Resistance: Fall of Man—often called Resistance; abbreviated to RFoM; and originally developed under the title I8 (because it was the eighth title to be in production by Insomniac Games) — is a science fiction first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3, developed by Insomniac Games. The game follows in the footsteps of Sgt. Nathan Hale as he and the human resistance forces attempt to drive a mysterious alien-like invasion out of Britain.
The game was released as a PlayStation 3 launch title in Japan on November 11, 2006, in the United States on November 14, 2006 and in Europe on March 23, 2007. Resistance had a generally favorable critical reception, garnering particular praise in view of its status as a launch title[1] and winning several awards, as well as being the first PS3 game to sell over one million copies, followed immediately by MotorStorm.[2] Insomniac announced a sequel to be in production.
Resistance, along with Sony and Insomniac Games, has since become embattled with The Church of England for purportedly illegal use of interior shots of Manchester Cathedral to recreate the building within the game, as well as promoting violence within the building when the area around the real building is already highly prone to gun violence.
Setting
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 leads to the rise of an isolationist Russian Empire, one that is still under czarist rule as Lenin's revolution was squashed.[3]
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 Chimera forces. The Chimera overrun continental Europe by February 1950, leaving very few survivors. The Chimera then proceed to dig underneath the English Channel, invading England in late 1950. The bulk of the British forces are wiped out, with the rest fleeing to scattered bases in the northern parts of Britain.
[edit] Chimera
The Chimera are a fictional alien race that are the main enemies in the game. The creatures' origin is unknown, but 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 Chimera army expands by infecting humans with a mutagenic virus which causes its victims to fall into a coma, transforming them into Chimera. The Chimera have built conversion centers to both speed up this process and create new breeds of Chimeran creatures.
The Chimera are much stronger than regular humans, and have between two to six yellow eyes. The Chimeran metabolism is twelve times that of humans, which allows for extraordinary healing abilities, but it causes them to overheat quickly; for that reason, Chimera soldiers are implanted with cooling devices on their backs. The Chimera thrive in very cold temperatures, which has led them to alter the Earth's climate, 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 head) 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.
[edit] Cloven
The Cloven have not appeared in the story campaign mode for Resistance: Fall of Man but are mentioned in found 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 Euro-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 stock piling 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.
[edit] 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 game's version of health packs.
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 (the name of the video cut is "A Fateful Choice"). This leaves the game open for an obvious sequel.
