Games expos and conferences are normally highlighted – particularly for those of us not wearily trudging around a show floor – by companies announcing ever more exciting new titles at each other like it’s a peculiar mating ritual. But thanks to Sony’s decision not to present a keynote at this year’s Game Developers Conference, there seemed to be a slight lack of one-upmanship going on. Fortunately though, Microsoft threw down a gauntlet that Sony couldn’t possibly let slip by without a little bit of chest-beating.

Gears of War 2 was Microsoft’s ace in its sleeve, made all the more powerful by the fact that its launch has been revealed for Autumn – far enough away to ensure that there’s plenty of time for the hype machine to rev up in earnest, but significantly close to make it difficult to deliberately engineer a competitive response. However, SCEA’s Scott Steinberg reckons that Resistance 2 will be filling that role. Steinberg told GamesIndustry.biz “One of the biggest games for us will be Resistance 2. ”We expect that, in November, to go toe-to-toe against Gears of War 2.”

I can’t help but think that Resistance 2 is going to struggle in that battle. As is practically inevitable with console launch titles, Resistance: Fall of Man felt like a bit of a disappointment when it arrived. Admittedly, in hindsight it actually seems a lot better – the multiplayer is excellent, the co-op story mode is pretty decent too – but overall it has a rather bland linear layout to it that didn’t offer any particularly memorable moments.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – the general polish of the game, along with Insomniac’s technical ambitions for the next game, should pave the way for a great sequel. But the game suffered as a result of PS3’s early struggle to find its true identity and for basically not being everything that the console's hype had led us to expect. Arriving when the PS3 was still in its infancy and when its future prospects seemed doubtful has probably limited the proportion of players who have played and are specifically interested in continuing to explore the history of main character Nathan Hale.

On the flipside, Gears of War has been one of the landmark games of the Xbox 360, arriving right in a sweet spot in its life-cycle. Sure, the steroid-infused, foul mouthed, generic space marine look is all a bit adolescent, but it was put together with a very unique flair that made it feel like more than just some pulpy sci-fi tale. Or perhaps it just cuts the bullshit out of playing a game that requires you to save the world from some kind of hideous mutant-alien thingies.

Where the plot fell down as a result of a few large and important parts being in absentia, the game made up for it by offering some neatly varying locations and some very interesting challenges for the player. Its third-person controls and sensible cover system make it fun to try different ways of beating those challenges.

Both titles leave room for improvement in their sequels, and by the sounds of it Resistance 2 may enjoy a technical edge. But in the end, more players will have played the original Gears of War than will have played R:FoM, and perhaps more players will be willing to return to the series to find out what happens next.

Source
GamesIndustry.biz

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