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Resistance: Burning Skies
Shu Yoshida, Sony’s president of worldwide studios, gave TGS 2011 attendees a live demo of Resistance: Burning Skies for the Vita. The brief run through the game showed off the mood of the game, the advantage of the Vita’s control scheme, and some visceral FPS action.
The protagonist of Burning Skies, Tom Riley, is a fire fighter attempting to protect the civilians of New York from the Chimera. The demo begins with Tom descending an elevator with a huge fire axe in hand. Yoshida switches between weapons by using an icon on the Vita’s touchscreen. Swapping between the carbine machine gun and axe appears to be very simple. Having dual analog sticks available at your thumbs to line up shots and take cover looks like a treat.
An alarm begins to sound in the dingy basement, and Tom creeps into an ominous-looking room. Leapers skitter across the floor and Yoshida pegs them with accurate machine gun bursts. The scorpion-like creatures appear to have been guarding a Chimeran chain gun, which Yoshida quickly collects. The next room reveals a giant glowing orb, which Yoshida says is Chimeran technology that can be used to upgrade weaponry. He immediately enhances the gatling gun. The barrels now spin faster, the bullets fire with an impactful thud, and the gun generally seems deadlier.
The new chain gun came in handy in the next room, as a steady stream of Chimera hybrids make a run for the protagonist. The gatling gun’s illuminated stream of projectiles tears through the enemies, sending them flying with missing body parts. Yoshida also smartly utilizes the waist-high cover in the room, popping out to peg vulnerable Chimera heads with the carbine. Eventually it’s down to one enemy, and Yoshida switches to the fire axe for a flashy finish. Tom swings the axe into the Chimera’s neck, producing a small fountain of blood. He then pries the weapon free as the poor alien falls gurgling to the floor. Before he can celebrate, a huge horned beast breaks through the wall and grabs Tom. The demo ends just as the monster opens its huge maw and the chain gun’s barrels begin spinning.
We’ll have to wait and see what becomes of Tom Riley when the PS Vita arrives, but so far the continuation of the Resistance series is looking good. Burning Skies looks to be a much more promising title than the lackluster Resistance: Retribution title for the original PSP. We can’t wait to see what else developer Nihilistic has in store for Resistance fans.
Check out Bryan’s hands-on with Resistance: Burning Skies here.
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