Review: 'Resistance 3', good action, modest graphics

A ragtag but well-armed collection of human survivors in revisionist 1957 is trying to outwit and outshoot the Chimerans, big mean aliens of the usual glowing-eyed variety. There are bosses and battles and melee attacks, and a good selection of weaponry. So the essentials are all there in Resistance 3.

Still, we were left wanting more.

The graphics looked flat, and even the character movements, both in live action and cut scenes, felt corny and not up to speed with other top-shelf first-person shooter titles. The boss battles were a little too easy, even on the "normal" difficulty setting.

The best moments come on a boat defending against Grims, slimy-looking aliens that leap onboard to rake you with their long limbs. They are gruesome toothy beasts, and it's frightening when they come at you from all angles.

The Brawler boss was also a big task to defeat. It's a hulking beast, more than twice the height of your human protagonist, Joseph Capelli, a soldier who is partially immune to the Chimeran virus. The Brawler rushes at you and takes vicious swipes with its huge fists, inflicting major damage.

Your best approach is to run backward and take aim at glowing-red heat plates on his body, damaging them and weakening his defenses. But between those flourishes of fun, there's a lot of routine running around while shooting and ducking and chucking grenades.

RATING M for Mature

PLOT Kill the invading aliens in this first-person-shooter

DETAILS PS3, $60

BOTTOM LINE Good action, middling graphics