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Checking Out Resistance: Retribution
Posted by Leigh Alexander at 3:00 AM on July 18, 2008
I hung at Sony's swanky booth (there were blue lights and white shag carpets, ooh!) to take a look at the just-announced Resistance: Retribution for PSP, coming in Autumn 2009. They let me look, but not touch; nonetheless, I still got to pick the brain of assistant producer Caley Roberts to find out more about the title.
Nathan Hale doesn't feature in Retribution at all — instead, we've got a new character named James Grayson, a Private in the British forces.
Backstory on the game is that Grayson's brother, an RAF pilot, gets shot down, and Grayson goes in to look for him — and finds him on a table, the Chimera's newest conversion project. This means, of course, that Grayson's got to kill his own bro, and this makes him into a vengeful Chimera-slaughtering machine. He goes AWOL on a rampage, gets bagged for treason, and that's where the game starts.
Raine Bouchard of the Maquis helps Grayson get out of prison, and he joins the Maquis in a time when the Chimera are running low on bodies and are experimenting with new conversion methods. According to assistant producer Roberts, "inner strife and turmoil" drives the story.
Developer Bend Studio has built it on its third-gen PSP engine — by the way, these are the guys responsible for the Syphon Filter titles Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow. Roberts admitted, though, that the Syphon Filter difficulty ramp wasn't suitable for everyone, and that Resistance: Retribution is being designed to be more accessible.
Roberts said the "aim assist" feature is not an auto-aim — there's no way to permanently lock on and stay that way, but the target window will find enemies in view and target them generally, with the player free to switch between enemies. In other words, you only have to aim a little bit Cover is automatic when approached, and tapping the trigger button will make the player pop out and fire automatically. Whereas Hale regenerated, Grayson is a normal man who needs health packs to recover. They've made them red to match the health packs so that they stand out.
It does seem like the control design is easier to deal with, probably an item of value when dealing with a shooter on the PSP. One standout item about this title? The graphics are incredible, vivid and alive with specular light. Seriously, stunning — looking forward to seeing how that control scheme feels.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
CockroachMan
Posted 3:50 AM 18/7/08
An FPS with PSP controls? I'll pass..
CockroachMan
Lijik
Posted 3:38 AM 18/7/08
Yet another outlet to hear David Bergeaud's music? I'm sold.
Lijik
man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.
Posted 3:37 AM 18/7/08
@sir_carrot:
Disgaea.
man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.
Wolfers
Posted 3:37 AM 18/7/08
I really liked the two PSP Syphon Filters, so this isn't a hard decision.
Wolfers
Solidius
Posted 3:33 AM 18/7/08
Come on Resistance, don't fail me now.
Solidius
enewtabie
Posted 3:28 AM 18/7/08
@dionion:
the four face buttons are the fire buttons.
enewtabie
ZetaCrossfire
Posted 3:27 AM 18/7/08
please be good
ZetaCrossfire
TomHayden
Posted 3:25 AM 18/7/08
@ShirtGuyDom:
His name is Lt. Private J. Grayson and his mission is to carpet the enemy lines with swag :p
TomHayden
Frank
Posted 3:24 AM 18/7/08
Raine Bouchard?
That sounded like Parker's voice in the trailer. And whatever the hell happened to Cartwright?
Frank
mfwahwah
Posted 3:21 AM 18/7/08
Hmm. I was thinking about getting that GoW PSP bundle sometime soon. Now that I have at least a few games to get/look forward to I might just buy one this week...
mfwahwah
KaliKOtt
Posted 3:20 AM 18/7/08
yay no new Syphon Filter in sight but this should be a good substitute
KaliKOtt
dionion
Posted 3:20 AM 18/7/08
@enewtabie: I'm intrigued by Super Stardust Portable: how on earth is it going to work witout a second analog stick?
dionion
ShirtGuyDom
Posted 3:18 AM 18/7/08
"Private James Grayson, a lieutenant in the British forces."
?
ShirtGuyDom
Gray665
Posted 3:18 AM 18/7/08
I wonder if he's related to Dick?
Gray665
Akmed
Posted 3:18 AM 18/7/08
yay looks like the Fareye still has the "bullet time" feature!
definetly getting it. my friend and i have always looked for a good PSP online game after we played RFOM together. this shall be it. he only has a PSP btw.
Akmed
Supertamago
Posted 3:18 AM 18/7/08
@laser beams: Why, I'm sure he means a carpet made out of a portable shelter also known as a swag.
Unless carpet isn't used in its literal sense...
Supertamago
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 3:17 AM 18/7/08
The videos made movement and aiming seem like it wasn't so fluid, they rarely did both at the same time, and enemies appeared to just stand there and shoot, or let you shoot them.
I want it to be good and I hope they take their time to accomplish that.
karasu is my homeboy
EricStratton-RushChair
Posted 3:17 AM 18/7/08
@yoshinatsu:
Sorry, when I started my post there weren't six others saying the same thing...
Kotaku. It's like spell check on HGH and horse steroids topped with MEGAMAN 8000.
EricStratton-RushChair
EricStratton-RushChair
Posted 3:14 AM 18/7/08
@yoshinatsu:
"Developer Bend has built it on its third-gen PSP engine - by the way, these are the guys responsible for the Syphon Filter titles Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow."
From what I've read and seen Insomniac is not involved on development of this Resistance title. Although I'm sure there have been some art direction conferences between the two.
EricStratton-RushChair
stryker1800
Posted 3:13 AM 18/7/08
im pretty sure, that a resistance game is the perfect reason for buying a psp, and ill be the first to admit that when the psp and ds were announced i was a ds fanboy all the way.
stryker1800
Mutton-Chops
Posted 3:13 AM 18/7/08
So, Private Grayson is a Lieutenant. Which is it?
Mutton-Chops
winstano
Posted 3:12 AM 18/7/08
Carpets made of swag? Count me in!
winstano
laser beams
Posted 3:12 AM 18/7/08
what exactly is a swag carpet?
laser beams
enewtabie
Posted 3:11 AM 18/7/08
@sir_carrot:
Super Stardust Portable
Patapon 2
LocoRoco 2
Resistance Retribution
@yoshinatsu:
Insomniac isn't doing it..Bender is.
enewtabie
jove
Posted 3:11 AM 18/7/08
ps.
even if it isnt inmosniac, i still love them!
jove
jove
Posted 3:10 AM 18/7/08
oh hell yeah! this people are amazing! this is brand loyalty for me right here! thank you insomniac!
jove
lorderk
Posted 3:10 AM 18/7/08
@yoshinatsu: Insomniac isn't making this, Sony Bend is.
lorderk
greeble
Posted 3:09 AM 18/7/08
Color me interested. Man the people who say there are no games on the PSP are fools. I've got a serious backlog on that thing.
greeble
yoshinatsu
Posted 3:08 AM 18/7/08
The graphics look awesome so far, well done Insomniac.
yoshinatsu
sir_carrot
Posted 3:08 AM 18/7/08
Oh. Sweet. Something to look forward to on PSP! Right now, it's... what... this and Dissidia?
sir_carrot
the_funny_thing_is
Posted 3:03 AM 18/7/08
This may just be the tipping point for me getting a psp.
the_funny_thing_is
Punkateer
Posted 4:22 AM 18/7/08
Did anyone see the resistance site address for a split second at the end of the PSN trailer? I'm not sure if its for the ps3 or psp however.
projectabraham.com
Punkateer
redgopher
Posted 4:16 AM 18/7/08
Correction to article:
They're not called "Bend," it's "Bend Studio" -- just like Santa Monica Studio or San Diego Studio, because they're simply named after the cities they reside in.
[en.wikipedia.org]
redgopher
RaepGoblin
Posted 4:16 AM 18/7/08
I hope they take cues from the controls of SOCOM on the PSP, I could play that game for hours and never complain about a second analog stick missing.
RaepGoblin
NoBullet
Posted 4:11 AM 18/7/08
Syphon games are the 2 best games on PSP. Great controls.
NoBullet
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Posted 4:01 AM 18/7/08
@CockroachMan: Its a third person shooter.....not an FPS.
Tom Clancy's Samuraidino
Archaotic
Posted 4:01 AM 18/7/08
@sir_carrot:
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. If you're hyped for Dissidia and not Birth By Sleep, I fear for your soul.
Archaotic
ceilingFANBOY
Posted 4:00 AM 18/7/08
Damn, I apparently screwed up the HTML on dogs. :-/
ceilingFANBOY
ceilingFANBOY
Posted 3:59 AM 18/7/08
What happened to the hoses? How can you get skill points for killing Chimera by shooting their hoses if they don't have any hoses? I guess every time they tried to make the Chimera have hoses on the PSP it looked like they had hot dogs hanging from their back and we all know how Kotaku hates hot in video games.
ceilingFANBOY
LittleBigPlaneteer
Posted 3:58 AM 18/7/08
@CockroachMan:
It worked fine for Syphon Filter which has a metacritic score of 87. A game doesn't get an 87 accidentally Try playing it before dismissing it......
LittleBigPlaneteer
enewtabie
Posted 4:32 AM 18/7/08
@Punkateer:
It's a viral site for Resistance.Probably start seeing the beta soon.I signed up on www.getawarjob.com
enewtabie
sascha23
Posted 5:00 AM 18/7/08
Nice! I needed more games to look forward to on PSP.
Now I got this and the upcoming Kingdom Hearts game to look forward to.
sascha23
Oyn
Posted 4:59 AM 18/7/08
Not that this really has anything to do with the article, but what the hell is up with Sony second=party devs and the name Nathan? I mean sheesh, you'd think that they could be a LITTLE more inventive.
Oyn
ceilingFANBOY
Posted 5:42 AM 18/7/08
@Punkateer: projectabraham.com/blackout
That's what you get when you add the morse code to the url. The page has changed from what it was before. You used to only see the picture that's on the bottom with the soldiers and the thing in the window on the table before that you could move around.
ceilingFANBOY
Awoken
Posted 6:43 AM 18/7/08
I was so happy to hear about this unexpected game in the series. I look forward to playing it. I wonder if it will accompany some of the upgrades to the PS we have been hearing about.
Awoken
Ehardergardens
Posted 8:28 AM 18/7/08
@Awoken: are you an adbot?
I am also enticed to happiness upon learning of this new exciting chapter of the already successful franchise. I am certain to purchase an enjoy at least (1) whole copies for my Playstation(tm) Portable(tm)(PSP(tm))entertainment system.
I am actually looking forward to this...
Ehardergardens
ceilingFANBOY
Posted 12:22 PM 18/7/08
@Ehardergardens: For some reason I read that as abbot and couldn't help but think "HEY ABBOT!" "I hate that guy!"
ceilingFANBOY
michaelleung
Posted 6:12 PM 18/7/08
Hmmm, I don't like PSP FPS.
michaelleung
mariospants
Posted 3:18 AM 19/7/08
I am loving my psp and ps3 lately...
mariospants
get2sammyb
Posted 3:56 AM 18/7/08
@CockroachMan: It's third person.
And I'm glad that Sony announced some decent games for PSP. I was worrying it would get abandoned.
get2sammyb