Resistance 2

Resistance 2 follows the opening chapter of the trilogy and pushes the alternate-history invasion of the alien Chimera into even more epic proportions. The player once again takes on the role of soldier Nathan Hale, whose body has been infected by the Chimeran virus and is gradually turning into something between human and the enemy he's fighting. This time the campaign leaves Europe behind and leads through devastated American cities from San Francisco to Chicago, where the player gradually learns how catastrophically the invasion struck the United States and how desperate the defense of humanity's remnants has become. The player also faces giant bosses that give the series a genuine sense of threat and scale rarely offered by shooters of the time, and the fights against them are among the game's most memorable moments.

The gameplay rests on a classic FPS foundation enriched by a more limited weapon loadout at any one time, which pushes the player toward more tactical decision-making than the more open-ended first game. The arsenal combines earthly weapons with strange Chimeran technologies that enable unconventional ways to eliminate enemies, such as shooting around corners or slowing down time. Great emphasis was placed on an eight-player cooperative mode with its own campaign running parallel to the main story, and on an extensive online multiplayer supporting up to sixty players, an unusual scale for consoles at the time, showing where online play on PS3 could head. Insomniac Games leveraged the console's power to render sprawling battlefields and mass battles with many enemies on screen at once without the game losing smoothness.

The atmosphere draws on a grim vision of an occupied America and industrial, oppressive music underscoring the hopelessness of the resistance against overwhelming odds, while the visuals alternate between ruined metropolises and dark underground complexes. Contemporary reviews particularly praised the boss fights, the variety of environments, and the multiplayer component, although some fans of the first game missed the split-screen co-op that the sequel replaced with an online-only format. In the context of the genre, this was one of the more ambitious console shooters of its generation, showing that even an exclusive console series could rival the scale of major multiplatform hits. It's still remembered today as a technically and content-wise solid sequel that knew how to work with the large scale of its world and offer players a rich mix of action, atmosphere, and teamwork.

Why play it: Fans of grim sci-fi shooters will be drawn in by the dark atmosphere of an occupied America, elaborate boss fights, and an extensive multiplayer, although fans of the first game may miss the split-screen co-op.