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[theBishop]

Interesting. I actually really like dual sticks for fps titles these days and tend to use a 360 pad with most PC games when support is offered due to the comfort factor.

Me too. Frankly, I'm no longer impressed by the increased accuracy of the mouse. I find mouse/keyboard lacking a certain visceral feeling I get with a gamepad. Rumble is part of it. The springy resistance in the sticks. Man, it's especially noticeable in Killzone or Fear where the developer is trying to convey some sense of weight. Falls apart with mouse controls, imo.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Me too. Frankly, I'm no longer impressed by the increased accuracy of the mouse. I find mouse/keyboard lacking a certain visceral feeling I get with a gamepad. Rumble is part of it. The springy resistance in the sticks. Man, it's especially noticeable in Killzone or Fear where the developer is trying to convey some sense of weight. Falls apart with mouse controls, imo.

I understand completely. I find M+K to sometimes be too precise for realism/fun. It's necessary on twitch shooters like UT, IMO, but slower affairs can be played with pad just fine. M+K allow for unrealistic precision (i.e. headshotting way more than is possible in any realistic scenario) and often games are built around that precision such that shooting a guy in the torso or leg is "wrong" and punished by taking off very little health. You might as well be running around with floating heads because that's all you ever aim for. Since M+K will always be more precise, competitive online play on PC pretty much requires it as that's what your opponents will be using for sure.

But mainly for me, I use a 360 pad to play PC games when possible because it's so much easier on my wrists than M+K. I've never used KB hot-keys very much anyway, and as I've aged the hand gymnastics required to run, walk, strafe, crouch, jump, and lean on the KB results in left hand and wrist soreness after a short while.

 

[winjet81]

So, like the Syphon Filter games, can movement be mapped to the face buttons and aiming to the nub?

That giant auto aim reticule sounds like it takes all the skill out of the game.

 

[jmd494]

Games like this make me wonder...would it be possible to put true analog sticks in the PSP2?

My guess is yes but they wouldn't last long enough and people would have to buy new PSPs when the sticks broke.

 

[rollingstart]

If PSP2 has two analog sticks, I would be pretty surprised at how simple their approach the problem was. There still needs to be one physical nub on the left, hopefully an improved one, but for the right they could try something new. My suggestion is small circular touch pad, similar to what you would find on a laptop. A lot of people like the FPS controls on the DS because it essentially acts as a trackpad, so instead of wasting space and energy on a second screen, a small touch pad could easily suffice. They could have it work two ways: one way would be to just pretend it's an analog stick based on where your finger is located, so if it's in the middle it's the middle, if it's right it's right; second way would be swipes over it, almost like a virtual trackball (a bit like the iphone scrolling web pages on the iphone.)

I do prefer a mouse and keyboard over dual analog sticks for fps games, but I'm not one of those people who make it seem like a drastic thing I'm forced to deal with. The only thing that confuses me is why hasn't anyone tried anything different. Analog sticks became mainstream way over ten years ago and we're still using slightly improved versions of what was on the PS1. You can argue that the Wii pointer is an improvement, and I would agree to a point, but it too is very gimped in games and wouldn't be practical for all devices, like the PSP.

 

[rollingstart]

So far the game is alright, though, it does seem like it can get repetitive. It's been kill room to kill room, and it's not like they're really linked together since there is a load / cutscene between each major room. Controls are fine for the most part and the only thing I wish I could change are the d-pad commands. I would change it so that aim mode was on the bottom d-pad to make it earlier and have less accidential weapon change presses.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Color me impressed.

The story so far is much more akin (in terms of narration and plot progression) to the original Resistance and its for the best. Grayson is a likable character, gruff and tough, but not a meathead. The cast is populated mostly by Europeans and the accents they employ are both authentic and well focused. The atmosphere lends itself more towards R2, a sprinkle of terror and sci fi.

The gameplay itself is new to me, I've never played the Syphon Filter titles on the PSP but I have played through the Gears of War series and that is what I'd compare it to. Pop and lock, pop and lock. Each chapter is full of secrets and alternate paths, making the somewhat repetitive nature of the combat and exploration much more interesting.

The graphics range from nice to great, with the character models being the height of the game. The different Chimeran are detailed well and the weapons are more then just a mishmash of low res textures. The sound and music direction stands above all else however. The voice acting is above average, with Greyson lending a tangible personality to his character. While minor characters give passable performances, the worst of the lot is still better then most of the VA in other games of this genre. The soundtrack is equally amazing. All of the game's music is orchestrated extremely well, terrifying when it needs to be, grand when the moment calls for a surge of adrenaline. Playing this game with headphones is ABSOLUTELY necessary.

Again, color me impressed so far

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

I'm having lots of fun with it, between this and GTA:CW I'm set for portable gaming for a while

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

I'm having lots of fun with it, between this and GTA:CW I'm set for portable gaming for a while

This is extremely depressing, has this game really be ignored? :lol

 

[HamPster PamPster]

Hows the online been, and how does the online work? Will people be able to set up matches easily down the road or do you have no control over who you play with? Does it use your PSN id?

I was holding out in hopes that it would hit the PSN store this week :/

I guess I'll head to best buy this weekend and pick it up

 

[dark10x]

I'm curious as to how they've managed to achieve some of the effects in this game. I mean, some of the things they are doing here are well beyond what you would normally see in a PS2 game, for instance. The flashlight beam is incredible (looks perpixel) and the water is lovely. They also have surprisingly complex scenery with decent textures while managing to avoid geometry clipping of the scenery (something that has occurred in many PSP titles). There's a lot of things in here that we take for granted today but were unheard of on older hardware.

 

[Oni Jazar]

So, like the Syphon Filter games, can movement be mapped to the face buttons and aiming to the nub?

That giant auto aim reticule sounds like it takes all the skill out of the game.

From what I tried with the demo you can control it just like syphon filter PSP and even turn off auto-aim. It made the demo very difficult though with auto-aim off.

 

[Y2Kev]

Where I am now is so lacking in checkpoints it is so frustrating. I think I have to be nearing the end of the game. I think I see what is going on with the narrative. Is this really the first time we get to see the

Spoiler

cloven

? They're so...disappointing.

 

[Oni Jazar]

Allright I finally put some serious time into the demo.

I'm a serious Syphon Filter PSP fan so I went straight to alternate fire mode and turned auto-aim off. Took a little adjusting to the differences (you automatically duck behind cover) but after that it was great. It was pretty challenging having to actually aim and time your shots carefully. The demo was a good challenge and I wonder how the rest of the game will play out.

Sad to hear from Y2Kev that checkpoints are still an issue. The worst part of the Syphon Filter games is that you have to beat the level before you can save and a level can take from 10-20 mins. A protable game should always give you the option to save!! Sleep is not good enough if you want to use the other features of the PSP like listening to podcasts.

Finally it's a shame that in the US they don't release the game on PSN. I really don't want anymore UMD discs.

 

[HurricaneJesus]

I haven't yet played the Resistance games on the PS3 yet, but I did pick this up and I am having fun.

I had to change the controls to the second option, which makes it control like Turok on the N64. Shit is SO cash. Also turn off the auto aim and it is like playing Gears with Turok N64 controls.

 

[Y2Kev]

Checkpoints were fine for like 90% of what I've played, but the difficulty just ratcheted (lol) way up and there are so few checkpoints.

Things I like:
--Pretty much everything

Things I hate:
--The alt drones.

These are the worst enemies ever. They're bullet sponges that you can't tell if you're hitting and then they explode on you. Not fun.

--The fast moving sniper chimera.

These are the second worst enemies ever. Since you're not precision aiming in this game, these enemies are pointless and annoying.

 

[rollingstart]

Checkpoints have been really fair so far. Only time when they get annoying are when there is a "defend while blah blah" thing going on and if you fail on the last wave, you start over.

I'm really enjoying this so far and it hasn't gotten repetitive at all. One neat thing is that

Spoiler

enemies and weapons from Resistance 2 show up, which makes sense since it takes place between the two games and helps show the progression.

 

[Y2Kev]

Where are you?

The area I'm in is almost entirely alt drones and sniper chimera. I'm considering just stopping and trading it in in protest.

Jesus fuck I open a door and 7 more stupid gun drones. Fuck this.

 

[mm04]

I find the best weapon versus the drones is

Spoiler

the shotgun

.

 

[Madman]

Checkpoints were fine for like 90% of what I've played, but the difficulty just ratcheted (lol) way up and there are so few checkpoints.

Things I like:
--Pretty much everything

Things I hate:
--The alt drones.

These are the worst enemies ever. They're bullet sponges that you can't tell if you're hitting and then they explode on you. Not fun.

--The fast moving sniper chimera.

These are the second worst enemies ever. Since you're not precision aiming in this game, these enemies are pointless and annoying.

Do you think the sniping Chimera will be harder/have a point to them if I play it with the dual shock? I'm planning on playing the whole game that way.

 

[rollingstart]

Where are you?

The area I'm in is almost entirely alt drones and sniper chimera. I'm considering just stopping and trading it in in protest.

Jesus fuck I open a door and 7 more stupid gun drones. Fuck this.

I just recently

Spoiler

told the Brunette Brit chick that I'm about to go save that French doctor or something.

I think the best weapon for pretty much any situation is the Razor / Bullseye. Charge shot takes down the big drones with one shot or several small ones (or regular) enemies with one shot. It also helps that is a lot of ammo for the gun.

 

[Y2Kev]

I just finished it. The ending CG had a first few seconds that looked like CG from resident evil 1 :lol

But Resistance 2 people need to play this for sure if they care about the story.

 

[rollingstart]

how much longer do I have if I just

Spoiler

killed the mechanical worm thing?

and yeah, I see what you mean with the drones and sniper guys in these areas. They don't even give you a break when they move onto the second wave of enemies.

 

[AgentOtaku]

I just finished it. The ending CG had a first few seconds that looked like CG from resident evil 1 :lol

But Resistance 2 people need to play this for sure if they care about the story.

hawt

where the piss is the US PSN version!? =(

 

[Mesijs]

Been playing it for quite a lot of time now... I'm partly very impressed, partly critical.

First, the game looks AMAZING. It may sound a bit ridiculous, but at times I feel it isn't even a big downgrade from the PS3 Resistance games. The enemies look totally recognazible and have almost the same animations. All the effects look great. It's, together with GoW, by far the most beatiful game on PSP.

Furthermore, overall production values are great. Neat CGI cutscenes, good audio, totally polished.

Also, this game is a collector's heaven. You can just shoot your way through, but there is intel to find and skill points to achieve, unlocking all kind of stuff. The amount of content is just amazing and impressive.

Also, the cover system works great and the overall game plays like a fun action shooter. However, I find it on normal a bit too easy overall. Like somebody said already, the game almost plays itself due to the extremely generous auto-aim. You come into play when it comes down to weapon choosing, but for the rest it doesn't really require skill.

Also, pretty much in every situation it helps to EITHER duck behind 1 cover point and take everybody out OR just keep moving in small circles and keeping the shoot button pressed. Also, they're really generous with health and ammo giving. I would have liked auto-heal (I see it doesn't fit into the logic of the story), some tougher encounters and more checkpoints to rebalance the whole experience.

But overall, I am very impressed and will definitely complete the game. Have to review for Gamer.nl and I don't really know the score yet.

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Also, pretty much in every situation it helps to EITHER duck behind 1 cover point and take everybody out OR just keep moving in small circles and keeping the shoot button pressed. Also, they're really generous with health and ammo giving. I would have liked auto-heal (I see it doesn't fit into the logic of the story), some tougher encounters and more checkpoints to rebalance the whole experience.

Do you know that if you infect your psp with the ps3 version, you get an alternate story with regenerating health?

 

[Mesijs]

Do you know that if you infect your psp with the ps3 version, you get an alternate story with regenerating health?

Yeah sure, will try that out as well.

However, I think it would have improven the gameplay if they'd include that, now they just throw in a bunch of health packs everywhere, looks a bit stupid.

 

[Bloodworth]

how much longer do I have...

If you back out to the main menu and check the intel collection, you can get a pretty good idea of how far you are. I think the last area has about three or four levels.

 

[rollingstart]

yeah, I just finished the game. It was surprisingly long for a PSP shooter. I enjoyed it quite a bit; I liked it a lot more than Resistance 2, not as much as previous PSP Bend titles.

The ending had me curiuos about whether

Spoiler

the now infected James Grayson will be the lead of Resistance 3, Resistance Retribution 2, or just an open ending.

I'll probably replay it again in the future with the DS3 and infected mode. I'm guessing there are 4 new weapons you get in infected mode since there was a third weapon wheel I never got.

 

[Mejilan]

I was about to say that perhaps Infected mode would answer at least some of your questions there... Potentially.

 

[fernoca]

hawt

where the piss is the US PSN version!? =(

Right there with the pending tsunami of PSone games..

In any case, I had this preordered..after beating Resident Evil 5 (for the first time ) ..I kinda wanted to play something ..similar on the PSP and kinda forgot about this and even went to pick this up a day later, even when they called me to pick it on Tuesday.

And I'm quite pleased..but I can't play with the PSP controller set-up..so I'm playing with the Connect feature in Resistance 2..and the game it's breeze so far. Love the visuals (even connected to the TV), controls fine ..overall is just what I wanted and expected.

So yeah..I'm going to bend to Bend.. ..great game.

 

[rollingstart]

I don't know what's up, but my PSP won't connect online when I try to play the multiplayer. Maybe the network is down or something.

wait, is this one of those cases where I need completely updated firmware?

I was about to say that perhaps Infected mode would answer at least some of your questions there... Potentially.

does the story change that much with infected mode?

 

[Mejilan]

No idea. My only experience with Infected mode is with the demo. I plan on playing through the main campaign before fucking around with the Infected mode. But I've set those plans aside due to my control issues.

I've read again and again that Infected is supposed to be an "alternate" story, so here's hoping the changes are significant. I kind of doubt it, though.

 

[Bloodworth]

I'm guessing there are 4 new weapons you get in infected mode since there was a third weapon wheel I never got.

There's the magnum from R2. The other three weapons are unlocks for collecting intel.

And when you infect, you also unlock another intel tree that adds an entirely different slant to the story. Haven't totally finished it on infected yet though.

 

[Agent X]

And when you infect, you also unlock another intel tree that adds an entirely different slant to the story. Haven't totally finished it on infected yet though.

From what I gather, you can connect to the PS3 (with Resistance 2) and go into Infected Mode at any point throughout the story. However, I was thinking along the same lines as Mejilan a couple posts above--play through once in the "normal" mode, and then try Infected Mode on a second playthrough. Would that be your recommendation?

I'm also curious what happens if someone chooses to mix it up throughout a playthrough. What would happen if you start a playthrough the normal way, switch to Infected part way through, then pick it up again later without the PS3 and switch back to normal? Would the story progress in such a way that it's still coherent and sensible, or would it be fragmented?

 

[rollingstart]

There's the magnum from R2. The other three weapons are unlocks for collecting intel.

And when you infect, you also unlock another intel tree that adds an entirely different slant to the story. Haven't totally finished it on infected yet though.

oh, ok.

I was able to try out some new weapons (like the sticky plasma grenade) in multiplayer just now. I guess PSN servers were down or somethng before.

Multiplayer wasn't fun for me. I didn't have many controls problems in the campaign, but online I had to have my index finger over the d-pad while my thumb was still on the analog nub just to play, and I was still having problems.

 

[linsivvi]

From what I gather, you can connect to the PS3 (with Resistance 2) and go into Infected Mode at any point throughout the story. However, I was thinking along the same lines as Mejilan a couple posts above--play through once in the "normal" mode, and then try Infected Mode on a second playthrough. Would that be your recommendation?

I'm also curious what happens if someone chooses to mix it up throughout a playthrough. What would happen if you start a playthrough the normal way, switch to Infected part way through, then pick it up again later without the PS3 and switch back to normal? Would the story progress in such a way that it's still coherent and sensible, or would it be fragmented?

The change to the story in infected mode is minimal, at least in the first 3 chapters. You get to access a few extra rooms, and get some intel that doesn't really tell that much of an extra story. Sometimes the characters will say different things to you.

Since you can replay sections at any point, you can easily mix it up with infected mode throughout a playthrough. I think the game goes back to normal mode once you quit the game, so you don't have to worry about infected making the game too easy either.

 

[Bloodworth]

From what I gather, you can connect to the PS3 (with Resistance 2) and go into Infected Mode at any point throughout the story. However, I was thinking along the same lines as Mejilan a couple posts above--play through once in the "normal" mode, and then try Infected Mode on a second playthrough. Would that be your recommendation?

I'm also curious what happens if someone chooses to mix it up throughout a playthrough. What would happen if you start a playthrough the normal way, switch to Infected part way through, then pick it up again later without the PS3 and switch back to normal? Would the story progress in such a way that it's still coherent and sensible, or would it be fragmented?

I'd recommend playing through it normal first, not because of the story, but because the magnum and health regen make you a bit overpowered. Infection doesn't really take away from the main story, it just adds its own little side story. Also the pre-rendered scenes don't change at all, so you'll have goofy moments like jumping out of a plane in one costume and parachuting in another.

 

[makingmusic476]

Honestly I just don't see the appeal of playing high profile, high productoon value action games on a portable console. I just find them a terrible fit and would much rather play them on a console or PC. I honestly believe this is the reason why the DS trounced the PSP in its early days, far too much PSP software was/is just portable offerings of console style games and I think the market decided this isn't what works best on handheld and I have to fully agree with this assertion.

Throw this on PSN, in native 1080p for $15/$20 á la Tekken: Dark Resurrection and you might very well have a sale. At least give us consumers the option, anyway, Tekken sold very well on both formats so there's no reason more PSP games shouldn't follow the structure of a belated 1080P PSN release. It spreads the devopment costs and risk at the very least whilst boosting PSN's exclusive content and keeping everyone happy.

Agreed with this. As a result, my favorite PSP game is (by far) Patapon. Favorite DS games are Pokemon, Phantom Hourglass, and Prof. Layton.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Me too. Frankly, I'm no longer impressed by the increased accuracy of the mouse. I find mouse/keyboard lacking a certain visceral feeling I get with a gamepad. Rumble is part of it. The springy resistance in the sticks. Man, it's especially noticeable in Killzone or Fear where the developer is trying to convey some sense of weight. Falls apart with mouse controls, imo.

I understand completely. I find M+K to sometimes be too precise for realism/fun. It's necessary on twitch shooters like UT, IMO, but slower affairs can be played with pad just fine. M+K allow for unrealistic precision (i.e. headshotting way more than is possible in any realistic scenario) and often games are built around that precision such that shooting a guy in the torso or leg is "wrong" and punished by taking off very little health. You might as well be running around with floating heads because that's all you ever aim for. Since M+K will always be more precise, competitive online play on PC pretty much requires it as that's what your opponents will be using for sure.

But mainly for me, I use a 360 pad to play PC games when possible because it's so much easier on my wrists than M+K. I've never used KB hot-keys very much anyway, and as I've aged the hand gymnastics required to run, walk, strafe, crouch, jump, and lean on the KB results in left hand and wrist soreness after a short while.

Just wanted to say I completely agree with both of these posts...

Also, I said fuck it and am off to pick up a hard copy

 

[XxBigP123xX]

Broke my PSP screen.

Thank god that I have a PS3, R2, and the TV out cables

 

[Ptaaty]

I wish there was another option...side of the aim brackets. I like the autoaim assist, esp on this type PSP game. But for the love of humanity the brackets take up like the entire screen (OK at least half the area..in the center)

 

[anddo0]

Awesome game thus far. I just finished the demo area. The sound design in this game is amazing (headphones are must). I thought the controls would be a problem because my favorite scheme from the SF games are missing. However, after a few hours with the game controls are a non issue. The difficulty on normal feels just about right. I've died a few times because of those enemies you have to shoot in the head (forgot the name) they always seem to show up at the most inopportune time. I'm trying to fend off a group of chimera and here come these over aggressive bitch's with exploding heads:lol

 

[Flunkie]

I love playing with Advanced and auto-aim and auto-center turned off, until those damn drones or Leapers show up. Those guys are so annoying without auto-aim, but the regular Chimera guys are way too easy with it.

 

[Dirk Shmiggler]

i'm really liking this one so far.

I tried the sixaxis controls (the "plus" method), and i think i'll do more of that tonight, want to see if it'll work for multiplayer b/c it'd be a big advantage.

I just burned an entire battery charge playing online. the MP is surprisingly damn good, still clunky and PSP'y, but very addictive.

Will try infecting it once my PSP charges up again. I can see getting many a MP fix at night in bed before sleeping with this game.

Only thing i hate is auto aim, just takes so much away from any game....

 

[The M.O.B]

Beat the game last night

Some additional impressions
ill spoiler the stuff just incase

Spoiler

-I couldnt find ANY cover wtf, i tried getting behind the little barriers but no luck
-Those drones are crazy, sometimes you will get 2-3 spraying at you at one time. you constantly have to keep running to avoid em.
-I felt like ive seen the "friend/girl turns into last boss a million times" bleh
-those CG's are really ugly, as i said before i guess that goes with the budget.
-Decent game, but controls and those endless enemy gauntlet parts really killed it for me

 

[Colocho]

Am I the only that plays with auto-aim on? I feel the game was designed with that in mind, unlike Syphon Filter, where the enemies practically always stayed in the same cover spot so precision aiming with the face buttons wasn't as tedious, but in this game, enemies move all over the place so auto-aim makes that much more enjoyable.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Am I the only that plays with auto-aim on? I feel the game was designed with that in mind, unlike Syphon Filter, where the enemies practically always stayed in the same cover spot so precision aiming with the face buttons wasn't as tedious, but in this game, enemies move all over the place so auto-aim makes that much more enjoyable.

I've gotten used to it and yeah, it's clearly been designed with the intention of being left on.

 

[Dirk Shmiggler]

tried plus mode in MP, of course they won't let you do that...

I'm pretty amazed with the game to tell the truth, i'm playing it more than i did R2 so far. When using plus mode, you have to sit futher away, obviously, and at a distance it doesn't seem to lose much from a PS3 resistance game (not sure if that's a dig on PS3 or a huge complement for the pisp). Leapers with plus mode on are just not possible, i had to quit out of it and auto aim that part till i got a game save, then went back to plus... Shit, i'm shooting them directly, but they just don't register.

infected the game and the magnum is a very nice addition. Being able to detonate all the shots you fire at once makes the larger baddies easy to take in one click.

As stated earlier in this thread, headphones are a must. The audio is very good and adds much, much more enjoyment.

Most played PSP game for me from owning one on release, to date.... so i guess that means i'm digging it.

I wish i had a fucking mic for online though... I have a 1001, so, that's pretty retarted...

 

[adamsapple]

a bunch of direct feed screens i just took from the first 3 missions .


the game looks beautiful.