of Resistance: Fall of Man, who were dissappointed with the general change in gameplay by Insomniac. Skirmish has players getting split up into squads of five and take part in objective-based proxy-battles. Players can play as either the Humans or the Chimerans (but due to updates, the player can now be a Cloven, a Female Ranger, or a Ravager), and get to choose their weapon loadout before and during a game while respawning.

Many weapons make a return from the original, most notably the carbine, bullseye, fareye, auger, rossmore and laark (although this can be only accessed as a berserk). However, much to fan annoyance, the arc charger and dragon did not return, and were instead replaced with the bellock, wraith, splicer and pulse cannon. The addition of berserks is a new feature, and can only be accessed if the player reaches a required Xp during a game through kills. The berserks give players an additional advantage such as a new weapon or added health but only for a short period of time.

There are a variety of campaign based maps featuring maps of different sizes (10p, 20p, 40p, 60p) with the player choosing their preference. Custom games also made a return, although unlike Resistance: Fall of Man, players cannot receive Xp in custom games. The ranking system is also identical to that of Resistance: Fall of Man, with players progressing through 60 ranks from private until supreme commander. As some ranks are gained, players unlock unlockables such as different berserks and skins.

Gamebattles $50,000 Tournament

In early 2009, the popular video game site Gamebattles announced that it would be staging a $50,000 Resistance 2 tournament, with a league and 64 teams qualifying for knock out rounds. The 64 teams would be guaranteed at least $100 worth of vouchers from GameStation whilst the winners would receive a shared $8000 cash prize. Each team had four members and the winners were Killzoned.

[edit] Plot

After destroying the Central Chimera Tower in London in 1951, Nathan Hale is extracted by SRPA Black Ops soldiers in a VTOL aircraft, and is sedated. When they arrive at the Special Research Projects Administration (SRPA) "Igloo" Base in Iceland, the VTOL is attacked by a Chimera Goliath and only Hale and Major Richard Blake of the SRPA survive. As the two make their way to safety, they encounter and knowingly unleash Daedalus, the being that is apparently controlling the Chimera, but it escapes before they can stop it. Hale and Blake find the Russian scientist Fydor Malikov who has been working with the SRPA investigating the Chimeran virus, and are able to safely extract him to America just as Hale uses a missile launcher to destroy a Goliath. Hale is introduced to the Sentinels, others like Hale who have been exposed to the Chimeran virus, giving them superhuman strength and regenerative abilities, but take regular injections of an inhibitor to prevent them from fully succumbing to its effects. Over the next two years, Hale is promoted to Lieutenant and becomes a part of the Sentinel force in charge of Echo Squad (consists of Sergeant Warner, Specialist Hawthorne, and Corporal Capelli), and put on the same regimen of inhibitors to prevent the virus from changing him further.

On May 15, 1953 the Chimera launch a full-scale invasion of the United States, attacking the country from both the east and west. Hale, Malikov, and the other SRPA soldiers escape from the destruction of San Francisco after Hale kills a Chimeran kraken, a sea monster. Near Orick, California, they manage to board a Chimera battleship and destroy it from the inside. But during their escape, they are shot down and crash near Twin Falls, Idaho which lies on the Liberty Defense Perimeter. Hale and other Sentinels successfully reactivate two defensive towers to repel the Chimera fleet and Hale knocks a giant leaper off one of the towers sending it falling to its doom. Hale refuses to return to base for his Inhibitor Treatment, disregarding the fact that he is long overdue, and instead takes a black ops squad to 'Station Genesis' in Bryce Canyon, Utah in order to extract Malikov from the base. Hale is able to successfully retrieve Malikov from the base but not before encountering Daedalus again. Malikov explains to Hale that Daedalus used to be a human known as Private Jordan Adam Sheppard, but, along with Hale, was part of "Project Abraham", a military program designed to try to create Chimera-human hybrids such as the Cloven. Sheppard was part of Malikov's tests, one of the two (the other being Hale himself) who are injected with pure Chimeran DNA. Unlike Hale, who had the DNA go into submission, Sheppard's injection morphed his body into the barely human form of Daedalus, and gave him knowledge of the Chimera's origins and goals.

After recovering Malikov, Hale and Echo Squad are ordered to go to Chicago in order to deactivate one of several activated Chimera towers that are slowly building up energy. After Hale kills a 300 ft Chimeran monster, known as a leviathan, Malikov is able to deactivate it, only to find the tower is shortly reactivated remotely from Iceland, and the only way to shut them down is to travel there. The Sentinels and the other SRPA soldiers launch an assault against the Iceland Tower (Holar Tower map in multiplayer), but find it to be a trap, with many of the forces being lost. However, Hale and Echo Squad are able to enter the tower, only to find Daedalus waiting for them. During their time in the tower, Warner and Hawthorne are killed, though Hale is stabbed in the stomach by Daedalus and passes out. Hale wakes up and finds that it is six weeks later; the Chimera have overrun the American defenses, killing over 80 million people, and forcing the 3 million remaining survivors to America's last stronghold in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hale also discovers that because he went so long without the inhibitor, his body has succumbed to the virus, and he has only 3 hours, at most, before it fully consumes him; Capelli, the only remaining Sentinel other than Hale, asks Hale if he's going to make his last few hours count. Hale decides to use this time to take part in an attack on the majority of the Chimera fleet currently hovering above the Gulf of Mexico around the Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatan Peninsula. Hale and Capelli are able to recover a nuclear warhead and deliver it onto Daedalus' ship, but Major Richard Blake and his squad, who are taking the warhead to the ship's central reactor, are killed, and it is taken by Chimeran forces and brought to Daedalus. Hale makes his own way to Daedalus and kills him; though upon touching its corpse, Hale is suddenly overwhelmed by strong Psychokinetic abilities. After re-activating the bomb Hale escapes with Capelli, the resulting explosion destroys the Chimeran fleet and a pulse similar to an EMP forces Hale's ship to crash land.

After Capelli regained consciousness, he notices that Hale is missing. Heading outside he sees that the sky has turned red with a number of destroyed planet-like spheres clearly visble in space with Hale looking in awe at them. Hale recalls Daedalus' words: "Can you hear them? They are calling to us....It's Beautiful!" finishing with, "This is just the beginning." Capelli sees that Hale has now become fully engulfed by the virus and solemnly replies, "Forgive me sir, it was an honor," then shoots Hale at point blank range in the head.

[edit] Development

The game was officially unveiled in the February 2008 issue of Game Informer, detailing the 8-player cooperative campaign, 60-player online multiplayer, and Fall 2008 release.^[4][5] The first teaser trailer 200672656 (pin) debuted during the April 11, 2008 edition of GameTrailers TV, while the first gameplay trailer arrived on June 13, 2008, again on GameTrailers.^[6]

Resistance 2 was showcased at Sony's E3 2008 press conference, with a live gameplay demonstration of the Leviathan boss battle. The multiplayer mode was playable on the show floor, while the single-player was shown in the SCE lounge.^[7]

The game previously featured a prototype weapon called the Tapper, which would shoot tubes and create a blood fountain, but this weapon was ultimately cut from the final product.^[8]

On October 16, 2008 a new trailer entitled "Last Hours" was released, which contained clips from previous trailers with new footage from the game. It also showed changes in Nathan Hale's appearance.

[edit] Beta phase

Insomniac announced they were running a Public Beta in October 2008. One of the ways to give consumers access to the beta involved a pre-order program through GameStop. Gamers who reserved their copy from GameStop received a card that contained a beta registration code. Once registered through the official site, the beta voucher was emailed to the address provided. Users could then download and install their beta from the PlayStation Store. The Public Beta was available from October 24 to October 29. It included three multiplayer maps - San Francisco, Orick (California), and Chicago - and could be played in the 8-player co-op campaign and the 60-player online multiplayer.

[edit] Marketing

[edit] Project Abraham

The marketing campaign for Resistance 2 centered around an alternate reality game named Project Abraham, a top-secret military project under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of War.

Initially, specific details on the nature and purpose of the project were bare and mysterious, though additional content was added to the website (in concurrence with the project's latest developments) that reveals the purpose of the project. It was revealed to be a research initiative designed to eradicate the Chimera virus that is currently infecting Europeans by the millions. It lasts over the next two months, with a SRPA team of biochemical experts formulating several permutations of serums to be used on human volunteers in an attempt to discover the vaccine against the plague. The findings were ultimately inconclusive. Other purposes are to learn more about and better understand the virus. The next phase of the project is to collect all the immune soldiers together as an elite super-soldier task force code-named "Sentinels", dedicated to fighting off the impending Chimera invasion while the bulk of the U.S. population is safely secured in the Liberty Defense Perimeter.

The primary characters are Colonel Grant Thompson and Doctor Cassandra "Cassie" Aklin (Katee Sackhoff, and is also the protagonist; with all written and recorded content either directed towards or generated by Aklin so far), but other characters, civilian, military, or otherwise were mentioned. The other main characters are seven soldiers who volunteered for the project from different army units, all brought together at the Project Abraham Compound in Alaska (the specific location is classified). The test subjects include Captain Frank Anthony Gennaro, 1st Lieutenant Glenn Albert Khaner, Lieutenant Kenneth Danby, Sergeant Channing Brown, Sergeant Keith Todd Oster, Sergeant Nathan Hale, and Private Joseph Capelli.

Apart from the project itself, the files and videos reveal the personal situation with the project's personnel; the soldiers, willing to endure the possibility of death, have detailed history, military careers, and personality profiles (collected by Aklin), which is often reflected in their actions towards others. More information about Hale's history, family, and military career are revealed as well, along with allusions to a romantic relationship between Hale and Cassie.

[edit] Other websites

A second website named America first America only is the website of an organization called the "Alliance For American Autonomy". The Alliance is a group of radicals bent on exposing the U.S. Government and its secrets to the public. The site shows a small dark area with a printing press, and an office containing a news board, news clippings, the alliances newsletter/paper, file cabinets, and a "tip box". The Alliances newsletter/paper is published every Friday. When a new article is posted the old ones are stored in the file cabinets for reference and can be viewed at any time. The newsletter/paper gets most of its information from "agents," people who have submitted SrpaNet codes through the Tip Box. A recent update for the site has seemed to have ransacked the area and shows a letter that seems to have been written in a hurry. The latest updates show a typewriter with various American cities listed on it. When a "dead-drop" has been reported in a city, fans may go to the given location to retrieve a canvas bag containing a personal item of one of the Project Abraham participants, a compass, a SRPA t-shirt, and a card listing a serial number. This serial number is used to unlock two comic panels at the second new addition to the AFAO website, Metastasis.

A third website named Get A War Job has been discovered and can be accessed directly from Project Abraham. On the site a typewriter is shown along with pro and anti-war posters, cards, pamphlets, and a document which the player can fill out and possibly cause events to happen in the future such as a phone call or further information about the site/sites. The business card to the left may be called, toll free, to hear an inspirational recruiting message for the military. The latest update for the site seems to have burned nearly everything in view and the registration form is no longer available.

A fourth website named SrpaNet has also been discovered. It is an old computer interface used by the Project Abraham staff and the U.S. Government. So far hidden and overt serial codes, found in various places on Project Abraham, have led to hidden documents and images relating to the Chimera and what is known about them.

[edit] Collector's Edition

The collector's edition includes a hardcover art book, special cover art, an in-game weapon skin (a Chimeran HVAP Wraith called the Brute Minigun, the same kind Ravagers use), and an action figure of the game's alien-human hybrid race, the Chimera.^[9] It also includes a bonus Blu-ray Disc with a behind-the-scenes featurette, a video detailing the game's alternate historical timeline, a digital copy of issue #0 of the Resistance comic book, and a preview from the upcoming Resistance novel "The Gathering Storm". The collector's edition was only sold in North America, and not in Europe due to the hassle of translating each aspect of the Collector's Edition to the various main languages in the continent, such as English, French, Spanish etc. as said by SCEE in a Press Conference prior to the game's release. The Collector's Edition bluray also contains a hidden Easter Egg which can be accessed by watching the "scale" featurette, pressing Left on the arrow keys upon returning to the menu, and then pressing right.

[edit] Playstation Home

On March 26, 2009, Insomniac Games released a Resistance 2 SRPA suit for the male avatars. The SRPA suit is purchasable in Home's shopping complex.

On May 21, 2009, Insomniac Games released a dedicated space for Resistance 2 in the PlayStation 3's online virtual world, Playstation Home in the Asian, European, and North American versions.^[10] The space is called the "Resistance Station" and is modeled after the Chicago level in Resistance 2 and features a video screen showing the trailers for Resistance 2 (Asian Home) and Resistance: Retribution (North American Home) as well as a mini game entitled 'Four Barrels of Fury' in which users takes control of a turret that appears as a turret version of the game's HVAP Wraith. The player must shoot down incoming Chimeran ships varying in size. The game is divided into waves. The player must shoot down ships for points. Occasionally the player must defend 2 incoming VTOL transports one carrying health the other carrying modified ammo. If the VTOLs are defended the player's turret is repaired and the damage dealt by the turret's shots will be strengthened as long as the ammo lasts. There are different rewards for reaching a certain wave or score in the mini-game. The first reward is a male and female Resistance 2 t-shirt for beating Wave 4. If users beat Waves 1 to 4 with a score of 100% on each wave, they get a hat that is modeled after the Chimeran flagship in Wave 4 and if users obtain a score of 1,000,000, they get a male and female Resistance 2 hoodie. No other rewards have been confirmed. In the European Home, in the place of where the video screen is in the Asian and North American version, there is a poster with a promotional code on it. The first 3,000 users that redeemed the code received a male and female Resistance: Retribution t-shirt.

In addition to the space, users can game launch into Resistance 2. Game launching lets users set up a competitive or co-op game in Home, have people join the game, then launch directly from Home into the game. Users can set up a competitive game of up to 32 players and up to 8 players for co-op.

[edit] Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 87%[12] Metacritic 87/100[11]
Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com B+[13] Eurogamer 9/10[14] GamePro 4/5[15] GameSpot 9.0/10[16] GameSpy 4.5/5[17] GameTrailers 9.1/10[18] IGN 9.5/10[19] X-Play 5/5[20]
Awards Best Shooting Game on PlayStation 3 of E3 2008, IGN Best Muliplayer Experience on PlayStation 3 of E3 2008, IGN Best Shooter on PlayStation 3 of 2008, IGN Best Online Multiplayer on PlayStation 3 of 2008, IGN Best Online Game of E3 2008, GameTrailers Best First-Person Shooter of E3 2008, GameTrailers Best First-Person Shooter of 2008, GameTrailers Most Improved Sequel of 2008, GameSpot

Resistance 2 has been well-received by critics, with a current Metacritic aggregate score of 87 out of 100, based on 77 reviews,^[11] and a Game Rankings aggregate of 87%, based on 58 reviews.^[12]

It garnered a score of 9/10 from the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, who said it was, as they would have liked, "prettier and shootier", and 9.5/10 from IGN, elected there for an Editor's Choice Award. It also earned a 9/10 score from Official Playstation Magazine Australia. IGN in particular praised the game for its single player campaign and online multiplayer, as well as the scale and detail of the level design, stating that the bosses would "make your jaw drop." GameRac gave Resistance 2 an 8/10, saying that the game had "amazing graphics and the single player was improved", also electing it for both the Editor's Choice Award and Most Anticipated Game Award. Resistance 2 sold about 403,000 copies worldwide in its debut week.

Other reviews include Gameplayer, which rated the game 9/10, NZGamer, which rated the game with a 9.2/10,^[21] Gamepro, who rated the game 4/5, proclaiming it was "bigger, badder and better than the first" and an "improvement upon the formula set by its predecessor in almost every way", and X-Play, which rated Resistance 2 a 5/5 in high praise.^[22]

[edit] Sales

As of January 13th, 2009, Resistance 2 has sold 1.59 million copies worldwide.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Resistance 2 Official Website
• Resistance 2 Official European Website
• Resistance 2 at PlayStation.com
• Insomniac Games Website
• the Resistance Wiki, an external wiki
• Resistance Union Resistance fan-site

v • d • e Resistance Main Series Resistance: Fall of Man · Resistance 2 · Retribution Novels & comics Resistance: The Gathering Storm · Resistance comics Related articles Manchester Cathedral controversy

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