Resistance: Fall of Man

Resistance: Fall of Man delivers on all fronts with a visceral and entertaining experience like no other.

Story
The story revolves around Nathan Hale, a US sergeant who is brought into a war that the British are having with an unknown and monstrous new species known as the Chimera. The game is set in an alternate reality version of 1951 in Europe where World War II never happened, but a war of massive proportions is still going on between all of mankind and the aforementioned Chimera, thus setting the stage for Resistance's battles and overall feel and experience.

Presentation
Production values are through the roof on this one. With constant activity and polished and well-thought out effects, this game creates the perfect ambiance for it's story and sense of destruction. You really feel as though unknown creatures have sprung up and destroyed Europe without mercy.

Graphics
While it's not the prettiest game out there, it provides the perfect atmosphere that almost can't be beat, that is to say that a lot of things are done well, and they look really good too. The texture work could use some improving, but character models all look really good and freakishly detailed, the environment is rich with the detail that could be found in the tattered remains of a city, and overall, everything looks really, really good, save for looking at some objects up close.

Performance
This game was fine-tuned to the very last piece of data. It's frame rate stays at a nice 30 frames/second throughout the entire single-player campaign, during all of the co-op levels (you can play through the entire single player campaign cooperatively), and even online, giving Sony a nice foothold for it's new online plan, and also giving us a taste of what it's capable of. Also, it runs perfectly. With no flaws in the design whatsoever, this game is truly a masterpiece. Good job Insomniac!

Sound
A killer app isn't complete without sound, is it? Well, Resistance doesn't skip on this. With realistic sound booming from every corner of the battlefield, this game has a stellar sound design that will undoubtedly make you euphoric. So, go out and get some surround sound speakers, because this game will put them to the test.

Gameplay
While nigh a first-person shooter has come out in awhile to really re-invent the genre gameplay-wise, this game comes close with innovative and fun weapons, a great feel, and perfect handling. The guys at Insomniac really went all out on this one. Also, while the Chimeras aren't rocket scientists, they do provide a good challenge and will occasionally surprise you by flanking and ambushing you. As well as that, they all act believable and have some of the best physics ever seen for enemies (or allies for that matter), so if you shoot, blow up, or burn an enemy, they will act realistically and flail about in an incredibly believable way, adding that much more pleasure out of fragging the opposition.

Lasting Appeal
With online support for 40 people at a time, co-op play through the entire single player game, and a lengthy campaign to boot, this is the gift that keeps on giving. Also, on top of that, the story is intriguing and cryptic, giving you incentive to play through the entire game to find out where everything ends up, and even enough to play through it again since along with story snippets in the form of documents and such, you also get some nice secret weapons after beating the game on medium difficulty. So, believe me when I say this: This game will have you glued to your TV for quite awhile!

So, in short, this game is the definitive FPS experience. With great production values, a stellar sound design, an insane value with hours upon hours of gameplay, this truly is the PS3's first killer app. If you can snag yourself a PS3, then be sure to check this game out. You won't be disappointed.