SOCOM 4 purchasers get hands on Insomniac's latest starting next week; PlayStation Plus subscribers can join in August 23.
Multiplayer-loving gamers who picked up SOCOM 4 in April were dealt a cruel setback when a massive security breach caused Sony to take the PlayStation Network down during the game's launch week and leave it down for a month. Things are now looking up for those gamers, as they will be among the first to try the next big PS3-excluisve shooter when the Resistance 3 multiplayer beta goes live next week.
Insomniac Games today announced that the multiplayer beta will go live August 4 and be open to all those who purchased new specially marked copies of SOCOM 4. The pool of beta players will be opened wider later in the month, as European PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given access starting August 10, and international Plus members will be able to join in starting August 23. Insomniac hasn't said yet how long the beta period will run.
As for what's included in the beta, players will get to try out two of the game's maps and two of its five multiplayer modes. Players will be able to level their characters up to 20, upgrade weapons, customize loadouts, and unlock character skins.
For more on Resistance 3, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
@PixelAddict Couldn't agree more, I've always felt Gears is one of the best if not the best looking games on the system. Fall Of Man had to be in development before the PS3 actually released to meet the launch window. My suspicions tell me they were probaby pressured into making the launch window. Similarities between Resistance and some of those last gen games you mentioned is uncanny if you look past the stylized visuals. Very interesting indeed.
@MEDzZ3RO Interesting side-note, I had similar problems with Left 4 Dead that I had with Resistance. Lack of particle effects, over-simplified graphics (bordering on cell-shading when they were clearly not going for that effect), and lack of physics. You mention Gears, and physics is one thing that Gears does very well. Love it or hate it (i loved the campaign, hated the multiplayer), that game does an incredible job with texturing, lighting, particle effect, and physics. In fact, I heard a podcast recently where Cliffy B talked about how many AAA titles had no physics effects, and that bothered him. I can see why, because it does ask the gamer to suspend disbelief even more when the physics are not believable or just non-existent. I didn't know that Resistance was in the works before the PS3... that's interesting and is telling on why some of the assets were limited. Lack of shrubs, boulders, grass, etc in addition to lack of particles and physics. Now that you say that, I can think of the game in comparison to Black and the Rainbow Six series, both of which i played a lot last gen. Interesting! I wonder if Insomniac was pressed into fitting the launch window, and if they would have rather had a few more months to put some gloss on those intro levels... Interesting!
@PixelAddict The PS3 offered little in the way of strong titles around launch, Fall Of Man and Motorstorm were the best. Fall Of Man had little in the way of competition in the genre, it was easy for it to become the go to fps on the PS3. Not taking anything away from the title but it had no competition. Funny you mention it looking last gen because technically it was last gen. It was in development from 2004-2006, at the end of last generation, it was one of the game that bridged the gaps between last gen and this one. Granted Motorstorm looked superb but again, it's down to the genre. FPS games weren't big on PS2, you had Medal Of Honor and Black really and compared to them, Fall Of Man looked better. It was an "upgrade" for people making the transition. It's good you notice all the niggles, I like to too. A lot of people don't but it's something that interests me. I apologise for sending double posts each time, I have a habit of writing a lot.
@PixelAddict Graphics has never been something I've associated the Resistance franchise with. Killzone and Crysis certainly but not Resistance. You're talking to the wrong guy, I'm not big on Halo or Uncharted, I don't get the hype anymore; they're probably my least favourite triple A exclusives on both systems. Uncharted's good but it's not all it's hyped to be, based on the beta online gameplay in Uncharted 3 is worse then it was in Uncharted 2. As for Halo, it died for me after Halo 2, I personally feel the gameplay hasn't evolved enough over the last ten years; a lot of people like that about Halo but I don't. I played Halo 3 and I wasn't particularly impressed, I took it back. I'm more of a Gears and Left 4 Dead guy on Xbox.
@MEDzZ3RO Funny thing is, I really did WANT to like this game. I was late to the PS3, but had heard good things about the franchise for years (not the least of which was superior graphics, which set my expectations in the wrong way, even if I did consider the original was a launch title)... I really did like the art style in the cinematics, and the narration was well done. The story wasn't fleshed out completely, but as a fan of sci-fi, I know I don't need it to be in order to enjoy it. The driving parts were very good, very reminiscent of Halo's driving bits, actually (which is a big compliment). What bothers me most about the game is the first impression. You play Halo 3, and that introductory jungle vista is incredible. You play Uncharted, and it is the same. Nothing short of awe-inspiring. Even Ratchet & Clank had some impressive looking visuals. Granted these examples all use bright, lush settings, but something could have been done to make things impressive from frame ONE. This IS a launch title, after all. It's meant to impress and justify one's purchase. Resistance: Fall of Man's first impression, on the other hand, looked very last gen, and saved the best for last. The last few levels had really good texture mapping, and it left me scratching my head. Still, there was never any use of particles (dust, smoke, etc) and very little lighting effects used. Is this a sign that I play too many games when I notice these things?? Perhaps. ...Sigh...
@PixelAddict I admitted there were better looking games but neither were poor visually in the year they were made. Various sites actually praised Fall Of Man for it's visuals in 2006. Compare Resistance 2 with the likes of Fallout 3 and World At War and it wasn't far off the mark at all, the only game that walked all over it visually was MGS4; in fairness that game still looks good by console standards 3 years later. Wolfenstein was very poor visually, what with Killzone 2, Assassin's Creed II and Uncharted 2 out that year. It's hard to think of a game that looks worse that year. Gameplay-wise Wolfenstein was a hit and miss affair, I liked it but not enough to go through again and try to find everything. I never saw the graphics in either a hindrance, the content in the campaigns was good and that did me fine. I assume you've watched some Resistance 3 gameplay videos? It's blatantly obvious that Insomniac have made use of the extra year it's in development. Watch this in 720p, I've sent a multiplayer video because I know first hand it does look like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfhQCFURXNY I couldn't disagree more, in terms of both sales and critic scores Resistance has done better commercially then any of the PS3 Ratchet and Clank titles. .Looks like we'll have to agree to disagree :), nice we could debate about something maturely on Gamespot; it's a rarity to say the least.
@MEDzZ3RO I actually did catch both of your points. As I said, the gameplay is passable, but i found the graphics distracting in both titles. Which is a shame, because both were touted as having "superior visuals". My point is this: there were games with better graphics on BOTH systems at the time EACH (1& 2) were released. Saying "Resistance 2 ... wasn't a bad looking game at the time" is hardly a strong testimonial. The Resistance series reminds me of the last Wolfenstein title. I was so disappointed in the graphics that it made playing the campaign through to completion a job. Which is the very last thing I want in a videogame. I may give it a try, but it's got a short leash. Why do I say this? Because I truly wish Insomniac stuck with what they are good at: PLATFORMERS. The Resistance series is a waste of Insomniac's considerable talents.
@PixelAddict You tell me, why aren't you still playing Space Invaders? People are still playing Space Invaders, Pacman, Streets Of Rage...etc... they're still around. Indie games,Wii games and remakes also sell very well regardless of visuals. You've completing missed both my points, Fall Of Man is a 2006 game, how could you possibly expect it to be the same quality as today's games when the developers were so unfamiliar with the new tech? Halo 3 was released almost 1 year after Fall Of Man, not to mention almost 2 years after the Xbox 360 released, developers understood how to take advantage of the tech better (which was already closer to the way you develop for PC). I never stated Resistance 2 was a visual masterpiece but it wasn't a bad looking game at the time (on consoles). Some games looked better, some looked worse; it's a lot easier to hide low res visuals in a dark setting then it is in a bright setting. Gameplay still takes the biscuit, always has and always will. I'm not bothered if you pass on this game or not, I don't know why you've told me, it seems rather irrelevant. However,replying to one of your posts I've seen elsewhere, Resistance 2 was decent, watch the review and see what you think. Based on the beta Resistance 3 is shaping up nicely, the multiplayer's already better then in the prequels and they were by no means bad. I'd recommend it.
@MEDzZ3RO If visuals do not "matter", why aren't we still playing Space Invaders? Pop Resistance: Fall of Man back in the PS3. Tell me what you see. I'm saying it's so bad that it is distracting. The second wasn't much better, even though there were LOADS of games (on either system) that looked far better (i would include World at War in that category). I'll pass.
@PixelAddict Fall Of Man had alright visuals considering it was a launch title and developers were still new to the cell tech used in the PS3. Resistance 2 wasn't up to scratch online visually but offline it wasn't that bad when compared to the likes of World At War released the same year. From what I've played of Resistance 3 visually it's looking strong in the current beta, certainly above average. Either way though I don't see why the visuals matter particularly if the gameplay holds up, which it does. Take Counterstrike for instance, it didn't look visually that good when it was released but it's gameplay still holds up today. That's why people are still playing it, nice graphics is a nice addition but it shouldn't be the focus.
@Pumpkinhead3 No, PS Plus, Socom 4 and Battle Los Angeles purchasers get priority into the BETA. As I understand it, having read a post by Insomniac, other people outside of these categories will get a chance to play the beta.
@brothersinarmsb I did the same thing , but as july 3rd was the last day you could access the welcome back program it will end b4 the plus beta starts . Sony trying to get people to sub .
well this is it last restaince 3 game whats beta for muilplay well be downing it bit sad series coming to end.
I cant say I ever met a resistance game I liked. In fact when I bought my first ps3 on launch day that was the game I bought with it(all in 25 quid shy of £500! at the time exchange rates would have put that at over 1000 USD!). After playing it for a bought 30 mins I wanted my money back, but I pressed on and it didnt get any better(the controller didnt help either, it felt like it was goin to break in my hand it was so light without the rumble). Next day took it back for a full refund making up some lie about buying it for my 8 year old kid but that he wasnt interested in it blah blah blah(got a lecture about buying a 15 rated game for an 8 year old lol). Ps3 has gotten better and better since then but resistance is still blah to me.
@jm3811 Super Mario Galaxy 1&2 are almost the only reasons to own a Wii, but they are REALLY good reasons.
Can't be worse than Black Ops. Oh it is? Well done then. Too many shooters, not enough platformers. I want Mario on the PS3.
This is one of the only big-named franchises out there that I have little interest in playing anymore. The graphics are sooooo poor, that it is distracting. Game play is pretty decent, but could these guys figure out how to apply a texture or two?!? First Resistance looked like a last gen game, then the second one wasn't much better.
Glad open beta doesn't start on the 4th, got a surgical operation on my nose arranged for that day :D Picking up my Limited edition copy nonetheless.
@aganinja Alright mate? I'm getting it and trying the beta, lol. I was going to buy it anyway but having played the beta It's ensured I preorder it.
Already have the beta (fortunately) and it's a superb game. Gameplay-wise imagine Call Of Duty without the poor servers and dated engine crossed with Crysis 2, all done to a high standard in traditional Resistance style and you have it. It does remind me a lot of both Fall Of Man and Resistance 2, based on the beta I'd say it could well be the dark horse in between Call Of Duty and Battlefield. Looking forward to the full release.
Why have it so only a select few can try this out? By limiting who can and can't play the beta all they're doing is giving people a good reason not to pre-order this game
Wow, they aren't doing much to motivate me to buy PS plus. Seriously, if you guys have to wait until the 23rd, you might as well wait for the game to come out in another couple of weeks...
Finally I knew that living in England would be useful one day...Although that's super gay a 13 day difference between European And International Release...My heart hurts for you guys :(
Hopefully it's actually a beta instead of a multiplayer demo in disguise as a "beta". I agree that this looks to be the best of the bunch; definitely a step up from R2.
damn ps+ sucks:\ hope it at least lasts a while cuz i mean my ps plus expires in august idk if i wanna renew it just to play a beta for maybe less then 2 weeks
looks to be the best in the series for what i've seen. awesome guns like always and the best campaign in the fps scene, but i wonder how they handled the multi.
They keep delaying it, it might as well be a demo, and we know what happened to the last game that did this. *Looks at SOCOM 4*
damn i thought if you were a PSN + subscriber you get "early access to betas" well at least we get it but still :/
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