SETTING
Approximate location of the Tunguska event, in Siberia.
Due to changes in historical events, the end of World War I leads to a prosperous European alliance and worldwide peace, preventing the Great Depression, the rise
of the Nazis in Germany, and World War II, but also leading to the rise of an isolationist Russian Empire, one that is still under Tsarist rule as Lenin's revolution was squashed.
However, a new menace arises from Siberia, with the epicenter corresponding to the time and location of the Tunguska event of 1908. In 1921, Russia initiated a
communications blackout with the rest of the world, and built a wall against its European border called the "Red Curtain". Word spreads of small towns, villages, and
eventually cities in Russia and Eastern Europe that are destroyed within a single night. A strange cold front also develops over Russia and spreads outwards. European
intelligence agencies attempt to listen in on Russian radio stations, only to hear a single message repeated over and over: "Brotherhood, Strength, and Fortitude...
in the face of the angry night."
In December 1949, the Red Curtain is suddenly breached by numerous Chimeran forces. The Chimera overrun continental Europe by February 1950, leaving
very few survivors. The Chimera then proceed to dig underneath the English Channel, invading Britain in late 1950. The bulk of the British forces are wiped out,
with the rest fleeing to scattered bases in the northern parts of England.
CHIMERA
The Chimera are a species of unconfirmed origin, who serve as the main enemies in the game. They first appeared in Siberia shortly after the Tunguska event
in the game's alternate history. The human forces initially believe the Chimera to be the result of a biological experiment gone wrong, but through events and
revelations during the course of the game, along with the Chimeras' advanced technologies such as weather control, energy weapons, and force fields,
it becomes obvious to the humans that the Chimera are extraterrestrial in origin. The Chimeran army expands by infecting humans with a mutagenic virus that
causes its victims to fall into a coma, then slowly transform into Chimera while inside cocoons. Intelligence reports in the game speculate that more than one human
body is needed for the larger strains of Chimera. The Chimera build conversion centers across their territory to both speed up this process, and create new
breeds of Chimeran creatures. Large, jellyfish-like creatures, called Carriers, bring infected humans that have fallen into comas to these conversion centers.
The Chimera are much stronger than regular humans, and have between two and six yellow eyes. The Chimeran metabolism is said to be roughly twelve times
that of humans', which allows for extraordinary healing abilities, but it also causes their bodies to overheat quickly. For that reason, Chimeran soldiers have cooling
devices implanted into their backs. The Chimera thrive in very cold temperatures, which has led them to alter the Earth's climate through unknown means, reducing
temperatures to the point where London is frozen over in July. The Chimera are led by creatures called Angels (large, flying monsters with multiple limbs
emanating from their backs and extending toward the front around their heads) which possess a telepathic link to the Chimeran soldiers. Individual Chimera die
without this psychic link. It is said in several intelligence reports during the game that the Chimera will devour their own kind, usually their wounded or dead.
CLOVEN
The Cloven have not appeared in the story campaign mode for Resistance: Fall of Man but are mentioned in discovered intelligence reports. However, they
are revealed as an unlockable skin in the multiplayer mode. They are bald, pale-skinned humanoids in foreign military uniforms. In intelligence reports and
on the official site, they are said to be maniacs who speak Russian, ritualistically mutilate themselves and their victims, and feed on the bodies of their own
dead soldiers. They appear to be enemies of both the Chimera and the British-American forces, due to their hostility towards both. Despite this, they seem
to be somehow connected to the Chimera, but in what way is unknown. In two of the intelligence reports found later on in the game it appears that the British
started hunting for groups of Cloven. Also in one of these two it makes reference to a possible leader that may control the Cloven.
Information from Resistance's Map Pack 1 on the Official Website reports on a possible alliance between the Chimera and the Cloven. The Cloven were spotted
ransacking Chimeran bases and encountering no resistance. It also reads in an intelligence report that the Cloven purposely lead the Chimera to York where the
American soldiers would be landing, indicating York was a trap from the beginning. The equipment being taken by the Cloven is different from what has been
seen in their possession so far. US forces speculate that the Cloven are stockpiling Chimeran technology to be used against Allied forces. An encounter with the
Cloven has shown that they now have weapons far stronger than anything witnessed from either side in combat. Whether the Cloven are in possession of
advanced Chimeran technology or simply modifying existing Chimeran technology is unknown.
PLOT
The game starts in 1951, with the protagonist, Sgt. Nathan Hale, as part of the United States Army Rangers 5,000-man task force to help liberate Britain
and to retrieve a secret weapon that the British claim can be used against the Chimera. However, the force is quickly wiped out by a Chimeran spire attack,
which infects all of the soldiers with the Chimeran virus, soon after landing in York. Hale, the only survivor, appears to be infected with the virus despite not having
gone into a coma; he possesses increased metabolism and limited regeneration, and his irises have become gold/yellow, somewhat like the Chimera.
He now harnesses the power to use sym-bacs, the games version of health packs, to instantly regenerate up to a quarter of his health at a time.
Hale continues on his mission, along the way meeting with and rescuing Captain Rachel Parker while escaping from a Chimeran conversion center in Grimsby.
Parker assists Hale over the radio for the rest of his mission. Hale and the British forces eventually manage to deliver the secret weapon to one of the
Resistance's headquarters, only for it to be attacked by Chimeran forces shortly afterward. It is revealed that the "secret weapon" is actually an "Angel", a Chimeran
creature that British Intelligence was able to capture. The Angels are the most powerful form of Chimera creature, and British Intelligence theorizes that they
control the rest of the Chimera forces through some form of telepathy. The Angel attempts to enter into Hale's mind, but he manages to resist the mind-meld
and shoots the creature in the head with one long burst from his assault rifle.
Hale continues with the war effort, assisted by Lieutenant Stephen Cartwright, a British Royal Marines Commando. The two of them eventually discover
that the Chimera have established a series of metallic Towers throughout Britain, all inter-connected by a series of underground power conduits. Oddly, evidence
indicates that the Towers were excavated, not constructed, adding more mystery as to the origin of the Chimera. Hale enters the underground Chimeran tunnels
and discovers that the Chimera's main Tower in Britain is in London. Through his connection to the Chimera, Hale comes to the conclusion that destroying
the central Tower will somehow result in the total defeat of the Chimera in Britain.
The British and American forces launch one final, desperate attack against the main Tower in London. Hale manages to reach the top of the Tower and destroy
its central nuclear fission reactor, resulting in a massive explosion that demolishes the main Tower. The reaction propagates along the Chimera conduit network,
destroying all the Towers in Britain and killing all of the Angels inside. With the Angels dead, the remaining
Chimera forces quickly die off. Parker theorizes that they are simply unable to survive without the presence of the Angels. While Britain is liberated from the
Chimeran forces, the rest of Europe continues to be occupied by the Chimera.
As for Hale, he is presumed to have been killed in the explosion of the main Tower, and the Americans list him as Killed in Action. Parker is not convinced, though,
and believes that Hale may have managed to survive somehow. The game's final cutscene shows Hale indeed alive, walking through the rubble and snow,
armed with only a single grenade. Suddenly, he is captured by a squad of soldiers wearing unusual insignia, appearing to be some form of special forces,
known only as the Black-Ops, a name given to them in the multiplayer mode (their bodies are seen at various points towards the very end of the campaign
game, near the Central Core itself, and appear to be specially outfitted in airtight suits designed to resist or repel Chimeran spire attacks). Hale briefly contemplates
killing them as well as himself with the grenade, but ultimately decides against it. He drops the grenade and allows himself to be taken into custody by the soldiers.