"When the Russians closed their borders, we feared they were developing a weapon of unparalleled power. The truth was far worse..."

Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man was well hyped even before it released as the first PS3 release title. Originally named I-8, due to the fact that it was Insomniac's eighth game, the game centered around an alien invasion set on a parallel earth during the WW2 era. And it absolutely blew me away.

I got my PS3 on my birthday, just after launch. And, as if that wasn't enough, three games came packed in a separate present: Resistance, MotorStorm and Ridge Racer 7. There was absolutely no doubt which was going into my baby first. Ripping off the wrapping paper like a maniac, I slid the Blu-Ray disk into my PS3 and booted the game up.

First impressions certainly impressed me. I was instantly thrown into the action; the first thing I saw was an army chopper falling out of the sky and exploding - with almost frightening realism. The sound was fantastic, too. Having hooked the PS3 up to my stereo system, I experienced the full blast of the Dolby-enabled sound effects. Bloody hell, I nearly wet myself with excitement.

I must have played through at least three-quarters of the game that day. And my mates were pretty amazed with it too - the multiplayer option was a particular favourite, with many commenting on how fantastic the graphics were and the gameplay was. It was definitely addictive, and it set the benchmark for other shooters on PS3 high.

My friends were right, for once - the gameplay and graphics were absolutely amazing. The framerate was smooth and fast, and the gameplay was immersive and challenging. The weapons felt satisfying to fire, and the gameplay engine allowed me to play it one-man-army style or more tactically, should I so wish. At that party, the humble Resistance was even compared to the likes of the Halo series. Magic.

Back then, Insomniac's offering was possibly one of the best games ever to have graced the face of the games industry. The visuals and gameplay that Resistance brought us were fantastic - the likes of which had never been seen before that moment, apart from perhaps on the most powerful of gaming PC's. But now, how does FoM hold up almost two years later? I slipped the disk back into my PS3 to see, just for old times sakes'.

Visually, Resistance is still magnificent. True, there are better out there now, but the graphics are still believable, immersive and realistic even next to the likes of the mightiest of the new wave of FPS's. That first part, with the explosive helicopter, is still up there with some of my favourite game starts ever, and the game still lives up to the reputation it gained in the first place. The gameplay feels a little old fashioned now, compared to that of newer shooters such as Call of Duty 4, but it is still fun and reminds me just what a brilliant game it really was.

So, Resistance: Fall of Man still feels like quality, even after a while and at least twenty new first-person shooters. I'm ashamed to say that I forgot about Resistance in the heat of all the new shooters being released, but now I've played it again, I'm sticking firmly by it as one of my very favourite games ever.

"Never underestimate humanity's will to survive."

Linford

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