The Fall War

posted by papi blez

Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 06:23:39 PM EST

This Fall, a war is coming to your living room.  No, not the Obama/McCain clash for the Oval Office.  I'm talking about Gears 2 versus Resistance 2.  There's already seemingly some sentiment on a few message boards that people are pulling for Resistance because it's the underdog having sold quite a bit fewer copies than the monstrosity known as Gears.

 VS.  

They were both released right around the same time in 2006 and both received stellar critical reviews.  Gears is at 94 percent on gamerankings.com.  Resistance wound up lower at 87 percent on gamerankings.com.  But Resistance was a launch title.  My personal feeling is that Resistance 1 was nothing special.  I haven't completely beaten the game yet and plan to before Resistance 2 is released, but my personal feeling on what I've played of it is that Resistance was an average shooter.  It had some cool weapons but the laser tag feeling that I occasionally got with Halo (I'm definitely an assault rifle kind of guy when it comes to Halo).  That's also not that much remarkable about the game.  I won't completely slam it especially since I haven't finished it, but it says enough about it that I never finished it in the first place.  Gears sucked me in and wouldn't let me go until I finished it.  It never got old or tedious.

But recently on a podcast for Insomniac Games, they made some references to their co-op system in Resistance 2 and how games who have players have the exact same abilities working together and then splitting off to different paths aren't true cooperative experiences.  I don't want to put words in their mouths, but that seemed like a shot at Gears to me.  Now that may or may not have been the case, but Insomniac also made a comment about doing random eggings of my bro on their last podcast as well when talking about opening up a Raleigh office of Insomniac.  The rivalry is alive and well.  And truthfully, I look forward to playing Resistance 2.  I just don't think it will hold a candle to Gears 2 and it doesn't have anything to do with back-of-the-box features.  To me, it has more to do with the gameplay.  Gears, at least to me, was something new, refreshing and innovative.  There really hadn't been a game like it before in the sense of cover being so prevalent as well as the brutality of the game.

Any way, I'm assuming the PS3 will have quite the momentum going into the end of the year.  By then, MGS4 will have given it an undoubted bump as well as the Blu Ray victory.  So I anticipate PS3 gaining some ground on the 360.

It should be a fascinating Fall.

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Comments Disabled | 34 comments

  •  Im rooting (none / 0)

    for GoW2 in this battle of the bosses, but the online of R2 sounds very intriguing.  I will be picking up both but I have a feeling that one will collect dust for a few months while the other is permanently stuck in the disc tray!

    Oct 21/08 Nov 7/08

    by carr on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 06:55:51 PM EST

  •  well I have to say (none / 0)

    as long as there is competition we (the gamers) win. Because both parties are going to be putting out their absolute best product to out do the other, and and the very end of it we may end up with 2 VERY good games

    by BoxinLeprechaun on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 07:07:56 PM EST

    •  Excellent answer, (none / 0)

      and I don't say that just because I think Boxin is cool.

      I KNOW that Gears 2 will be fantastic, and if they do manage to eliminate much of the shenaniganery and at the same time give us Films and 4 player co-op, there will be a LOT of people who gave up on the first one early, who find themselves very excited about the second.

      Resistance2?  If it looks and plays even half as cool as that infamous unveiling film at E3, some people will be buying PS3s just to play that game.

      I couldn't care less if others hate or love either or both games, I am buying several copies of Gears 2 and a couple more Xboxen to play them on, and I don't think I will have any more money for a whole 'nother system.

      Best wishes to both developers.  ...especially Epic.  ha ha ha ha

      "Gears2 has legs, and they go all the way up!"

      by 3Suns on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 10:29:21 PM EST

      [ Parent ]

    •  Good points, Boxin. (none / 0)

      Competition does lead to innovation & promotes developers to bring their A-game.  I would hate for the 360, PS3, or Wii to fail or fold because a monopoly isn't progressive and it sure isn't good for the consumer.

      Gears is MY Star Wars!!! Wooohhh!!!

      by Blankman on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 12:28:44 AM EST

      [ Parent ]

  •  I (none / 0)

    never played the first Resistance game, I think I have played more than my share of the other one called Gears of War.  I would put my money on Gears 2 any day of the week over Resistance 2.  Nice article Papi :)

    by GearsChrisB on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 07:29:39 PM EST

  •  I played (none / 0)

    the first resistance. And I agree with papi. It does just feel like an average shooter to me. Plus it feels like it kind it ripped off some of the enemies it has in the game off of some other games. The main enemies remind me of locusts. Then there are the smaller enemies that remind me of the head crabs from half life.

    I'm gonna saw me up some of that sex locust.

    by Jambi Bum on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 07:48:34 PM EST

  •  How about... (none / 0)

    We challenge the developers of R2 and dominate them in their own game. Then announce, "Geez, that was boring, lets go play some Gears 2 now guys."

    by johnart on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 07:56:50 PM EST

  •  im voting (none / 0)

    gears two because i haven't played resistance and i haven't seen any type of gameplay for the second one

    "Im gonna take a piss, when i come back im gonna talk about The Mighty Duck movie"

    by Evil Resident on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 08:12:58 PM EST

  •  Well an anti-Resistance reaction is (none / 0)

    expected here on our wonderful Gears fansite =)

    But what you say is true: This fall is big.  The PS3 has finally started moving and by fall will be a series competitor for the 360.  That said, the 360 will be benefiting from the huge library of games it has and possibly get a price drop.

    What could be better for someone without a next gen console than to finally own Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, GTA 4 AND the brand new Gears 2 all after a 360 price drop.

    Gears 2 and a price drop are two very important ingredients of a successfully holiday for Microsoft.

    That and SOME family game that actually sells (Come on Viva!)

    by SweetTea023 on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 08:17:26 PM EST

  •  I believe it is this fall (none / 0)

    although I don't think they've announced a solid release date...

    I'm looking forward to it!

    by SweetTea023 on Wed Jun 11, 2008 at 08:46:51 PM EST

  •  Resistance 1 blew... (none / 0)

    Pure and simple. There was nothing gameplay-wise to get excited about. Cool concept, just poorly executed. I expect more of the same with its sequel.

    Han shot first

    by tyrus on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 06:05:00 AM EST

    •  You know what? (none / 0)

      I think the issue was poor concept.  I mean, instead of WWII, aliens come down and all of Europe bands together to fight them?  I appreciate trying to put a sci-fi spin on it, but WWII had enough heroes and drama that people didn't need to involved aliens to make it interesting.

      I personally didn't like the concept.

      by papi blez on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 11:04:23 AM EST

      [ Parent ]

      •  Insomniac probably had that concept... (none / 0)

        in development when the "WW" idea was the hot item.  They had too much invested in order to nix the storyline since it was scheduled to be a launch title for the PS3.  As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to play another WW-themed game for a very long time.  The industry goes in cycles & everyone's pretty much done with this themed era.  I don't currently own a PS3 nor have I ever played Resistence:FoM.  That doesn't necessarily mean that when I eventually pick up a PS3 in the future, I won't give the Resistance franchise a stab.  I'm a Gears fanatic, but I won't let my love for this franchise blind me to other games that may be worthy of play.  As Boxin has already mentioned, competition is a necessary & healthy thing to promote innovation and encourage developers to bring their A-game.  Am I pulling for Gears 2 to trump the competition?  Hell yeah!  Since Killzone 2 has been delayed until Q1 2009, there's even more focus to pit Resistance 2 against Gears 2.  Those two games are the flagships for each console during the crucial holiday season.  It's ironic that both of these titles are from third-party developers.

        Gears is MY Star Wars!!! Wooohhh!!!

        by Blankman on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 11:45:02 AM EST

        [ Parent ]

      •  To critique it a bit further... (none / 0)

        The title of the first one was Resistance: Fall of Man. Now we have a sequel. It confuses me like Final Fantasy. I remember playing Final Fantasy Legends on game boy back in the day and thinking, 'damn, this sure is cool... too bad there won't be anymore.' If I only knew!

        Like Killzone, Resistance is Sony's half-assed attempt to win the software war. So far they don't have too many good games. Which is ironic, because PS1 and 2 had such a huge game library. Now it seems to be swinging in favor of M$.

        If the 360 had the same reliability as a PS3 I'd be perfectly content. Unfortunately, I'm on my 9th box and will probably be going to 10 shortly. =(

        In the end, it's just a pissing contest. I'm all for competition. It makes better games and gives the consumer more choice and bang for their buck.

        Han shot first

        by tyrus on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 12:36:50 PM EST

        [ Parent ]

  •  I'm still messing with Resistance 1 (none / 0)

    I'm not fully comfortable with Resistance 1.  I started it over and will see.  But i do agree that it will be a win / win for the player.  But i think Gears 2 will be the far winner.  I guess i'm being opinionated.

    Poland...

    You will meet your maker, the "chainsaw" and POLANDSTYLE

    by Polandstyle on Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 09:17:06 AM EST

Comments Disabled | 34 comments