Resistance: Burning Skies Review

The Resistance franchise has long been a cornerstone of Sony’s software line-up and is much-loved by many a PlayStation owner. The news that a brand new Resistance title was making its way to the Vita was met with a considerable amount of excitement, largely due to the fact that it would be the first handheld dual-stick FPS in the history of ever. Ever, I tell you! So what could go wrong with such a seemingly perfect combination? As it turns out, quite a lot.

In the interests of being completely open and honest, I should probably confess to not being the most die-hard of Resistance fans. I loved the direction that Insomniac took with Resistance 3, but I honestly felt that the first two games were awfully generic. Now, another thing that I should make perfectly clear before delving any further into Burning Skies is the fact that it wasn’t developed by Insomniac — the Vita incarnation of the series was crimped out by Nihilistic Software. And, frankly, it shows.

The story of Burning Skies is set squarely between the events of Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2, taking place as the Chimeran attack on the East Coast of the United States begins. You, as is the norm for the series, play an all-American hero in the guise of firefighter Tom Riley. The game starts with you being called to a seemingly run-of-the-mill building fire that turns out to be anything but.

The story of Burning Skies is terribly formulaic, with limited character development, uninspiring dynamics between the major characters and more clichés than you could swing a fire ax at. The story is told through a mixture of in-game set pieces and 1950s-styled Government-sponsored broadcasts – with the former taking the occasional trip down the uncanny valley, and the video of the latter inexplicably compressed to within an inch of its life, burying any stylistic flair under a cavalcade of macro blocking artefacts.

The gameplay of Burning Skies is a bit of a mixed bag, and if you view it solely as a proof-of-concept of how a dual-stick FPS could be brought to a handheld, then it vaguely succeeds. The dual-stick backbone of the controls works pretty much as expected, with the shoulder buttons of the Vita being used as you’d expect for a shooter; however, the lack of buttons on a Vita – compared to your average PS3 controller – means that the device’s dual touchscreens get used for FPS staples such as running, chucking grenades, alternate fire modes and melee attacks. Now, I’m sure none of you will be that surprised when I tell you that this solution doesn’t really work — repeatedly tapping the back of your Vita in a vain attempt to induce Riley to break into a canter is hit-and-miss at best and some of the gestures required to activate the alternate fires of the various weapons not only obstruct the action, but also leave you prone to enemy fire as your thumbs flail about on the front touchscreen.

To Burning Skies‘ credit, the developers have implemented a passable cover mechanic. As you approach certain walls and objects, an icon pops up at the bottom of the screen to let you know that you’re in cover — pressing the L trigger allows you to peep in and out of safety and, when it works, works well. But, sadly, it doesn’t always work; the game often doesn’t detect when you’re in cover, which can lead to some unfortunate and wholly avoidable cranium-bullet interactions.

Much like the story of Burning Skies, level designs are woefully pedestrian and uninspired, enemy placement is wholly predictable and, as a result, playing through the game replicates the experience of wandering through a particularly drab shooting gallery.

Graphically, the game is inconsistent – some parts (particularly the models for some of the main characters) look great, but the visuals for the vast majority of the game honestly gives the impression that Burning Skies may have been initially intended for the PSP and ported over to the Vita at the eleventh hour. The low polygon environments and enemy character models are particularly underwhelming and are far below the standards that have already been set by other Vita titles — true, there are some graphical niceties such as in-game dynamic lighting, but the impact of any eye candy that Burning Skies occasionally musters is frequently undermined by inexcusable graphical glitches such as textures frequently failing to load until you’re standing right next to an object. Character animation outside of cut-scenes is laughably bad, with Chimeran soldiers running around in a manner that is usually only found in a low-budget 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Burning Skies has a multiplayer mode – which, like everything else in the modern gaming world, requires an online pass to play. You’ll find a somewhat limited number of game modes on offer, with a potential highlight being a take on the “infection” game mode that’s popular with fans of TEH HALOEZ. Games are limited to 8 players and, to Burning Skies‘ credit, seem pretty lag-free – but, much like the single-player aspects of the title, the multiplayer seems half-baked in its execution. Weapons are poorly balanced, you often spawn in the midst of your opponents and you’re forced to use the touchscreens in the same way as the single-player campaign — meaning that you have to take one or both of your thumbs off the sticks from time-to-time, leaving yourself wide open to shotgun-related abuse from the opposing team.

I wanted to love Resistance: Burning Skies — and, buried under all the technical missteps and shortcomings, there’s the occasional glimmer of a game that might be half-decent. But just about every aspect of the game is underwhelming and, in all honestly, feels unfinished. If this game had spent a few more months in the oven, it might have been worth picking up, but at the end of the day, I can only recommend Burning Skies to the most ardent of Resistance fans. And even they might be disappointed.