“Resistance: Fall of Man” – progress slowed by “Overlord: Raising Hell”

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A while back, I bought Resistance Fall of Man for $30 used. This was before the “Greatest Hits” series for PS3 games, but I guess it would still be $30 new, so I don’t care. I’ve been slowly working my way through it on easy in the cooperative. It’s still kind of hard for both of us, because I suck at first person shooters, as does my friend, Mike. He loves to play Counter Strike on his PC, probably because he cheats or uses trainers or whatever. I mean, I know he cheats. He told me. I’m just saying that’s probably why he loves playing it. But to be clear, NEITHER of us cheat online. That’s just being a bitch. That’s the same reason I would start a separate Burnout career if I

A) Bought a Gameshark for PS3, and

B) Knew how the hell to start a new career without deleting your current game.

I would keep that file offline.

So back to FPS games. They’re Mike’s favorite genre I believe. We rented Call of Duty 4. I didn’t want it, but I figured he would, so I pretended I wanted to get it. I told him to start without me while I looked at WordPress or GAP or something. We beat it in one night. I say “we” because I beat one level for him, cause it looked fun and short. And it was.

*SPOILERS*

It was the level in which there is a meeting between some bad guys (I wasn’t really paying attention to the story, so I don’t know their names or their significance), and you have to judge the wind direction, humidity (supposedly), and the Coriolis effect (a joke perhaps, cause that sounds a little implausible) in an attempt to snipe one of the guys. I got him in the shoulder on my third try (after watching Mike fail four or five times), which disappointed me because I wanted to get a head shot. But since it was on easy it killed him (or does that kill him on any difficulty?), and then I let Mike shoot the helicopter down, which cracked me up every time he did it, since sometimes he did it out of frustration when he missed the mark. On his first try, he was about to shoot the mark, and then the helicopter got in the way before he could take him out. Startled (he was already zoomed in and he had the surround sound cranked), he blindly shot at the glass, and we watched as it hurtled to the ground. It was hilarious!

*END SPOILERS*

Though not as hilarious as my first time online with Resistance, with E_Dragon as my coach. We were having fun, taking cheap shots (me), and easy shots (him), as he gives me pointers about weapons and strategies. But the best part EVER was this. We were on the the aircraft carrier level or something. We were both on the top level, and across from one another over the big gap dropping into the lower levels. I saw him. I think he saw me. I panicked and fired, without double zooming or using a scope, with whatever weapon I had out. It was the Fareye sniper rifle. Head shot.

But after the second or third time I went online with RFoM I had decided that it wasn’t for me, and that I should stick to offline co-op. To any and all that played online with me, even for only one night, and read this, thanks for making me feel welcome at least.

And now, Mike and I have found yet another distraction from it. The other part of the title of this blog. Overlord: Raising Hell. Quite possibly one of the most crappy games I have ever played. There are terrible camera angles. There’s repetitive and cheesy dialogue, meaning every time you pass certain characters, they will say the one and only sentence they know. EVERY time. I swear, if I hear “Why’d you bother saving us?”, or “Don’t make me go and get the boys!”, one more time, I’ll slaughter the whole damn village… again. And there’s that too! I killed them, and then upon warping to my tower, and then returning to the village, they were back! And let’s not forget, it has frozen on me four or five times since I got it. I don’t think it’s because it’s a used copy either. It’s just shoddy, lazy, rushed, or all of the above programming.

So WHY are we so addicted to this game, if it has so MANY flaws?!? Well, for starters, it is addictive as f***. There is something about the way you can control a horde of at least 25 minions (that’s the highest I’ve seen SO FAR), and have them carry out your decision to let someone live or die.

You yourself start out fairly weak. Not much health, not much mana, only one spell for a long time, and a weak set of weapons and armor. But you gradually get more health and mana, three other spells that evolve twice each (leaving you able to cast 12 spells by the end), and a forge of epic proportions.

I’ll try to summarize the story here, without giving too much away. Not that the story is very rich. The basic stuff, which you can learn from the demo, is that you are the successor of the last Dark Overlord, who was murdered by “heros out to prove themselves”. They raided (and looted) your now ruined tower. Your task: Take back your kingdom, restore your image and tower, and destroy anyone who gets in your way.

Another interesting thing is that although your minions (especially your advisor, the only intelligent one whose name is Gnarl) encourage you to be evil (I personally think that word is overused and overemphasized, thus adding to the cheesiness), cruel, and violent, you don’t actually HAVE to be. If you lock onto someone, and the marker is red, they are your enemy, and they will attack you, as your minions will attack them, automatically. Green markers are not enemies. Attacking them will make them and their people your enemies. This can work to your advantage sometimes. Slaughtering an entire village will eradicate them, sure. But remember the part where they regenerate? Often, they will come back and worship you out of fear. The same can go for certain enemies. Kill enough of them, they will beg for mercy and offer you riches or power. Whether you listen to their plea is up to you. BWA HA HA HA HA!

In addition to power, killing or sparing people will affect your “Corruption level”. This is very important. It affects your final level of each spell. 0%, or low corruption gets you the uncorrupted version of a spell, and 100% or high corruption will get you the corrupted version. I don’t know exactly how it works (I only have two spells, both in their basic forms), but I’m guessing it’s close to that. I do know that Corrupted spells are more destructive and powerful, but more dangerous to allies and your own minions, whereas Uncorrupted spells are less powerful but more controlled and safe for your allies/minions.

One more element I want to add in. This game is not about sending in your most powerful minion class (usually the browns; there are browns, reds, greens and blues) and hoping brute force will win the battle. Trust me. I’ve tried it. After the first level, you will lose half your minions (at least) per battle. No, this game is about strategy, problem solving, puzzles, and patience. You send everyone in, and 100 browns in the backup supply (you can bring more to the field via spawning pits which keep all the little summoning orbs you find ready) really doesn’t seem like a good amount. Utilize your surroundings, keep in mind the amount of each minion type you bring with you, and their unique powers, and watch your enemies burn (sometimes literally)!

 

So, what I’m really trying to say is that all the good, entertaining and addictive features pretty much make the flaws forgivable. Except for the freezing. GOD I HATE THAT! At least there are frequent auto-saves.

Better end it here. It’s already pretty long.

Fu out.

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