While the review was fairly well written, it had an undermining sense of bitterness about it, as if the reviewer was reprimanding a child with poor grades. He sounded disappointed in the game. However, I must commend him for reviewing it with little regard to the game's popularity.
One side point: the guns in the Resistance series are quite original. Few to none of them are direct copies from other games. I mean, what other game has a gun that shoots giant plasma bolts that get more powerful the more walls they go through?
meatloaf231: While the review was fairly well written, it had an undermining sense of bitterness about it, as if the reviewer was reprimanding a child with poor grades. He sounded disappointed in the game. However, I must commend him for reviewing it with little regard to the game's popularity.
One side point: the guns in the Resistance series are quite original. Few to none of them are direct copies from other games. I mean, what other game has a gun that shoots giant plasma bolts that get more powerful the more walls they go through?
It seems a lot like the reviewer is being negative just for the sake of it. I can't help but think that he'd made up his mind before even playing the game. This has been pretty much the first negative thing I've heard about the game, so I reckon I'm still gonna pick it up somewhere along the line.
On a more positive note though, nice to see The Escapist publishing more critical reviews, some of the reviews recently have felt more like adverts than reviews. *cough* Fallout 3 *cough*
haruvister: I've not played R2, so I can't comment on that directly. Yet Mr Endo's review could so easily apply to R1, which I HAVE played. Which would mean that he's basically describing a two year-old game which was, let's face it, already deeply mediocre in its gameplay and eye-avertingly derivative in its production design. It's not the job of professional reviewers to seek a game's qualities in spite of its wealth of deficiencies. I mean, I love Viking: Battle For Asgard, but show me a journalist who scores it above six out of ten and I'll call him or her an unprincipled cretin.
So one should only give a superficial look at the game with the mindset of actively not looking for the quality of it?
No. I mean a professional reviewer (or, if you prefer, critic) isn't doing his job if he provides a reasoned analysis, as Mr Endo seems to have done, only to sweep all his criticisms aside in his conclusion due to some irrational personal love (such as mine for Viking). Mr Endo concludes that R2 is satisfactory at best, therefore average - "mediocre".
Dom Camus: Trouble with the "more of the same" argument is there are players who like that. Who are we to deprive them of their fun?
(Yes, I too am too busy with Little Big Planet to play this...)
True: on the basis of not giving players 'more of the same' we might never have seen Dead Space, for instance - surely a game with absolutely no originality in it's bones, but what a polished and beautiful game to play, regardless.
I'm really tired of these arguments about 'originality over polish'.
I don't have a PS3, and I've never played Resistance 1 or 2.
Another original thing is the 60 player online maps. Yes you couldn't find one but that is because it isn't out yet.
It is out, 60 player skirmish maps are 100% completely out. I think you just might be an idiot is all.
On a side note, one thing I was disapointed at about R2 was the fact that apparently, there are no controlable vehichles! The tank battle in R1 was fun as hell! ;)
I get this strange feeling of bitterness from this review. Almost like Mr. Endo had some personal grudge against this game. Resistance 2 was not perfect(at least in my humble opinion) nor ground-breaking. More a competent, prettied-up sequel. I enjoyed the first outing of the series more. The multi-player was a blast though and Insomniac did try for innovation in that aspect so to say there is nothing new there is a bit misleading. He harps on the repetitive nature of this game. That it doesn't, "do anything new". But repetitive, done-it-all-before is the nature of FPS's. I mean how many WWII shooters are there, and they continue to get high scores from reviewers-COD World at War comes to mind. Innovation in the FP world of gaming can be dangerous, you could end up with another 'Mirror's Edge'. If anything I would say that Resistance 2 does not give you a deep sense of immersion that some other FPS's out there provide. But similarities in shooters is to be expected. No?
Resistance 2 was indeed lacking in terms of what it promised versus what it delivered, but to me this still seemed less like an objective review than a thinly veiled advertisement for HALO! BUY IT TODAY!!! which is getting a bit tiresome. And while other games were mentioned I only bring this up because it was mentioned four separate times in a seven paragraph review. Now, were the Halo games good? Sure. Were they the end all be all of first person shooters that every other shooter in the sci-fi genre is attempting to rip off merely by daring to exist in their shadow? Contrary to popular belief, no. It's like reviewing a new DDR game and constantly bitching about how Guitar Hero does rhythm better, or how you've played all these songs before in Rockband. In fact part of me even believes that somewhere there are even madlibs style templates for reviews such as this, where you just plug in what game you want it to say the new release ripped off. Now I'm not trying to stick up for Sony here or start a flame war, I'm just trying to say that maybe, just maybe, reviewers should focus on the overall fun and mechanics of the game at hand and not get all misty over what games its level design style bears similarity to.
Rhythm Games! For the life of me I couldn't think of an appropriate comparison, as an example types of games that are repetitive in nature or style but enjoyed none-the-less. My brain was totally out to lunch. GOOD JOB Kinetic_man!
James Raynor: OMG NORMAL HOUSES LOOK LIKE.... NORMAL HOUSES!
Geez...
There's probably no land marks because of the fiasco with the church thing.
And seriously, do you think the PS3 can handle the flying ships, a city, AND what goes on in the actual game play?
HAHA you are an idiot the ps3 has way enough power learn stuff before you critisize it.
Ok look i have played the beta. I think that it rocked. Obviously you didn't have much fun online due to the fact that IT ISN'T OUT YET DUHHHH no one will be on apart from other reviewers like you. Ok next i like the game it has a lot of original things. First of all 2 campaighns Usually game developers just slap the original capaighn on for show but resistance 2 has one for single player where you play a human / chimera hybrid person who is super strong and can take on hunderd of enemies and then there is the other campaign which you play as average soldiers (i fogot there name) and you need to work as a team to get through.
Another original thing is the 60 player online maps. Yes you couldn't find one but that is because it isn't out yet. During the beta it is amazing. Even playing people across the world and me here in australia i get NO LAG none wat so ever. I also love the water physics they have put into the game. It looks like real water. I love killing people off a building to have there body fall into the ocian and see the water break like real water, so there is something sort of new. Here is anther thing. The weapons design yes weapons have came and gone but not many games have such creative weapons as resistance2. Halo had the "plasma rifle" hey? Well this game has a gun with a blade on the end and you can spin it up to shoot at people so it sticks to them and continues to shred.
Apart from what i have mentianed above the game has heaps more. I love the community aspect you can easily join friends parties and go to a game with then with no problems and you can also level up your player to unlock better weapons.
So before you judge a game on what isn't new just think about it. Hardly any games now days have unique gameplay you just can't bag one game for doing it when all the others do it to. While your at it go bag fable 2 for bieng another rts game or go back little big planet for bieng a platformer. You need to look at the new stuff in games. Like how little bigplanets art design and gameplay mesh together.
So yeah that is what i had to say....
BTW I WAS NOT BAGGING LBP LBP ROCKS AND IS THE BEST GAME EVER HANDS DOWN AND IF I EVER SAY THESE WORDS AGAIN RIP MY THROUT OUT NOW!!!
I'm not usually one to "review" reviews and their reviewers, but to those that say "it's finally nice to see an honest review" seemingly because the review is negative, that's just as bad as people who claim that negative reviews are posted for reasons of drumming up attention, or that positive reviews are OBVIOUSLY paid for by the publisher. Simply assuming that reviewers are being disingenuous because their opinion does not match yours is both cynical and disrespectful to the writer and the game being reviewed, whomever he or she may be.
What a bad review. When you do a video supplement try to do it right. You seem to know nothing about games whatsoever. Your down-talking of the game seems like a shallow attempt to develop your ego.
I don't even own a PS3 and probably never will but the way you complain about the the production work is completely ignorant.
What a bad review. When you do a video supplement try to do it right. You seem to know nothing about games whatsoever. Your down-talking of the game seems like a shallow attempt to develop your ego.
I don't even own a PS3 and probably never will but the way you complain about the the production work is completely ignorant.
What a bad review. When you do a video supplement try to do it right. You seem to know nothing about games whatsoever. Your down-talking of the game seems like a shallow attempt to develop your ego.
I don't even own a PS3 and probably never will but the way you complain about the the production work is completely ignorant.
God... I actually just watched that video because of your post.
Assuming you even want to call some pretentious ass whining about skyboxes and not being able to kill the boss before the actual fight a review, I'd like to ask the question: Is this seriously what reviews have come to? At no point is the overall gameplay addressed at all with the exception of the apparent fact that walking down one street now makes it a light-gun game, and never before have I seen the "reviewer" so preoccupied with the art direction in the environment. Although level design IS very important in a game I also strongly believe that you know, GAMEPLAY, should fit into that some where. I mean, come on. He's actually complaining about the skyboxes... I just can't get over that. God forbid you can't swim across that river to those big, beautifully rendered, high-resolution, animated, "fake looking" ships and get yourself shot there instead. But wait! Didn't Halo use a skybox effect too?! HERESY!!! Of course maybe that's the only thing that reminded him so very much of Halo, as it was obviously an otherwise flawless series. And what's the deal with all the bawwwing over the underwhelming 1950s environments? It kind of leads me to believe there would have to be a cinematic of Salk developing the polio vaccine or Rosa Parks not giving up her seat on the bus to be authentic enough for him. Radio/TV = old? Check. Cars have fins? Check. Stop playing cartographer and save the world already.
Look, if you want to nit pick realism, particle effects, "lush environments", art design, and other things that only contribute to the ambiance of the game and not it's overall value then pour about four grand into a top of the line PC and run Crysis at maximum settings. But if you're actually concerned with just how fun games are and how well they play then you'll have to make the concession that even today's next-gen systems are still not powerful enough to render an environment of that magnitude without melting. But if that really is all that matters to you in a game, then just be grateful that you never had to live through any of the previous generations of gaming since such graphical monstrosities would probably drive you to simply slitting your wrists.
That said, before I leave this thread and never look back I'd also like to answer the question posed at the end of the video of "Where would we be without H.R. Giger?" While I concede that the world would be a far less interesting place without minds and art like his, I'm also weighed down heavily by the notion that perhaps if he weren't around we wouldn't have to deal with over-opinionated elitist pricks like Tom Endo who think that just because they saw the movie Alien and picked up a Giger art collection at Hot Topic they're somehow more cultured than the rest of us mouth breathers who would never figured out such a witty reference without them.
meatloaf231: While the review was fairly well written, it had an undermining sense of bitterness about it, as if the reviewer was reprimanding a child with poor grades. He sounded disappointed in the game. However, I must commend him for reviewing it with little regard to the game's popularity.
One side point: the guns in the Resistance series are quite original. Few to none of them are direct copies from other games. I mean, what other game has a gun that shoots giant plasma bolts that get more powerful the more walls they go through?
Resistance: Fall of Man.
:p
Please note I said "the guns in the Resistance series," not just Resistance 2. Still, I suppose the originality was in the first one, and just carried over to the second.
While Mr. Endo is entitled to his opinion, this is the internet after all.
I don't think Insomniac were ever known for the "innovativness" in their games, infact none of their games are really "innovative" and this is coming from an Insomni-whore. They're known for making fun games, pure unadulterated fun games, not exactly original or amazing, but they do enough to their games to make it stand out of the crowd of similar games.
A game doesn't always have to bring something new to the table, it can just be a fun game through and through. I understand if you, Mr. Endo, didn't have fun with Resistance but from what I could read and watch in your review I couldn't tell if you were not having fun with it or talking about some art direction or something.
And what constitutes as "ripping off"? Seriously, it seems that any game that has remote similarities to something is automatically branded as "RIPOFF!" instead of, I dunno, "inspired by..." or "similar to...". Why is everything that has coccoons or a cryo-tank is automatically compared to being a "ripoff" of Aliens or some similar movie? I'll assume that you didn't play the original Resistance, but those coccoons are made to transform humans into more Chimera to fight and while that may not be original when I first saw them I didn't thinkg "ALEINS RIPOFF@" I thought "Okay, conversion...creepy" and moved on with the game slowly unraveling the story.
I can understand if you didn't have fun with the game, I don't really give two shits if you hated it and told everyone to burn it (okay, maybe it would irk my brain, but still), but I really couldn't tell heads or tails from your review. But I'll blame that on time constraints, word limits, and more time contraints since I'm sure you guys at the Escapist have a quota to fill.
Well, I wasted a few minutes of my life, but that's fine didn't have anything to do anyway.
**precautionary note: 360 owner, hasn't played either Resistance 1 or Resistance 2**
I have to say, just from looking at the videos of the gameplay itself, I can't see what the big deal is with this game.
The combat looked very odd. To me it seemed like the gun (and it's bullets) were somehow detached from the rest of the game, and the zombies (aliens?) seemed to just be dieing off on their own (that's the way it looked to me anyway)
It may have just been the video, but the graphics didn't look that spectacular, the animations were rather shoddy in places, the pods being blown apart for example looked very out of place, I know they're supposed to be space pods and all that but I felt, in the same line as what I said earlier, that they looked like they were somehow separate from the rest of the world.
This might have just been the videos themselves, but I honestly can't see what the big deal is about this game, I would even cautiously suggest that it just looks like Halo 2 crossed with Half-life 2, at least from what I saw.
The problem about this review was it only contained one point. Surely even the most base average reviews can cover more than one aspect? Since when has anyone written music with only one note? It barely glance over the multiplayer. Detailing nothing and seemingly revealing an almost zero experience of the multiplayer. It fails to deal with an aspect of gameplay/weapon design etc. It's just a badly balanced rant.
(Heh note the way I only made one point, failed to cover all aspects and failed to convey an sort of movement throughout the post. If I were to continue and flesh it out and destroy the irony I would mention that the writer is making a brave stand against repetition. That he is right about background and gameplay. That I myself was disappointed with the game (particularly the changed health system) etc)
I'd assume mainly it's because it's from Insomniac, and come on, Insomniac are basically the VALVe of the Playstation. Sure, it doesn't seem original, and I can't really put my finger on what makes this game a big deal, but it just...is?
I think a problem with this is that people are comparing Resistance to other FPSs when really it's more or less similar to the Ratchet+Clank games in terms of gameplay atleast. Hell, there's an option to play in First-Person view in some Ratchet games. The feel of the guns, the pacing of the gameplay, the huge unnecisarily big n' loaded BFGs in Resistance pretty much makes it R+C in First-Person in an alternate WWII or something the whole time.
I'd assume mainly it's because it's from Insomniac, and come on, Insomniac are basically the VALVe of the Playstation. Sure, it doesn't seem original, and I can't really put my finger on what makes this game a big deal, but it just...is?
I think a problem with this is that people are comparing Resistance to other FPSs when really it's more or less similar to the Ratchet+Clank games in terms of gameplay atleast. Hell, there's an option to play in First-Person view in some Ratchet games. The feel of the guns, the pacing of the gameplay, the huge unnecisarily big n' loaded BFGs in Resistance pretty much makes it R+C in First-Person in an alternate WWII or something the whole time.
Insomniac made R&C, arguably the game with some of the most innovative and creative guns in all video game history...
They made Spyro, a game with a purple dragon going through portals.
I'd assume mainly it's because it's from Insomniac, and come on, Insomniac are basically the VALVe of the Playstation. Sure, it doesn't seem original, and I can't really put my finger on what makes this game a big deal, but it just...is?
I think a problem with this is that people are comparing Resistance to other FPSs when really it's more or less similar to the Ratchet+Clank games in terms of gameplay atleast. Hell, there's an option to play in First-Person view in some Ratchet games. The feel of the guns, the pacing of the gameplay, the huge unnecisarily big n' loaded BFGs in Resistance pretty much makes it R+C in First-Person in an alternate WWII or something the whole time.
Insomniac made R&C, arguably the game with some of the most innovative and creative guns in all video game history...
They made Spyro, a game with a purple dragon going through portals.
And you people call them uninovative?
I'm reluctant to call anything "innovative" these days. Every game either has to have a "gimmick" or an "innovation" to even be worth recomending nowadays and people always semm to "not get it" unless it has a prominent "innovation" or "gimmick" in it.
All I have ever experienced with R+C, hell anything made by Insomniac, was pure fun and I'm fine with that. Every game nowadays seems to try and mash an "innovation" down our throats to prove to us that it's new and interesting, and quite frankly I'm getting sick of it.
So what if R+C were innovating or not? So what if Resistance 2 apparantly "didn't bring anything new to the table"? I just want some fun, I don't need something new every god damn game!
I'd assume mainly it's because it's from Insomniac, and come on, Insomniac are basically the VALVe of the Playstation. Sure, it doesn't seem original, and I can't really put my finger on what makes this game a big deal, but it just...is?
I think a problem with this is that people are comparing Resistance to other FPSs when really it's more or less similar to the Ratchet+Clank games in terms of gameplay atleast. Hell, there's an option to play in First-Person view in some Ratchet games. The feel of the guns, the pacing of the gameplay, the huge unnecisarily big n' loaded BFGs in Resistance pretty much makes it R+C in First-Person in an alternate WWII or something the whole time.
Insomniac made R&C, arguably the game with some of the most innovative and creative guns in all video game history...
They made Spyro, a game with a purple dragon going through portals.
And you people call them uninovative?
I'm reluctant to call anything "innovative" these days. Every game either has to have a "gimmick" or an "innovation" to even be worth recomending nowadays and people always semm to "not get it" unless it has a prominent "innovation" or "gimmick" in it.
All I have ever experienced with R+C, hell anything made by Insomniac, was pure fun and I'm fine with that. Every game nowadays seems to try and mash an "innovation" down our throats to prove to us that it's new and interesting, and quite frankly I'm getting sick of it.
So what if R+C were innovating or not? So what if Resistance 2 apparantly "didn't bring anything new to the table"? I just want some fun, I don't need something new every god damn game!
Well R2 wasn't about WW2 (Same time period), Wasn't about space marines or the future, and it wasn't based on modern times.
Also Iron Ninja they appeared to be dying by them selves because the weapons being used was a blade launcher, bounces around and homes onto enemies.
haruvister: I've not played R2, so I can't comment on that directly. Yet Mr Endo's review could so easily apply to R1, which I HAVE played. Which would mean that he's basically describing a two year-old game which was, let's face it, already deeply mediocre in its gameplay and eye-avertingly derivative in its production design. It's not the job of professional reviewers to seek a game's qualities in spite of its wealth of deficiencies. I mean, I love Viking: Battle For Asgard, but show me a journalist who scores it above six out of ten and I'll call him or her an unprincipled cretin.
No... a reviewers job is to sum up his view on a game, positive and negative. What I'm getting from his review is that he didn't enjoy it much - i.e. because it was too bland or too similar to every other FPS, or was just generally meh.
crappy art rip off events and items yeah yeah but is it fun??? who cares about graphics i care about if im going to have fun im not going to look at the buildings or any of the evioment i want fun im not a graphic freak.
Azzaevil: crappy art rip off events and items yeah yeah but is it fun??? who cares about graphics i care about if im going to have fun im not going to look at the buildings or any of the evioment i want fun im not a graphic freak.
It isn't really possible for any reviewer to say if you personally are going to have fun. You won't know for sure unless you try, and if you're still on the fence after a review from a source you trust, you might as well just go rent the game before you decide to buy it.
From what I saw of the gameplay, the most interesting part was the weapons. Everything else was kinda 'meh, I've seen it before'.
Sir, as a fellow game journalist (well, an aspiring one, that is), I applaud you for being honest about Resistance 2. I can understand that some people would like this (as you mentioned, they've most likely not been exposed to higher quality games like Gears or Fallout), but it feels like many, many other sites are straight-up lying about it. This game looks like shit, plays like shit, and is mostly just a pile of shit. I've had probably 5-10 minutes of fun out of the 2-3 hours I've put into it so far. What a fucking disappointment.
deadgopher: Sir, as a fellow game journalist (well, an aspiring one, that is), I applaud you for being honest about Resistance 2. I can understand that some people would like this (as you mentioned, they've most likely not been exposed to higher quality games like Gears or Fallout), but it feels like many, many other sites are straight-up lying about it. This game looks like shit, plays like shit, and is mostly just a pile of shit. I've had probably 5-10 minutes of fun out of the 2-3 hours I've put into it so far. What a fucking disappointment.
Right, that seems logical. Because there's some sort of huge conspiracy within the gaming journalism industry who explain their opinion and give you a general verdict of the title and are not obligated to say one thing or another, but do so based upon their own taste and perspective. Though by your own logic, these journalists are mere "liars" and only wish to make you spend money on titles you won't enjoy.
Before you ramble about petty theories, try tossing around the idea a bit and really thinking through the logic.
While the review was fairly well written, it had an undermining sense of bitterness about it, as if the reviewer was reprimanding a child with poor grades. He sounded disappointed in the game. However, I must commend him for reviewing it with little regard to the game's popularity.
One side point: the guns in the Resistance series are quite original. Few to none of them are direct copies from other games. I mean, what other game has a gun that shoots giant plasma bolts that get more powerful the more walls they go through?