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Exclusive Interview: Resistance 3
by Chris Hawke
3.9.11

You submitted the questions, we got the answers. Following on from our 'Ask Your Questions' article, Insomniac's James Stevenson has been kind enough to answer your questions regarding Resistance 3, which is almost upon us. Better get cracking, then.

Will Nathan Hale show his alien, bullet-riddled face in Resistance 3? What will post-release DLC comprise of? What does the future hold for the Resistance series? All these questions, and more, have answers below. Have fun.

Is Resistance 3 going to answer the major questions regarding the history of the Resistance universe? In particular, are we finally going to see the complete picture of who the Chimera are, where they came from, and what is their relationship to Earth and humanity?

For the players dying to know more about the mythos and the lore, there are lots of nuggets hidden throughout the game. The overall story of the game is more about one man and his journey across the country, though, rather than necessarily getting into the high-level story about the Chimera themselves.


How long will the Resistance 3 campaign be?

It’s around the same as the others; give or take your skill, and difficulty level, maybe a shade shorter. We think it’s a varied and well-paced campaign though, and should be really satisfying. Plus, you can replay on a higher difficulty level to continue levelling your weapons up.


What have you, Insomniac Games, learned on the Resistance 3 project that you wish had been more apparent when developing the previous installments?

Just having time to play the game was such a luxury. Moving to a three-year development cycle allowed us to really step back and take a look at the game as a whole with months to go. In the past, at that point we would’ve been scrambling to finish the game. This time we were able to make major changes in pacing and training of players, and it made a huge difference for Resistance 3.


Will we get online trophies via post-release DLC?

We will have some DLC, but we won’t be adding any trophies in the DLC. For us, we wanted the full trophy suite to be available to campaign/co-op players, and to allow medals and statistics to form MP side of it for those that like it.


In split screen co-op mode, will you be able to use two Move controllers and two navigators?

No, it will be Dualshock only for split screen.


Is Resistance 3 going to have that same cooperative perk system the second one had? Or is it going to be a more streamlined experience?

We actually are back to campaign co-op for Resistance 3. One of the big reasons we shifted was due to overwhelming fan feedback on Resistance 2 that they were disappointed, so we removed it. Furthermore we knew that, to get the level of polish on R3 that we required, we would have to reduce the scope. So making sure our co-op was playable through the campaign, instead of as a separate co-op campaign, was huge in that goal.


What's been the biggest influence on the design around the third game? What did you absolutely want to make better?

The biggest thing we wanted to do this time was create a very focussed, atmospheric experience. We wanted to tell the personal story of Joseph Capelli – and not make another military shooter. So, we looked at a lot of great films that do a really good job showcasing a brutal personal journey. For instance, The Road was a big influence. And on the game side, we looked at Half-Life 2 and Metro 2033, both very atmospheric experiences.


Will Nathan Hale make a return or be referenced in one form or another?

We actually discussed this quite a bit at the beginning of production. Should Hale come back? Should he be a major boss in the game? In the end, we felt like it’d be really cheesy to revive him, and that his legacy would be best left if we kept him buried.


Just how far across America can we be expected to hike?

So far! From Haven, Oklahoma to New York City. Let’s just say you couldn’t make a day-hike out of it.


With Insomniac branching into multiplatform games like Overstrike, are there plans to introduce Xbox gamers to the Resistance series?

Sony owns the Resistance IP, so it’s unlikely that that will happen.


Just how much will Resistance 3 expand and possibly shake up the canon of the series? Could we expect to see a future game set on an alien world?

You know, the Resistance universe is so vast that there are many, many possibilities for a tonne of exploration. So, who knows! There’s already a future game announced for PlayStation Vita that’s being developed by Nihilistic, called Resistance: Burning Skies, which will take you back to the US invasion.


Will Resistance take a back seat after Resistance 3, so Insomniac can focus on Overstrike or Ratchet & Clank?

We’re just focussed on supporting Resistance 3, getting Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One out of the door, and continuing development on Overstrike and our Insomniac Click Facebook game. As far as what else is down the road, anything is possible!


Many fans were upset with the general tone of Resistance 2. Do you think Resistance 3 rectifies this and aims to please the core fans more?

We like to think Resistance 3 combines the best parts of Fall of Man and R2. The result is the definitive Resistance experience for fans of the series. I think when they get their hands on it they will feel the same way.


And one very specific one from a reader:

This is a really important question, because I really want to buy the Survivor Edition but I currently live in Germany, so I have to know if the German (USK) version of R3 comes with the English language pack or not.

If English is set as your primary language on your PS3, it should automatically be in English. So, yes!

Thanks to all you who you sent questions in, and thank to James Stevenson and Ryan Schneider for the interview. Be sure to stick around, as we have many more games and developers simply queuing up for a GGTL interview in the near future, including one for an upcoming Bethesda game.

...if only I could remember what it was called.

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- Chris Hawke
Ask Your Questions: Resistance 3
by Chris Hawke
24.8.11

Man has fallen. The world lies shaken, shattered, and smouldering. There is no hope left for our kind.

Except everything's awesome now, because there's a planet full of aliens to shoot at! Insomniac Games' vision of an Earth owned by extra-terrestrials may seem bleak on the outside, but pick up a Bullseye and you may just have the time of your short, puny and meaningless life. Resistance 3 isn't exactly a happy game, but it's going to be one hell of a ride.

We have an exclusive interview with the tireless homo sapiens at Insomniac, and it's only fair that you, the loving and adoring fans, get to ask the questions. So long as you're not a Chimera.

Just follow the steps below to submit your intelligent questions.


Pop it in the comments section
The fastest way to ask your question is via the comments system on this page. You can login using your Disqus, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo or OpenID account, or just comment as a guest. It's quick and amazingly simple.

Get in touch via Twitter
Have a Twitter account? Tweet your question to us. All you need to do is send us a message via @ggtl. Also, you'll need to be using Twitter on a non-protected account, so we can recieve your tweets. If you use a protected account, use one of the other options to submit your question.

Send us an e-mail
If you're not a fan of comments systems or social networking, but fancy something a bit more personal, you can send any questions over to chrishawke@gamersguidetolife.com and we'll do our best to include them.


Ask questions that are as in-depth as you want, on any aspect of the game, development or the future of the series. We'll throw as many as practically possible into our interviewee's eardrums. It couldn't be easier.



Check back regularly to see what we've cooked up for you, or follow our Twitter account to hear about new articles as soon as they arrive.

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- Chris Hawke
Analysis: Resistance 3 reveal trailer - The Fall of Man in Missouri
by Chris Hawke
18.8.10

Welcome, one and all, to yet another in-depth analysis from the Gamer's Guide to Life.com eagle-eyed workers! Following on from our Assassin's Creed 3 close-up, we're back with more pictures and explanatory detective work than you can shake a Chimeran stick at. We're sorry if the page loads slowly, and remember that you can view the pictures in full-res glory by right clicking and pressing 'view image' or similar. Take your seats, get the popcorn, and start booting up your inner-nerd: we're going in...


The trailer, which you can see here, starts with an unknown man jumping onto a moving train. There are five other people in there, and it's pretty clear these guys are the resistance - no army, no special forces, just a bunch of people wanting their home back.


We close up on them as they nervously fiddle with amulets and look a bit grumpy. Here's where it all kicks off. After various long shots of the American countryside (ohh, isn't it nice?), we see two spiders. The first is the horrible little creature you and I kill in the bathroom every so often, but the second is much more evil.


In case it hasn't hit home - we lost. The Chimera won, and have control over parts, or even the whole, of America. To makes things even more clear...


In the centre, you can see a rather large, hulking beast roaming the lands. Humankind just got pwned. This shot also hides a secret - you should just be able to make out a red nuclear sign, probably saying 'Warning' or the like. Did the US nuke their own soil? Do the aliens have WMDs?


But enough of that - there's some dead guys to look at - there's one just in front of that truck. Ouch...

And here's the big find...


Not only do you see a poster for New York, seemingly the games setting, but look just to the left of that - it's an image of an arch...


You can see the real thing just before the tunnel - what is it? We believe it's called the Gateway Arch - and it's in St. Louis, Missouri. So, why is the train in the mid-east of the USA if the game is set in New York? We have no idea. This group of resistance fighters aren't the main characters, remember, so we could just be seeing parts of the US that are 'worst hit'.

Want more info? Well, we managed to track down the exact line the train goes in to. The railroad going through the park, parallel to the Gateway Arch, is the TRRA Railroad, a part of the Union Pacific Railroad, which stretches from Chicago, Illinois (a playable area in Resistance 2) to the Pacific coast. The tunnel underneath the memorial steps is the Arch Grounds Rail Tunnel #2, built 1963 (same time that the Arch started construction) - we think either this, or the Arch Ground Rail Tunnel #3, is the tunnel you see in the image.

We're also noting that the arch began construction in 1963, and judging that it doesn't seem fully built in the image, and with construction ending 1965, the game must take place within that time window. It means we're looking at sequel to Resistance 2, which was set in the 1950s, not a prequel.

Now, the shooting starts. For being so good, here's a nice shot of a Chimera getting plugged:



And another cool snap of Craig The Chimera with lockjaw. Poor fella:



You can also see that the aliens still wear the heat packs that stop their bodies burning up:



And, finally, the title. It's seen from the point-of-view of the man we saw getting on the train at the start - he's been hurt, and he looks up at the wall of the train, before blacking out. You can clearly make out the Statue Of Liberty and Empire State Building inside the logo's letters, following the same trend of using landmarks of the game's setting in the logo as the previous two games.



So, that's it folks! If you see anything else, stick it in the comments, and don't forget to follow our Twitter. Oh, and if you want to join in with the Gamer's Guide to Life Network, we're hiring! See? It's always time for a shameless plug...

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- Chris Hawke
GGTL Classics
Some of the very best articles dug out from deep in the GGTL archives, written by some of our past and present wordsmiths alike.
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