Since Resistance 3 was first officially revealed at gamescom 2010 with a live action trailer, Insomniac Games has been feeding us a few morsels of information about their next first-person shooter every now and again: a batch of new screenshots to pore over, a trailer to watch again and again, maybe a piece of concept art or two, but nothing to really sink our teeth into…until last week that is.

El33tonline caught up with Jon Paquette and Ryan Schneider of Insomniac Games to talk a little about Resistance 3 and get some much anticipated hands-on time with the game, a world exclusive since it marked the first time anyone outside of Insomniac had played the game!

Schneider explained that Resistance 3 is quite different from the previous two instalments because this third entry to the series sees the humans trying to survive the Chimeran invasion by hiding underground. They’re no longer in a position to try and fight the Chimera since nearly ninety percent of the human population on Earth has been wiped out by the virus. Lone groups of survivors now try to keep the human race alive by hiding out in tunnels underground.

With Resistance 3 we’re introduced to a new hero, Joseph Capelli. The main difference with Resistance 3 is that Capelli is now more worried about protecting his family than killing the Chimera. Things have changed since Resistance 2, it’s four years on and dishonourably discharged Capelli is trying to lead as much of a normal life as he can, living underground with his new wife, young son and a bunch of survivors, trying to avoid detection by the Chimeran forces which now occupy the planet. That’s until the Chimera discover Haven and he has to try and hold off their attack while the town is evacuated. He no longer has the military backing him up but due to a series of events is forced back into the fight, embarking on a journey across a devastated America to New York City in a final attempt to save the planet from the brutal Chimera. There’s a sense of improvisation as the human troops scavenge to make their own weapons and gather rations. The result is an experience that’s a lot more intense with a sense of urgency to survive.

I got to play the Haven demo at the PlayStation Experience event last week in London, and Resistance fans will be happy to hear that it was for me most definitely the highlight of the impressive titles on display by Sony. I was blown away by the completely immersive, blockbuster experience that was Resistance 3 and it left me eagerly awaiting another chance to play more of the game.

The demo kicked off in a yard in Haven, Oklahoma, strewn with wrecked cars while devastated, crumbling buildings surrounded you. A dropship descends from above, dropping a troop of Chimeran soldiers into the area, all intent on bringing you closer to the brink of being an extinct species. Quickly taking cover in the dilapidated buildings, behind the crates and cars around the area, the Chimera begin to relentlessly attack, pouring over the surrounding fences to bring the fight to you. Luckily you’re equipped with a couple of excellent looking weapons and so the fight begins.

The Chimera are as big and bad as you’ll remember from the previous two games, except this time round they’ve invited a couple of friends to the party too. As they stream into the yard you’ll need every bit of fire power you can muster to hold them off. A machine gun does the trick nicely, especially when the secondary fire button launches grenades. If you run out of ammo switch to your secondary weapon and continue to let them eat lead. I managed to pick up an excellent pistol that shot incendiary bullets to add a bit of roasted Chimeran flavour to the air. Of course collecting ammo and locating and looting ammo crates is vital to your survival strategy, as is collecting health vials of course. Luckily both are quite liberally strewn around the area, although you’ll only be rewarded if you explore by flushing out Chimera from back rooms and climbing ladders to the roof.

The fighting is intense and the sound of the howling wind along with the gunfire and engines of the dropships which are ferrying in reinforcements really do a great job of immersing you into the story of the game. Just as you defeat a wave another one comes, and this time you’ll find yourself facing a group of different Chimera, Longlegs, who can leap and are much quicker and deadlier than their team mates. It’s much more challenging to defeat them, especially with the normal Chimeran troops still pushing forward and the much larger big Chimeran brothers hiding behind their shields and their brute strength. But then again with the Chimera now having an enhanced ability to find a route to your location, you’re not safe anywhere.

Once you’ve survived this you’ll be prompted to fall back, moving through a series of tunnels to try and get out alive before the terraformer arrives to wipe the town out, and then the Chimeran Brawler arrives to deliver yet another blow. The control system is incredibly intuitive and responsive. The controls are mapped to the correct buttons in my humble opinion, and this coming from someone who normally has to change the control system in most shooters.

The game will feature the return of two player online or local split-screen co-op gaming so you’ll be able to team up with a friend to battle the Chimera again. A welcome return from Resistance 1 days that was sorely lacking in Resistance 2. The weapon wheel also makes a return to the series, allowing you to play more strategically by selecting different weapons for the different situations you’ll find yourself in. And you’ll even be able to increase the firepower of this arsenal thanks to the new weapon upgrade system. You’ll also be able to enjoy a new, focused progression-based multiplayer experience that will see players taking part in the global resistance in locations around the world.

Resistance 3 will be available on the 6th of September this year, exclusive to PlayStation 3. Browse through our previous coverage for more information and screenshots or watch the PlayStation Experience trailer below to see the Haven demo in action.

Purchase: