Let me start by saying, I was a HUGE fan of the Resistance series back in the days of the PS3. The Resistance franchise is top 3 for me (1. Metal Gear 2. Uncharted 3. Resistance), and it will always hold a special place in my heart. The end of Resistance 2 is still one of the most shocking moments I’ve ever endured in a video game. Does Resistance Burning Skies add any more shocking memories to that list? Meh, not really. I wish I could directly compare Burning Skies to the rest of the Resistance franchise. Unfortunately, it’s been years since I played the others and my brain doesn’t work like that. However, Burning Skies succeeded in taking me back to those old times: Back to when Nathan Hale was everything (we miss you man), Back to when I was first introduced to the term Chimera (Strangely they didn’t refer to them as chimera in Burning Skies. They took a more colloquial approach and referred to them as stinks) Back to the days when the games touched my soul because in real life (Despite my family assuring me that something is wrong with me) I truly believed that aliens were real and an alien invasion was inevitable (yes I still believe aliens are real. And yes family, something is probably still wrong with me). After reading a few reviews, I didn’t expect much from the game. After playing it though, I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with what I got. Burning Skies doesn’t necessarily add anything new to the series, but it didn’t take away from it either.
Story & Characters
The story is pretty simple in this one. Humanity has all but lost to the invading alien forces. The military, with assistance from small pockets of survivors, is doing their best to defend the country, but they are failing miserably. It’s pretty much hell on earth. You play as a fireman named Tom Riley. Tom is tasked with holding off the chimera in his town while the citizens, including his family, escape to safety. Tom eventually encounters a woman named Ellie Martinez and her crew, and they band together to fight of the chimera. That’s the beginning of the story in a nutshell spoiler-free. Tom and Ellie fight off waves and waves of enemies trying to allow people to escape. After that, Tom and Ellie go on a mission to find his wife and daughter.
I wish there were more characters in the story besides Ellie, who is the only recurring character. Other than her, you are introduced to a couple of random NPCs throughout the game, but they usually die a couple scenes later. There is no character build-up for anyone, which makes it hard to care for any of them. The boss fight at the end suffered from this as well because I had no idea who this “villain” was before the final fight. But, at the end of the day, I did care about Ellie. She was the only consistent character in Tom’s life throughout all of the turmoil, death, and destruction. Also, Ellie may have been the most adept partner I’ve ever had in a video game. She reminded me of Shiva from Resident Evil 5: both are nice to look at and both are not afraid to fuck shit up. There were many times that I was crouched behind cover, sweating bullets, scared, and praying for a swift painless death because my clip was empty, and I was surrounded by hideous abominations seeking to gut me with talon-like claws and teeth as sharp as kitchen knives. But time and time again, Ellie would come through for me. She would set the room ablaze with gunfire and grenades. I smiled a sweet smile as I heard all of the creatures scream in terror as they fled.
Ellie, on behalf of Tom, he would like to thank you for all of your love and support through these trying times. You two accomplished a lot together and without you, he wouldn’t be here today. One day he hopes he can repay the favor. He says…well he is still technically married, so it’s best if we end the letter here. But umm…just know that WE love you.
Sincerely,
Player 1
For real though, Ellie was a boss.
Weapons & Enemies
This is where all of the nostalgia came flowing into me. Now that I think about it, it can be a good and a bad thing. The weapons and enemies were pretty much the same from the other games in the series. The traditional Carbine weapon comes back, along with the Bullseye, the Auger and others. All of the weapons still have their special secondary fire capabilities. Just like the weapons most of the same enemies make an appearance as well: the creepy crawly annoying spiders, the grim, and the series staple chimera amongst others. Since I haven’t played a Resistance game in years, it felt good to see these enemies and weapons again. But as a Resistance fan, I did want more. The mini bosses were pretty cool though. They were new and also pretty challenging. But they popped up in the game so frequently each encounter made them less special.
My Shiny Platinum Precious
The platinum trophy for this game is extremely easy. Go for it. Most of the trophies you will unlock naturally by simply playing the story: get 100 headshots, melee kills, etc. However, the online trophy is troublesome because the multiplayer component is super dead. You will almost certainly never find a public match by searching for one. The only way I was able to play online was by searching random forums in hope of finding someone that wanted to create a private match and play online. Soooo yea…good luck with that.
Things That Pissed Me Off
- You have to pay an extra $10 to play online. I paid the $10 and there was no longer anyone to play online with…Bruh
- The button to open doors is the same button as your special secondary fire. I blew myself up so many times just trying to escape or pick something up. ARGH
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Burning Skies. I will admit that it isn’t anything special, and to someone who isn’t familiar with the Resistance franchise, it may seem like an average game. However for me, it brought me back to a time when Resistance was everything. It didn’t leave any lasting impressions on me (except for Ellie), but I appreciate it for being another Resistance game. Now make one for the PS4!!!
About the Author: Phil Purkett Jr.
Founder and Creator of Some Guy in Space. Second of his name. Real cool dude. Sexy.
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