For the most part, the combat in general felt quite similar to the original Resistance. A couple of new weapons were available in the demo, such as a new semi-automatic rifle, known as the Marksman, and a minigun, but overall, the engagements were pretty familiar. Don’t worry about Resistance 2’s higher player count being the only upgrade, as Insomniac has created an all new experience/rewards system that does add some extra depth, as well as incentive for team play.

Experience is gained through killing enemy players and completing objectives, much in the same way it works in Call of Duty 4. The inclusion of an XP system in many new FPS games of late (example: Battlefield: Bad Company) shows that this mechanic is starting to look like the next big trend in online shooters, but that’s a whole other article. So anyways, all of these XP points have to go somewhere, right?

As you gain XP, a variety of special abilities will be unlocked that can be activated at any time during gameplay by pressing right on the D-pad. In the E3 demo, only Chimeran powers were available, but we were assured a Human set will be in the final build. Some of the abilities available in the demo were: berserker, invisibility, extra health, electro-orb burst, and Chimeran vision. Other functions that I really enjoyed were the healing circle and leadership aura; the latter gives double XP to those who stick close to the one wielding the perk. This is a fantastic way to encourage team play. Not only does it give players a reason to stick together, but dangles a double XP coated carrot in front of them, satiating every gamer’s greed for more points, but persuading them to do it through teamwork.

If we really wanted to pick on Resistance 2, we’d have to say that the multiplayer’s graphics don’t seem to have all that much of an upgrade from the original. The single-player footage I have witnessed appears to be further along in terms of the environments’ lighting and texture details, but remember that this is not a final build.

When a representative from Sony was around, we did try to get some details on other maps out of them, but all we could manage is that the game will “probably” have more than ten at launch.

So although it may not have looked immediately different from its predecessor on the surface, Resistance 2 is doing a good job of not only supporting its enormous player count, but is efficiently managing it through controlled squads and team focused mechanics that exist within them. We know Resistance may be a bit insecure about its more attractive PS3-exclusive sister drawing all those stares at E3, but we can say that the game’s multiplayer ran well, and there’s still plenty more for Insomiac to reveal.