Why Did Resistance Never Get As Big As Halo? Maybe It Changed Too Much.

Resistance started out as a Halo clone. It was to be Sony's answer to Microsoft, the PlayStation's own sci-fi shooter and killer app. It was to sell millions and earn its own base of rabid fans.

[banjadude]

Wait a second, I thought people were comparing Resistance more to Gears of War (at least Gears of War 2)?

I think Resistance 2 was the weakest link of the three, and despite what many people believe, I think R3 was the best and truest to R1. In terms of R3, I didn't play Multiplayer, so I can probably see what critics did not like, but the single player did have that Resistance feel/charm to it.

[BiggCMan]

I'll agree that, from the story point of view, 2 is weakest, 3 is best, and 1 is in the middle. I think most people would agree actually. But I believe they mean multiplayer in fact, and from that point of view, I believe it's actually reversed completely.

I believe 2 is the best strictly because of the co-op feature, it was unique, and still today is really different from any other game. 3 to me, was just God awful in the multiplayer aspect, it really was terrible. And again, I would say 1 is in the middle, it's fun, it's old school, but not quite all there.

That's the MAIN problem for the franchise, there is no consistency. There are 2 extremities with sequels, first there is the sequel that barely changes a damn thing, and feels not much like a new experience. Then there is the sequel that changes WAYYYY too much, it doesn't even feel like the same game.

And to me, that's where Resistance lies, each game I think is just too different, it doesn't feel cohesive like most video game franchises do. But keep in mind, change isn't bad, all game sequels change a LITTLE bit, but still feel similar to what is familiar. Resistance is too different in my opinion, and while they are good games separately, together it's a cluster of different games that feel that they don't belong together.

[banjadude]

Haha, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really understand R2's story at all. The pacing, the awkward moments when teammates would speak, and just the audio effects drowned out everything during the main campaign.

Thankfully, as you mentioned, co-op was the icing on that cake (didn't touch competitive at all).

[Anon1974]

I hated the loss of the split-screen co-op in the campaign in the second game. And then they tacked on a co-op mode that you could play locally via split screen, but you were doomed because really you needed 3 players to get anywhere and you could only play two locally. Ugh. Glad to see split screen co-op back in the campaign for 3. I've finished it once but I'm looking forward to playing it again with my wife (if only our children would sleep)

[Slient Knight 9]

The only thing that i missed in resistance 3 was vehicle segments you had in the first resistance game, just breaks up the gameplay a bit gives you breather from just shooting.

Loved weapons in Resistance 3 though and how upgrading works, the Mutator was my favourite.

[RickHiggity]

Honestly I dont know what to compare resistance to. I feel like R2 may have been trying to take the call of duty approach, But the series has a style all its own IMO.

[tigertron]

I agree, but I think RFOM was by far the best followed by Retribution - thats the true sequel to RFOM.

I was a huge Resistance fan when the first game came out and I really enjoyed playing Retribution, but 2 and 3 just didn't feel like Resistance to me, although 3 was more like it than 2 - 2 is the odd one out.

[Fishy Fingers]

Maybe it wasn't as good...?

[NukaCola]

Not necessarily the case. It's a matter of identity. Halo is Halo, such as COD is COD. Other than a few tweaks here and there, those two franchises have never changed once and people have become comfortable with them. I don't think Halo has improved as a game over the years as much as other franchises have. I personally always think the original game will be the best of the series, but at the same time, I always feel comfortable picking up Halo and playing. I know the product, I grew up with. Other franchises have tried new things and changed so much, they never really got their identity down. Resistance is a great series. It should of stayed the way it was created from the start. The Devs tried to appease and reach out to the fans of COD ( The most popular game and shooter in recent years ) and it effected it. If Halo dropped everything you love about it, and became a COD-like shooter, I can guarantee the majority of the fans would not want it. It's about identity. When games lose their identity, there's a break in trust or faith in the series. This is just my opinion. I think Resistance would of been better off (Also looking at KZ3) if it just stayed the way the devs originally intended.

[Amplitude]

Oh absolutely agree with the article.

I miss FoM. The giant open maps. That awesome sniper. Everything just felt so good haha. Melee-only one-hit-kill matches in the bus yard xD always fun. Not sure why they decided to change it.

Still loved the single player of Resistance 2 and 3. Actually i liked the multiplayer too... just not nearly as much as FoM.

Also Resistance 3 single player was actually unbelievably good <.<

[alster23]

it seemed like the resistance series was struggling to find an identity, the trilogy was all over the place in terms of gameplay. resistance 2 was definitely the weakest of the 3 while resistance 3 was most likely the best. But oh well it was clear that that franchise is dead or put on the back burner since insomniac isnt planning on doing anything with it. kinda sad that the series had to end with burning skies.

halo by contrast has remained relatively the same. granted there have been updates to gameplay such as loadouts and what not but that halo feel is still felt.

[Hovis]

R1 - Great
R2 - Generic meh
R3 - Best FPS of 2011 by far

The problem with it (as with all PS3 exclusives really) is that they just don't have as much buzz created as Microsoft does for theirs.

I saw a few banners over London for R3 but I bet barely anybody knew what the game was unless they were into gaming.

Shame really because the whole franchise had great potential and had a great developer behind it.

[Dropdeadll]

Do people still play R3 mp?

[bubblebeam]

@Hovis

Agreed completely. Sony's problem is that they have all the quality, but they can't seem to advertise enough.

In a competitive world, Sony can't just rely on their name to sell anymore. We have seen what they can do when they advertise (Uncharted 3 has sold as much or close to Gears 3, Gran Turismo 5 has sold over 8 million units).

Hopefully next gen they start big advertising for their games. Who knows, maybe then we might have seen Insomniac continue the Resistance franchise.

[beerkeg]

It wasn't as appealing, and it didn't have a fan base as big as Halo after its first game. That's not to say it doesn't have a fan base, but the first Halo was a groundbreaking game, it made a far larger impact.

[Kouzmich]

yup it did change to the worst with each game.I remember first was a blast , some UT clone I would say more then Halo, 20vs20 was awesome. R2 I have no idea what they tried to do , but it failed. R3 the only 8vs8 is a complete fail IMO. It could have been awesome series , but now I just wish they retire it and bring a new IP instead.

[BitbyDeath]

Pretty much this.
Don't know why they strayed from the online in R1.
That was by far the best of the three.

[darthv72]

Maybe technically because both resistance and halo were both fps games but realistically neither were anywhere close in regards to story or feel of gameplay.

Killzone would be more akin to halo given the futuristic nature of the story. resistance is a good series that should stand on its own instead of being a comparative. In fact, the only real comparatives should be those that are released on multiple platforms.

i can see why there would be a need to compare certain games but lets be honest. If the association is simply the type of game then the comparative being made is more about hits than anything else.

Examples of good comparatives: Ghostbusters, Assassin Creed, Madden... Those were games released on multiple platforms.

Examples of bad comparatives: Forza vs GT (association is just they are racing games), Resistance vs halo vs killzone vs conduit (association is they are all FPS), Smash bros vs All star battle (association is they are consolidated platform fighter).

when people feel compelled to compare two totally different games made by two totally different companies on two totally different platforms then it shows them trying to justify their initial system of choice. If anyone is to make a comparison then it should be the consumer.

[NYC_Gamer]

Insomniac failed the whole franchise by going in so many different directions

[dangert12]

Personally I think, If killzone which I think is better then halo cannot better halo in numbers it was even more unlikely Resistance that only came out this gen would of.

Also things like Halo has a better online and story but resistance I think has better story telling.The story Is just not that great lol

[akaakaaka]

The competitive MP in FOM was the best... if is a Resistance 4 it should have a MP like FOM and a campain that has a good mix of FOM and 3... no co op!

The MP in FOM was was like playing in co op but much fun and actuality competitive and you had to be cooperative to win the match.(R2 co op was very chaildish, it does not fit in the resistance universe, should be more mature)

Plus let's go to a modern era already.. that will put Resistence back on the map.

[SnakeCQC]

easy they killed off the main character

[jukins]

i've always wondered why they strayed so far away from the succesful formula of part 1. the battles where epic the weapons were innovative and the multiplayer was smooth and fun not to mention the 30 vs 30 lagless gameplay.

part II was a segmented mess, although decent, that at times turned into a trial and error to make it to the next part of a level.

part 3 was just a technical mess. had a good story tho but the gameplay and technical aspects just didnt come with it.

[Neko_Mega]

I like how any PS3 game has to be pair with some random 360 title, KZ and R1/R2/R3 compare to Halo.

Sony hasn't really said "This is going to be better then silly Halo", just sites like this say they did. I like both and I play all of the ones that came out of Resistance and Halo (well I played Halo Wars demo, but to me it isn't a Halo game like the others).

[masa2009]

Resistance accomplished nothing special.
The weapon gimmick was already there in Insomniac's previous games, the oversized enemies made the game feel even more gimmicky and only highlighted the rather mundane mechanics in other aspects of the franchise.
The level design was too formulaic, there were some more open battle zones but the overall structure still feels very linear and restrictive with plenty of scripts and artificial bottlenecks.
The characters were bland, and R2's harsh finale or R3's road movie story couldn't offset that.
It constantly veered between passable B-movie yarn and pompous failed blockbuster.
The alternate history didn't result into a really different universe than plenty of other stuff.
Compared to Cortana's wit, and the motley alliance of mystical alien races in Halo, it just doesn't hold a candle.

When I play Killzone, Sony's other big FPS, I see some pacing issues and uncompelling characters, but also weighty gameplay and genuine visual identity, as well as tremendous production values.
It's still not as good as Halo overall, but some elements are.

When I play Resistance, I think of slightly above average competence.
If you buy it, you aren't getting screwed.
But if you skip it, you save 60 bucks and that's just as well.

[smashcrashbash]

BS. Resistance was NOT a HALO clone. Kotaku talks so much BS. I cannot understand it. Every time you look on Kotaku they blatantly and confidently talk so much BS.Resistance was NOTHING like Halo. The only similarity to Halo was that they both had guns. The story, time, weapons, enemies, vehicles, stages. NOTHING was even similar in any way. Resistance got hate for no reason at all. It didn't have problems with aiming or any major glitches in gameplay, the story was better then most FPS's,the enemies were varied, it was challenging, every weapon was cool and effective, it was had a creepy war torn environment, the Chimera were a frightening and effective enemy, the achievements, extra weapons and collectables gave the game replay value and they were the first to make the whole life regeneration thing not as simple as hiding behind something to restore all your life.

And to make it worse Insomniac changed the game in both sequels according to what people complained about and it STILL got nothing but hate. The games didn't even get bad scores and the hate still continued. And every time I ask anyone why they didn't like Resistance I can never get a straight or sensible answer. Resistance is just another game disliked for no reason at all.And the stupidest excuse of all 'It's not Halo'. Insomniac crafted a shooter better then so much of the crap people play out there and the only excuse people can come up with is 'It not Halo'.

You can throw all the disagrees at me all you want. Kotaku talks nothing but BS.Resistance like so many games should have been put on a pedestal but instead ends up in a bargain bin when so many other games deserve it more.

@ Godmars290. See that is the crap I am talking about. The aliens lacked personality quirks? The grunts were comical? Hello, Resistance monsters were things made out of infected people hell bent on killing everyone with cooling devices stapled to their backs following a hive mind. What did you expect them to do. Break out in a song and dance? Do an Irish jig? Put on top hat and throw pies? This is the exact nonsense I am talking about.

[Godmars290]

"Resistance monsters were things made out of infected people hell bent on killing everyone with cooling devices stapled to their backs"

Okay, try this on for size:
After being infected yourself, you escape to a refugee camp, meet a few of the residents, use it as a base for a mission or two then come back to find it that's been infected. People who've you've met and know are slowly losing themselves, becoming the enemy, as enemy reinforcements being to full overrun the position. You have to witness and experience that knowing that such is going to happen to you.

Resistance failed/fails because it doesn't tell its full story. There are no "everywhere is the front-line" moments largely because of technical limitations you don't get to see civilians trying to survive while you fight.

[farhsa2008]

Resistance is far better than Halo.
The only reason Halo is seen so highly is because it is the main fps for xbox whereas ps3 has far more exclusive shooters as well as games in general.

I will say that the resistance franchise is my favourite and it deserved to sell so much more than it did.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Stopped reading after the first sentence.

[Amplitude]

Haha good idea xD

[Amplitude]

Haha good idea xD You did the right thing.

Definately wasn't a Halo clone.

[Captain Tuttle]

I don't think Resistance was a Halo clone. Not even close.

[Godmars290]

1 - Sony never put the advertising money behind it.
2 - It lacked a strong real world hook like online. multiplayer. Online MP wasn't as big of a deal than it was when Halo came out.
3 - Aliens lack personality quirks. Where halo grunts were comical in the heat of battle, everything in Resistance just wanted to kill you.

The BS with the water monsters in R2 didn't help either.

[dragonyght]

1. original formula
2. forgot about FOM and made a halo clone
3. too late damage already been done

its sad that Resistance never toke off

[taquito]

bacause ww2 is and was so played out, even with the alt reality, the setting did not appeal to mainstream audiences, personally i love the series (first is my favorite) but it's not a mainstream game, thats not a bad thing, i love halo, bf3, killzone, gears and resistance, love em freaking all!

[ChunkyLover53]

Halo came out at a time when sandbox shooters weren't really on home gaming consoles, it was a different time and it came out at the right time. Resistance was good, but it wasn't in the same league as Halo, and they shouldn't have been trying to make it a Halo game for Sony or the PS3 anyway.

[StreetsofRage]

Resistance is a good franchise but falls between an already flooded genre of good fps. Just another dark shooter in war torn streets.

Halo has unique character. Not many get to the elite status of Halo's level. The design, the imagination, the gameplay, the story, the skill level, Forge....everything about Halo is just pure perfection.

[The_KELRaTH]

I really liked the unsaturated colours of R1, they should have kept that as it's theme.
R2 multiplayer felt too linear and it took far too long to kill anything.

R3 is excellent, the multiplayer has a great feel to it. The field of vision is spot on, graphics are sharp and crisp and the maps are fun with plenty of routes. As for it being clone of Halo, I just don't see it, it has much closer ties to Enemy Territory Quake Wars.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

The biggest issue of Resistence is that they killed off the main character just in the second game. Why in gods name would you kill off the main character right when he was becoming exciting? People were beginning to relate to him.

You kill off the main character you kill off the franchise.

Why do you think Bungie showed Master Chief was still alive after the end credits of Halo 3?

The only time you kill off the main character is when you choose to end the franchise.

[urwifeminder]

The multi in r2 was great it alone was better than the entire first game for me strange the differing tastes.

[smashcrashbash]

And you know what ticks me off the most about when people put down Resistance? It them saying that Insomniac changed the way the game was and that is why it failed when Insomniac was just trying to do what people asked for. I never thought that original way was bad but people insisted that it needed to change. And when they did change it people started to complain about it and insist that they change it back and when they did change it back in R3 and STILL people found ways to complain.

So in short people didn't like what they asked Insomniac to do and Insomniac is guilty for trying to please us. That about sums up the modern gamer. You ask for something then, throw it back in the face of the developer who is trying to do it when you realize that what you wanted didn't turn out right and complain even harder when they decide not to listen to you. If Insomniac had ignored the complainers and keep going with the original formula the series would be better off but then we would have to listen to all the articles how unprofessional Insomniac is and how they never listen. I can see why Insomniac floated away from the series. They were obviously tired of listening to the constant whining which I have come to realize comes from the Sony gamer side more often then I thought was true.

[ginsunuva]

"Resistance started out as a Halo clone"

Lol wtf? What child wrote this article and which of his buddies approved it?