Resistance: Retribution Review

The game plays a lot like a combination of Syphon Filter and Gears of War.  You must make use of all the ample cover if you want to survive (unless you play on Easy and can just go in guns blazing).  Taking a nod from Gears of War, you automatically stick to cover.  Thanks to the auto-targeting system, just press your primary fire to automatically reveal yourself from cover and shoot the targeted enemy, and then automatically resume cover.

The game varies its scenery quite a bit, which takes care of the rather blassé AI.  At the beginning of the game you find yourself in a war-ravaged European villiage, but you quickly find yourself traverssing sewers and alien facilities.  Ohter locations are Luxembourg, Paris, Rotterdam, Warsaw, and Bonn.  The levels are fairly straightforward, and there isn’t a lot of room to get lost, but it is still very easy to become confused because of the slow Freelook.  I found myself accidentally backtracking because the areas just started to look similar.

One of the ways Retribution tries to mix things up with is in terms of firepower.  There are literally a dozen weapons in the game, and you’ll find yourself using every single one of them.  Like many shooters, different weapons are better at different tasks.  Sniper rifles are great for covering your teammates as they try to reach an objective.  Chainguns are perfect for large Bosses, and the general assault rifle is great for Boilers (aliens whose only real weak spot is their head).

Every level has several sections, and three Skill Point objectives.  These objective are similar to Trophies on the Playstation Network (or Achievements on the Xbox 360).

One of the most innovative features is its integration with the Playstation 3.  If you have a copy of Resistance 2, you can get a lot more out of Retribution.  You can hook your PSP up to your TV (using an optional cable), and connect your PSP to your PS3 via USB, and get a few new ways to play.  Not only can you use your Playstation 3 controller to play Retribution (which takes away auto-aim mode), but you also get two new modes: Infect Resistance: Retribution and Activate Resitance: Retribution Plus (use your Sixaxis controller on the PSP, including rumble!).  These moves appear after you select Connect PSP on your PS3 and run Resistance 2.  The new options appear in the menu.

Retribution has one of the most online gameplay activity for a PSP game.  Infrastructure is set up for eight-player matches (four as Cloven and four as Maquis) in five different modes.   Of course, nearly every hardcore gamer is already familiar with most of the online game types: Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flat, Free For All (plain old Deathmatch), Assimilation and Containment.  Retribution easily wins hands-down as the best online experience on the PSP.  The online goodies match some of the best of Xbox Live: There are clans, voice chat, Trophies, friends lists, unranked matches, and medals.