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As I sit at my desk writing up this preview, word filters through to me that PS3 exclusive FPS Haze may not be the masterpiece everyone was hoping it was going to be. A 6.5/10 review of Free Radical's opus has been pulled pending the expiration of an embargo, while IGN also publish their own 4.5/10 review - shocking a gaming world that assumed Ubisoft's offering could at least give last year's acclaimed releases a run for their big-budget money. If this early negativity proves indicative of the reception likely to greet Haze, then Insomniac's Resistance 2 faces and even bigger task than we'd realised, the PS3 in desperate need of a top-notch exclusive FPS, which can be duly waggled in Microsoft's face.

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The original Resistance was a promising start, the alternative history premise and setting proving compelling while the gameplay itself was better-than-solid, even if the entire package did fall just short of greatness. Still, with Resistance 2 now scheduled for a release this autumn, and Sony plunging further resources behind the series, odds are that number two will be even better.

First things first, the plot. This will see the action pick-up amid humanity's continuing struggle with the Chimera alien invasion, during the period of history when - in the real time-line - the world was recovering from WWII. Once again we'll be playing as Nathan Hale, resisting the forces of Chimera on the shores of North America - battling it out against a seemingly unstoppable force, not to mention the Chimeran virus attacking Hale's own body from within. Expect twists in the tale, epic battles, and more diverse theatres of combat.

If the single player game promises more of the same on a larger scale, the multiplayer is perhaps the area of the game where the word 'overhaul' can be most literally applied; Insomniac promising a unique eight-player co-op campaign, that will follow an entirely seperate, parallel storyline, offering an experience and a plot honed for co-op play specifically. The fact that up to eight players will able to work together through this is new adventure is an ambitious and mouth-watering prospect.

Standard online action will also be receiving plenty of attention, in line with Insomniac's new priorities, and we can expect huge 60 player fracases - across vast landscapes designed to give everyone a stab at greatness. The developers hope to craft an experience in which everyone will have a story to tell, based on what happens during play, beyond the obvious tightening of premise that will give multiplayer fun more significance.

Given that the new game will be set in North America (Manchester Cathedral will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief), we can expect more expansive, diverse settings, the Chimera re-doubling their invasion of Earth following set-backs in London and on continental Europe. The odds of survival look even longer this time, the game presenting us with a world in peril at the game's outset, the Chimera having crushed US towns and cities. Resistance 2 won't be quite as solitary an experience this time around, however, Insomniac introducing a few comrades for Hale called the Sentinels, so-called 'super-soldiers' who will fight the onslaught with you.

Favourite weapons such as the Bullseye and the Auger will be making a return, in redesigned form, and there will be a raft of similarly original new Chimeran weapons introduced, which should challenge the player's fighting abilities even more so than the first hit did. 1953 America will also offer an entirely different landscape from urban and suburban Europe, the dark 40s streets replaced by more open vistas, the developers promising a "beautiful and haunting" stage, as the familiar mixes with the literally alien.

The eight player co-op won't just be about immersing more people in a singular adventure, it will also offer new gameplay potential via the introduction of co-op classes, whereby players can select from one of three specialisations, that will have a significant baring on player's roles, and how the ensuing action pans out. As players move through the game in this manner, they'll also unlock relevant new equipment, armour, and the like. Via the 60-strong standard multiplayer mode, Insomniac are also taking aim at Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, promising to invest more time in this side of the game post-launch, on top of delivering a more complete, re-designed squad-based mechanic, that will offer rankings, skill-based matchmaking, social networking and more of this ilk than you can shake a Master Chief at.

To conclude, while Resistance-the-first was a solid launch title, no one would suggest that it sits comfortably in the same league as last winter's huge genre smashes. With the competition perhaps more firmly in mind than ever, Insomniac look hell-bent on improving their FPS in every way, and this dedication, in tandem with a few splashes of originality, could see the PS3 finally earn the exclusive peach of a game Sony might have hoped Haze could be.

1. Nice amount of informative content in this article. I can't wait for this game.

   me Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 16:42:59

2. gonna be amazing!!!

   you Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 22:55:12