Resistance: Burning Skies has gotten a bad rap. Somehow it holds a 58 on Metacritic and has received scores as low as a 2/10 (Destructoid). Upon completion of the game and getting the platinum trophy (easiest platinum ever), my question is why?
Granted, it is not as good as the Resistance games on Playstation 3, but then again how could it be? Two of those three games are amazing (Resistance 2 isn't). Burning Skies has a good story that is better than most first-person shooters. The franchise has made a living on its story and universe and Burning Skies, while slightly lesser, is a very good addition to it.
The game is the first handheld-FPS that has had two analog sticks and it plays like a dream. It's easy to aim and shoot. I haven't seen a review that says the controls aren't good, so I'm not going to go into detail about them. Just know it works very well.
The story takes place at the beginning of the Chimeran invasion of America ('Merica!), between Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2. It follows the trials of NYFD fireman Tom Riley and his quest to find/save his family. Along the way he meets up with freedom-fighter Ellie who helps in his quest. Ellie is a strong woman and a likeable character. Sometimes her voice is a bit over the top, but that's no big deal. You don't know much about Riley, but I don't feel like that is needed in order to tell this story.
The complaint about the story being told is we already know what happens in the end (for people that have never played Resistance [shame on you] this is mild-spoilers): the Chimera take New York City and almost the entire country. Who cares? This type of thing happens all the time in games. Halo: Reach? The upcoming God of War: Ascension? I definitely never heard anyone beat up Reach for its story. Just because we know the ending it doesn't make the story bad. Burning Skies tells a good, solid story.
Now the best part of the game? The weapons. Burning Skies features the best shotgun of any game I have ever played. It is awesome. It also features series staples like the human carbine (love it) and the Chimeran Bullseye (not a fan, but still good). The Chimeran assault rifle, the Hunter, is an awesome weapon. Every weapon in the game is cool and fun to use. The best weapon in the game is undoubtedly Riley's axe. It's your melee weapon and it's a lot of fun to sink into a Chimera's neck. I loved using it. All of the weapons secondary functions (carbine's grenade launcher, Hunter's drone) are controlled via the touchscreen which is very responsive.
The one problem of the game for me was the enemy A.I. It's not great, in fact it's sub-par, but it's not enough to wreck the game for me. The developer (Nihilistic) made the a game a little too easy, but who cares? The difficulty of the game (it's very hard on Superhuman which is unlocked after completing the game once), I feel, should not be reflected in the game's score. Would I have liked it to be harder? Probably, but the final boss is quite difficult.
All in all, Burning Skies is a very good game and I think should be owned by every Vita owner. It's a very fun game that works very VERY well. Multiplayer works well and is fun if you're into that kind of thing (I'm generally not). The story is good enough, though it could have been better and a little longer (5-6 hours or so will get you through it). I enjoyed my time with the game and think people were a little harsh. Is it the best Vita game? No (Uncharted is). Is it worth owning? Absolutely. I think the biggest mistake was Sony letting Nihilistic (not owned by Sony) develop the game instead of a first-party studio (one of the European studios perhaps?) which might spell the end of the franchise. Still, the game plays well and I think that, if given the chance, Nihilistic might be able to make a sequel that would be truly great. I hope Sony gives them (or someone else) another chance.
Score: 7/10
