ON THE ROAD
The game is essentially one big road trip. Capelli is travelling east from Oklahoma to New York City to destroy a gargantuan Chimeran tower. There's a nice feeling of pace and movement, with levels set on boats and speeding trains. Predictably, Capelli's journey is fraught with danger, drama and catastrophe, including an unexpected twist about five hours in that we simply can't spoil. Just when you think you've figured the game out, something changes that completely catches you off guard.
The world itself is utterly beautiful, and the graphics engine has been totally overhauled. Every environment is dense with detail and rich with history, and the subtle lighting and muted colour palette really add to the game's subdued, sombre atmosphere.
The environmental storytelling is, in places, on a par with BioShock. In the flooded town of Wrightsburg, which you pass through by boat, sad-looking Christmas decorations hang from twisted lamp posts. In St. Louis you come across an overturned railway car filled with the corpses of rotting horses. In Oklahoma, the body of an old lady lies face-down in what was once her kitchen. You often find yourself bleakly wondering whether this world is even worth saving at all.
Echoes of happier times can be felt every where, and it's quite affecting in places. In some levels you'll find an audio diary which gives context to the scene before you. making the fiction feel even richer. It's a sublimely immersive game, and there's even the odd moment of calm where you can wander around interacting with NPCs and exploring. It's not all action - for the first half at least.
Original – Resistance 3. (2011, November 1). PSM3, pp.92-95.
