Resistance: Burning Skies Review (PS Vita)

Get ready to axe some alien ass in 'Resistance: Burning Skies'

Written by Drei Medina

The year is 1951 and Tom Riley is your typical fireman but a sudden turn of events makes this average Joe into the revolutionary hero of humanity leading an all-out rebellion against a horrific alien invasion.

The story of Resistance: Burning Skies revolves around how Riley and his family gets tangled up in the Chimeran alien invasion of America.

Unfortunately, his wife and daughter get abducted shortly after he gets reunited with them.

Riley then groups up with a band of survivors and form the human resistance that will take the battle to the hearts of the six-eyed suckers.

Resistance: Burning Skies is among the initial First Person Shooter games on the Vita and has been largely underwhelmed due to the amount of negative reviews it received.

Despite this, I would have to say the game which I would describe as a simple, fun and straightforward FPS is actually a pretty good game to play.

It doesn't have brilliant graphics like other decorated FPS titles but it definitely is more than good enough. Lag is also extremely rare even when fighting multiple enemies.

There are also artsy chapter introductions that give you an old school vibe of how things were back in '51.

Great gameplay

But what makes Resistance: Burning Skies shine is its fun and uninterrupted gameplay that boasts a solid assortment of weapons.

In total, there are eight weapons ranging from a machine gun, a crossbow-shotgun hybrid, a multi-rocket launcher, a gatling gun and other extraterrestrial weapons you can use to toy with the alien invaders.

Each weapon, save for one has a cool secondary function that makes gameplay increasingly interesting.

For example, the secondary function of the machine gun allows you to “tag” enemies through the touchscreen making all your bullets home towards the tagged target.

Another would be the Hunter rifle which launches a drone that shoots enemies with beam rays when activated.

Aside from the secondary function, a weapon upgrade system is also in place which allows players to enhance their favorite guns.

Enhancements include increased ammo capacity, longer effective range and improved secondary function to name a few.

Through this system you can create your unique playing style and this multiplies the fun experienced in shooting down enemies.

And if you prefer to keep things up close and personal there's always that quick melee button that allows Riley to decaptitate them with his signature fireman's axe finisher move.

Issues

But just like any other game, Resistance: Burning Skies has its own set of faults.

There are a lot of visual glitches including vanishing bodies and allies that are mysteriously able to reach the next objective without passing through obstacles.

In rare instances, you can get stuck in some tight spaces where the only remedy is to reboot your game or get killed.

The whole story mode is also a bit short and can be finished in roughly ten hours, depending on the difficulty.

But overall the difficulty has an easy to average rating. It can get frustrating at some parts but you can always memorize the AI sequences or turn down the difficulty anytime.

The biggest boo boo so far would probably be the stark lack of background music in most scenes which makes what could have been a dramatic entrance to an epic alien massacre into a dry, boring death march.

The verdict: 8/10 [good game]

Resistance: Burning Skies is a light FPS game that boasts surpisingly great gameplay with its wide weapon assortment coupled with a creative weapon enhancement system.

Although it does have problems like a lack of BGM and a couple of visual glitches, the game is pretty solid and can be enjoyed a lot due to its simple and smooth gameplay.

Pros:
+ Wide range of weapons
+ Secondary function and enhancement system
+ Smooth and satisfying gameplay

Cons:
- Lacking BGM
- Visual glitches
- Short story