Resistance Retribution Review
Resistance is futile
By Ben Salter
Big name titles have begun to make the transition from home console to portable device in recent times. God of War and Killzone have all had successful instalments on the PSP; GTA has had success recently within the portable arena with Chinatown Wars on the DS, and there’s more to come with the recent announcements of LittleBigPlanet and Motorstorm for Sony’s handheld. Now it’s Resistance’s turn to shine as one of Sony’s flagship titles goes portable. Resistance: Retribution takes place between the PlayStation 3 fan favourites Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2. While it doesn’t offer the same experience that is available on the PS3 (and it should never have been expected to) Resistance: Retribution is one of the best shooter’s on the PSP to date.
Resistance Retribution is set after the events of the first game; you take on the role of disgraced British Marine James Grayson, who finds himself amidst in war against the mysterious hybrid race known as the 'Chimera' in mainland Europe. Grayson is forced to kill his brother when he is converted by the Chimera, causing him to go AWOL avenging his brother. He is eventually captured by British Marines and sentenced to death for his actions. Fortunately he is offered a reprieve, pending that he agrees to help a French resistance group known as The Maquis to repel the Chimera.
The opening cut-scene provides a detailed back story; however, unfortunately it’s the best part of the narrative. I would have loved to have played through James Grayson’s rogue one-man escapade but it was not to be. Instead when the gameplay begins we are back to objective-lead missions commanded by the military. The remainder of the story provides less excitement and is riddled by a less than stellar script. It serves its purpose but after a while the cut-scenes begin to become boring to the point where it’s tempting to skip them.
Resistance moves into the third person for its PSP instalment, a wise decision given developer Sony Bend’s history with the successful Syphon Filter, from which Retribution borrows it’s control scheme. In an attempt to duplicate the controls of the PS3, the analogue stick is used to move Grayson while the face buttons are used to aim your weapon (acting as the PS3’s right analogue stick). The right shoulder button is used to shoot, and the left activates secondary fire. The D-Pad is used to fill in a number of tasks such as changing weapon and reloading. To counter the lack of a dual analogue set up aiming is automatic through a new lock-on feature. Any enemy within the broad rectangular aiming reticule will be locked on to, allowing the fast run and gun feel of the PS3 games. At first the controls can feel a little on the awkward side; however, over time you grow accustomed, and for those who prefer a manual aim tapping up on the D-Pad will take you to a slow but more accurate zoomed-in viewpoint.
The biggest addition introduced by Sony Bend is the intuitive cover system. Grayson will immediately take cover on any wall as soon as you approach it. This quickly becomes a vital part of any battle as does perfecting your timing of when to pop out and fire. This style of gameplay can begin to become repetitive at times; this is rectified by a heavy increase in enemy difficulty later in the game where the odds are stacked against you, requiring some thought to go into the running and gunning. Frequent encounters with bosses help to mix things up and demand your concentration.
New enemies in a sequel are intended to inject some life into the series. Unfortunately Sony Bend has taken a massive step backwards with the female Chimera ‘boilers,’ because quite frankly they don’t work with the PSP controls. They move fast, appear out of nowhere and take massive amounts of health with a single attack. To stop them you must shoot them in the head, which the lock-on feature doesn’t seem to realise. The only option is to go into manual aim and try and use the face buttons to find their head. During the time it takes to do this they have almost certainly attacked you, and taken a large chunk of your nice looking health bar with them.
The dodgy save system also falls into the “what were they thinking?” category. It doesn’t feel as if it was designed for a portable game. The amount of checkpoints is reasonable, but a majority of these don’t actually save the game. A rather large amount of each level must be played before the player is given an option to save. This seems odd considering the PSP is generally used to fill in time on the bus or during lunch breaks. Resistance Retribution is best played at home, or in a more stable environment where you can dedicate a reasonable amount of time to it, as you don’t know when the option to save will appear again.
Resistance Retribution offers one of the best online multiplayer experiences on the PSP, and adds countless replay hours to the game. Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag are self-explanatory, as if free-for-all. Assimilation is an interesting new mode in which one player begins as a Cloven (Alien) and the other players all start as Maquis (human) members. As Maquis members are killed they are converted into Cloven, resulting in an intense experience if you’re the last human remaining.
The CGI cut-scenes look great, and the in-game rendered cinemas are good for the PSP. The character models are detailed nicely and some of the outdoor lighting is nice. It’s a shame that by contrast some of the locations are rather dark and murky, and really don’t live up to the expectations of a 1st party game on the PSP. The backgrounds are a bit of a mixed bag, while some look good others are sure to disappoint. Overall the 3D graphics are decent for a run and gun on a portable system, just ensure you have sufficient lighting for some of the darker areas.
The voice acting does the job, however the stereotypical British accents do begin to get on your nerves as they sound very superficial, as if they had been digitally altered or put on by the actors. The orchestral soundtrack is the real star of the show, and one of the most underrated aspects of Resistance Retribution. It provides a great atmosphere, especially to create strong in-game tension at just the right moments. This is one game that is definitely best played with a decent par of headphones.
There is an enormous amount of extra features that we haven’t even begun to mention. If you own a copy of Resistance 2 you're in for a treat, as the games can be linked to unlock new content. This includes the ‘infect’ mode for Retribution, which changes up the story and allows weapons from the PS3 titles to be used. ‘Plus’ mode allows you to use your PS3’s Dual Shock 3 controller to play Resistance Retribution on your PSP. It does take more skill as the auto-aim feature is disabled. All of these features along with the extensive multiplayer greatly extend the replay value of the game, ensuring you will continue playing long after the single player campaign has been complete.
The Final Verdict
Resistance Retribution is both a successful instalment in the Resistance franchise, and an excellent PSP title. While the story isn’t as engaging as fans would have liked the gameplay is stellar in a magnificent transition from the home console to the PlayStation Portable. The 3D graphics are decent for the PSP, however they are held back by some disappointing locations that don’t match the detail of the character models. The orchestral soundtrack adds great atmosphere and is definitely one of the best we’ve seen on the PSP in a long time. The game includes a bucket load of content beyond the single player campaign, including one of the best online multiplayer components on the PSP and great PSP to PS3 connectivity. While it’s not the mind blowing game PSP fans have been waiting for it’s not far from it, and definitely worth a look for anyone after a solid shooter or online title for the PSP.
Gameplay
8.5/10
One of the best shooters on the platform, Resistance Retribution successfully moves the series into the third person and onto the PSP.
Graphics
7.5/10
The graphics are decent for the PSP without being mind blowing, the character models are great but the locations are a mixed bag of decent and below par.
Sound
9.0/10
Dodgy British accents aside, the orchestral soundtrack adds a great atmosphere and is appreciated best with quality headphones.
Replay Value
9.0/10
There’s heaps of content here, beyond the single player there’s a great online multiplayer and connectivity with Resistance 2 on the PS3.
Overall
8.4/10
Submitted by ICC_06
26/03/2009
31
Join MyPSP to vote for your favourite story!
More Info:
Resistance Retribution
Other Reviews:
Related News:
Related Videos:
-
Resistance: Retribution - Titan Dock Fight Gameplay
-
Resistance: Retribution - Infected Mode Demo Comparison HD (PS3 With PSP)
-
Resistance Retribution PSP Gameplay Demo