SPOILER WARNING: This preview contains information about the first several hours of Resistance 3, including plot details, character reveals and more. There is also a spoiler in regard to Resistance 2's ending. If you don't want either/or, I suggest you don't read any further.
A common technique in fiction is to solve catastrophe, heartache or other similarly unsavory outcomes by ultimately giving the good guys the last laugh. And maybe that will end up happening in the world of Resistance, but if my most recent taste of this PlayStation-exclusive series is any indication, things are going to get a whole lot darker for humanity before things look up again. Set four years after the apocalyptic events of Resistance 2, the situation on Earth is more hopeless than ever in Resistance 3. The invading alien race known as the Chimera are achieving its goal of total occupation, having killed over 90 percent of the Earth's population in the process. And the Chimera's growing confidence shows in its actions to make the planet their very own.
The Chimera aren't on the offensive anymore. Now, they're on clean-up duty. As Resistance 3's first chapter begins in Haven, Oklahoma, you'll be introduced to a cell of human survivors. They live underground in a rustic but well-outfitted settlement, hiding from death squads sent out by the Chimera while simply attempting to survive. As the opening sequence outlines, Nathan Hale's death at the end of Resistance 2 led to some medical breakthroughs that could halt the advance of the devastating Chimeran virus. But it might be a key discovery that was made too late, simply adding to the hopeless vibe of Resistance 3 that smacks you in the face as soon as you start playing.
A death squad ends up stumbling upon the quiet settlement, and the fighters within the group have no choice but to wield weapons and face-off with Chimeran Hybrids on the streets of Haven. Immediately upon heading outside, it's clear that the Chimera in Resistance 3 are a bit different than the ones in previous games. While not always responsive (perhaps due to this being an incomplete build of the game), the AI seems to be a little smarter, a little quicker and a bit more overpowering. Either way, the Chimera have plenty to be confident about. After all, they've been knocking the humans around relentlessly since leaving the confines of Russia years earlier.
Does Resistance 3 sound bleak? Well it is. The one aspect of the Resistance series that helps it stand apart from other first-person shooters isn't only its artfully-told story rooted in alternate history and the classic sci-fi hook of alien invasion. It also has to do with how dark the fiction is, and how well it not only tells you, but also shows you the story in unique ways. In Resistance 3 especially, storytelling seems to be heightened to a crescendo. Because following that epic firefight with Chimeran Hybrids and a huge Chimeran machine known as a Stalker, all becomes quiet again. At least for now. And you're reminded of just how desolate Earth has become now that the Chimera have sacked it, with nothing but debris-filled gray skies filling the horizon. But it will become loud and boisterous again at a time and place of the Chimera's choosing. Such is the advantage of a forceful occupier.
The Chimera now know that there's a band of humanity in Haven, and it's time for everyone to get out of dodge. Of course, the Chimera didn't just stumble upon this discrete settlement on accident. Dr. Malakov, an old, familiar face to Resistance fans, seems to have given their position away in an attempt to find Capelli. But the reason for such flagrant disregard for this settlement's safety seems strangely acceptable. In New York City, the Chimera have opened up a mysterious rift in spacetime. The reason for this wormhole is yet unknown, but one thing is clear. This anomaly, as well as the Chimera's ambitious attempt to terraform the entire world, has made Earth a whole lot colder. Joseph needs to be poked and prodded only so much to ultimately accompany the old man eastward in hopes of finding a much-needed solution to humanity's existential problem.
Clearly, nothing is looking up for humanity as Resistance 3 gets under way. It's already too cold for all but a few crops to grow. But another deep winter will inevitably crush humanity's resolve, as well as their organic means of survival. At the behest of Joseph's wife, he and Malakov travel together by boat down a frozen, debris-ridden river towards St. Louis, Missouri. En route, the two men run into a slew of Chimera, including Longlegs, Shock Drones and fast-moving feral creatures known as Grims. But even after an encounter with a humongous Goliath, the men survive long enough to make it to an abandoned mill, where a human presence entices them to explore further.
It was at this mill that I realized just how dire Resistance 3 really was, and how awesomely it's conveyed through its dark environments and start-and-stop gameplay. There's a real tension built as you move through the mill. It almost feels like a first-person survival horror game, as you cut through legions of Leapers and Grims. Wielding a Rossmore shotgun is your best bet here, letting the Grims get as close as you can before expelling them. But it also adds to the danger, as it's easy to become overwhelmed by these fast-moving, spry foes. You'll end up killing dozens of Grims before all is said and done in St. Louis, but you have to be quick about it. Time is of the essence.
St. Louis isn't another reminder of how dire humanity's situation is, at least not completely. The Chimera can be killed. You've done it countless times. In St. Louis, you'll run into another band of hard-fighting survivors as you work your way through the mill complex and towards their secret underground base. Their resolve is a sort of light at the end of a tunnel. It's a long, dreary tunnel, and the light flickers on and off, but there's light there, nonetheless. People still have fight in them. Humanity's salvation is in New York City, and you just have to figure out how to get there. Perhaps these guys' helicopter can be your needed conduit.
There's so much more to tell you about Resistance 3. The few hours I spent with its opening seven chapters were rife with interesting tidbits for fans of the series. For instance, familiar weapons and enemies make their return, but there are surprises to be had as well. There are on-screen Trophy indicators tracking your progress towards earning any number of Trophies. And the presentation values both in-game and during cutscenes was great (with the exception of some voice-syncing issues).
But what stood out to me most was just how dark Resistance 3 is, and how exciting it is to play through an environment that invokes unique feelings most games aren't able to pull off. And it's with that brief glimmer of light I found in St. Louis that I eagerly await the rest of the adventure towards New York City. Who knows if it will pay off or not? If Resistance's past is any indication, humanity has plenty of trials and tribulations to go through before the Chimeran issue is solved... if it ever is at all.