Resistance: Fall of Man - hands-on

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The PS3's alien infection may also be its salvation. We dive into this massive hit-to-be headfirst and pull out its steaming guts for you

The year is 1951, and mankind is on the verge of extinction. After appearing suddenly in Russia, monsters known as Chimera swept across Asia and Europe like a cancer. They overwhelmed humanity with superior numbers and advanced technology. For a while they seemed contained, but then came the day they tunneled under the English Channel. Britain fell in days.

Such is the world of Nathan Hale, the American G.I. who becomes the hero of Resistance: Fall of Man. Taking place in an alternate history where key events - including World War II - never occurred, Resistance blends horrific enemies, a slick retro-sci-fi setting and balls-to-the-wall chaos to create one of the most immersive shooters we've seen in years. We know you hear this stuff a lot, but by damn, we mean it this time. While we've played Resistance before, we recently got our first truly in-depth look at the near-finished game, and we're beginning to believe.

The game gets crazy right off the bat, beginning with an invasion of England's east coast by the US Army. Sent to retrieve a weapon, Hale and his fellow troops have no idea what's waiting for them when they land in the city of York. Their surprise is reflected in the first level's absolute bedlam. After rappelling down from a transport plane, we hit a seemingly abandoned street covered in debris and bomb craters. A few steps in, something seven feet tall and covered in teeth lurched out from behind a barricade and started mowing down our comrades with a pulse rifle, and all hell broke loose.

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.