Resistance: Fall of Man
Resistance: Fall of Man is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. The game is set in an alternate history 1951, and follows Sergeant Nathan Hale as he and the human resistance forces attempt to drive a mysterious alien-like invasion out of the United Kingdom. The story continues in Resistance 2.
The game was originally developed under the title I-8, as it was the eighth title to be in production by Insomniac Games. It was released as a PlayStation 3 launch title in the United States on November 17, 2006 and in the PAL region on March 23, 2007. Resistance had positive critical reception, garnering particular praise in view of its status as a launch title and winning several awards. As of 2007, the game sold more than 2.1 million copies.
Sony and Insomniac Games became embattled with the Church of England for using interior shots of Manchester Cathedral to recreate the building within the game, as well as "promoting violence" within the building.
The game, along with its sequels Resistance 2 and Resistance 3, shut down its online servers on April 8, 2014. Digital versions of the first two games were released after the servers' closure in Europe.
Plot
In the 1900s, an insect-like alien race known as the Chimera arrive in Russia. Using advanced technology, they infect hundreds of civilians and subject them to artificial evolution, creating a diverse army of creatures ranging from simple foot soldiers to spider-like giants. By 1949, all of Europe has fallen to the Chimera. 12 months later, a vast invasion force tunnels under the English Channel, conquering much of England and leaving only scattered pockets of human resistance.In 1951, the United States, despite taking a position of neutrality in the conflict, finally elects to deploy a task force to assist the UK as part of "Operation Deliverance". Among the soldiers is Army Ranger Sgt. Nathan Hale. However, soon after landing in York, he and his squad are ambushed by enemy troops, who infect them with the Chimera virus. Hale, the only survivor, discovers that he has an innate resistance to full infection. Instead, he gains increased strength and faster reflexes, the ability to instantly heal light injuries, and gold-colored irises, a common trait of the Chimera.
Sent to a Chimera conversion center in Grimsby, Hale meets British intelligence officer Captain Rachel Parker and helps her escape. In turn, Parker allows him to accompany British forces launching an offensive in Manchester to recover a missing convoy. The convoy's cargo is subsequently transferred to a resistance command center in Cheshire, which soon comes under attack from the Chimera. While attempting to provide assistance, Hale is separated from Parker and ends up fighting off the attack single-handedly. He then investigates the cargo, which turns out to be an Angel, a powerful creature that directs the Chimera's hive mind. The Angel tries to use its telepathy to control Hale, forcing him to kill it.
Hale then links up with Lieutenant Stephen Cartwright, a UK Royal Marines Commando. The two of them learn that the Chimera have established a series of metallic towers throughout Britain, connected by a network of tunnels and power conduits. To make the matter even more puzzling, Parker learns that the towers were excavated, not built. After the Chimera destroy the last British command post in Bristol, Hale undertakes a solo mission into the tunnels, following them all the way to a nexus point in London. Recognizing that the towers are altering the Earth's climate, Hale concludes that destroying them is the key to victory.
Under Parker and Cartwright's leadership, a massive joint American-British force of soldiers enters London and storms the central tower. Despite their best efforts, the Chimera rally themselves and initiate a counterattack, killing countless soldiers and leaving Cartwright seriously wounded. Against all odds, Hale destroys the tower's power core, causing it to ignite in a massive explosion. This triggers a chain reaction, destroying the other towers and leading to a mass extinction of the Chimera in the UK, ending their threat.
As Hale's body is never found, the US Army lists him as killed in action. Parker is not convinced, though, and believes that he may somehow have survived. In a post-credits scene, Hale is indeed still alive. He is shown walking through the snow when a squad of unknown soldiers surround him. Hale briefly contemplates suicide with his last grenade, but ultimately surrenders himself to their custody.
Gameplay
Resistance: Fall of Man is a first-person shooter set in an alternate history. Many of its gameplay features stem from this, most notably the weapons. Some weapons are based on real weapons circa the 1950s, while some weapons are futuristically altered in accordance with the game's storyline. Insomniac Games has combined its passion for creating exotic weapons and vehicles, such as those found in the Ratchet and Clank series, with its proprietary development engine and physics system to create unique human and Chimeran weaponry. Each weapon provides a unique play style and strategy. An example of this is found with the Auger. The primary fire for this weapon is simple rapid fire, but the bullets burrow through walls, actually coming out stronger on the other side, opening up a whole new level of strategy. The secondary fire creates a barrier that is resistant to all bullets but its own. In addition to the usual short- and long-range weapons, the game features several different types of grenades, with both historical and futuristic varieties. For example, one grenade, known as the Backlash grenade, is capable of creating a dome-shaped barrier, where the player can enter for cover. The barrier reflects shots from opposing Chimera except projectiles from very powerful enemies. Some weapons are not available on the first play-through of the game but can be found at certain locations on replaying the game.The game features melee attacks, and the motion sensing feature of the SIXAXIS controller is used for a number of things including shaking off enemies that grab onto the player, shaking off tags and flames in multiplayer, and quickly bringing up a map or leaderboard in a multiplayer match. The player also has access to turrets and a drivable jeep with a gun turret on certain levels. The game was also on Sony's list of titles to receive an online update to support the vibration feature of the DualShock 3 controller for Japan, North America, and Europe.
There are also skill points that can be earned throughout the single player game. These are awarded for certain actions that are hinted at by their titles; however, the specific details are not revealed until the skill point is actually earned. There are generic skill points that can be earned during any single level, and some that are specific to certain levels of the game. Each task is worth a different number of points which are used to unlock additional media for the game. The requirements for the skill points are not told to the player until unlocked making it more difficult to achieve these points
In addition, multiple Intel documents can be found scattered throughout each level. These give the player an insight into what has happened, is happening, and will happen.
Multiplayer
Resistance: Fall of Man featured a multiplayer mode for up to 40 players online and up to 4 players offline.Multiplayer games had little to no latency, even while playing the 40 player online due to the implementation of dedicated servers across the PlayStation Network.
The multiplayer version of the game also enabled players to create their own clan, create their own matches or join pre-set games. While in games, players could talk to their team mates by using a Bluetooth or USB headset. Text chat was also enabled in pre-game lobbies.
The online multiplayer had an integrated friends system which allowed players to add one another without becoming friends on the PSN. The online friends list showed a player's friend to be either In Lobby, staging or in-game. From here players could Invite to Game, Invite to Party or Send a Message. This in game system allowed for user-friendly interaction between friends and bypassed the need for players to exit the game to talk to friends; a feature that was absent from most other PS3 titles, until system firmware 2.40 was released.
The online servers for the game were closed on March 28, 2014 and the online multiplayer is now unavailable. The closure also disabled the game updates, as it used a different updating system, through the multiplayer servers. However, a workaround was found in 2021 and released in April 2022.
Downloadable content
On June 7, 2007, a spokesperson from SCEA posted a message on MyResistance.net, informing players that complications had arisen and that the Worldwide Update and map pack had been delayed for an unspecified amount of time. However, the spokesperson did mention that it was only for a short period of time.In addition to the above maps, Insomniac made available two additional maps on June 29, 2007 in one map pack for $7.99 USD, $8.99 CAD, £2.99 GBP, €4.49 and $7.45 AU.
An additional map pack was released on November 29, 2007 that includes two additional maps for the price of $4.99 USD.
As of December 11, 2008, all map packs for Resistance: FoM were made available for free as a holiday gift from Insomniac due to the release of Resistance 2.
All map packs are available for local split-screen multiplayer.
The map packs were removed from PlayStation Store in March 2014, although only in Europe. They're still available on PlayStation Store in USA although they cannot be used because of the aforementioned server closure. Since the game used a different system to download the game updates, and since the updates were required for DLC compatibility, the map packs became usable only by people who downloaded the updates before the server closure, in March 2014. Shortly after the closure of the game servers, a digital version of the game was released on PlayStation Store, exclusively in Europe. It comes with all game updates and map packs, and full compatibility with savegames from the physical edition.