Image via Complex Original
Resistance 3 Weapons Gallery
It has a deeper story and a more effective narrative. It has traded its militaristic feel in for a new, survival tone. It even has a new protagonist; exit deceased Nathan Hale, and enter Joe Capelli.
Yet some things just haven’t changed in the newly-released Resistance 3. The third go-round of Insomniac’s humans-fight-for-survival FPS may have more depth and character development, but it’s still all about killing the Chimera. And more Chimera. And then even more Chimera.
You get plenty of weaponry for this task, too. Some are old (think Rossmore and Auger), and some are new (hello, Cryogun that we’re not allowed to talk too much about...sigh), but by the end of the game, Capelli will have 12 different guns to work with. In a series first, each weapon can be upgraded by two levels, adding functionality and power and turning Capelli into one serious badass by game’s end. And in a nod to the first game, the Weapon Wheel returns, allowing Capelli to stockpile all his tools of destruction as the game progresses.
Last week, we brought you exclusive screenshots of the seven sexiest zombies of Dead Island. Today we're presenting you with an exclusive, up-close look at the weapons of Resistance 3. With the exception of that top-secret Cryogun, of course. (Then again, the prefix “cryo-“ means “to freeze,” right? Wonder what it does...)
.44 Magnum
.44 Magnum
Start with the most basic – and boring – gun of all, the .44 Magnum, a series mainstay that actually hasn’t changed much since Resistance 2. Alternate fire unleashes an explosive that you detonate with a tap of the right trigger, and the Magnum can be upgraded to fire multiple explosives, all ready to go off at your R2 button’s command. The game’s most utilitarian weapon is still loads of fun.
Sledgehammer
Sledgehammer
A sledgehammer? A sledgehammer? Yeah, our first thought was to barely stifle a yawn, too. Been there, done that inRed Faction, always efficient, never extraordinary. But here, you won’t use it to down buildings, you’ll use it to torch enemies. R1 gives you a quick strike, but R2 lets you wind up for a stronger blow. And, truth is, of all the weapons inResistance 3, this simple oversized hammer is perfect for swatting at a giant swarm of Grims.
Marksman
Marksman
Another series holdover that’s been given a little extra spice. It looks like a garden-variety rifle, and performs like your standard military rifle, firing off automatic rounds in three-round bursts. But shooting with alternate fire sticks a mini-turret to any surface of your choice, providing a little assistance for overwhelming battles. This is also a departure from Resistance 2, where the gun fired off an orb that shocked nearby enemies, but we like the mini-turret for multiplayer shooting. On, and the scope upgrade makes it more useful at long range, too.
Rossmore
Rossmore
Resistance devs have fooled around with the double-barreled shotgun’s alternate fire the last two games, first letting both barrels fire at the same time (yawn) and then trying a one-after-the-other blast (a bit cooler). This time? Try a grenade launcher alternate fire, giving you serious bang in a firefight. Upgrade the Rossmore, and it moves even farther from traditional shotgun fare, firing incendiary rounds that burn through the Chimera.
M5A2 Carbine
M5A2 Carbine
Meet the most fundamentally boring weapon in the game. It’s yet another weapon with an attached grenade launcher. What is it with Insomniac and grenades, anyway? And if that weren’t enough of a lack of creativity, check out the copycat upgrade; the Carbine gets a bayonet. Yeah, that sounds ever-so-slightly like it’s from Gears of War to us, too. Then again, there are so many other weapons that you won’t go too Carbine-crazy, anyway, so it’s not all bad.
Bullseye
Bullseye
The standard weapon of the enemy Chimera hasn’t gotten much of a makeover this time around. You can still alternate fire at enemies to tag homing beacons to them. There are a few changes, though. Upgrade the Bullseye, and it will fire exploding rounds. More explosions? More dead Chimera.
Auger
Auger
Nothing like shooting enemies through walls, right? This nasty weapon by the Chimera, another series holdover, lets you do that. Aim at a wall, and enemies will appear in yellow (although they were green in Resistance 2). Insomniac still beefs this ultra-cool gun up just a bit, though; upgrade it, and you’ll fire three energy balls straight through a wall, instead of just one.
Deadeye
Deadeye
Every game needs a sniper rifle, right? The Deadeye, another Chimera weapon that Capelli can use, fills that role. Like any sniper rifle, it has a scope, and like all Resistance 3 weapons, it has an alternate fire, launching a powerful proton burst to down enemies from a distance. A fully upgraded Deadeye is lethal in the hands of a smart gamer, because it’s final upgrade allows you to shoot charges that phase through walls.
Atomizer
Atomizer
Bring the fight closer to you with the all new Atomizer, a powerful weapon that features an alternate fire that draws enemies closer by firing a concentrated arc of gravity. Why would you want to draw the Chimera closer? So you can fire a concentrated bolt of electricity that seeks out and disintegrates them, of course.
Wildfire
Wildfire
Resistance 2’s rocket launcher was called the L210 LAARK, but Wildfire has a much nicer ring to it, doesn’t it? Like the LAARK, the Wildfire isn’t something you pick up every level, but when you get it, have a party. Sure, it can fire garden-variety missiles, but its alternate fire is even more exciting, an air strike on your Weapon Wheel. Wildfire’s alternate fire launches a missile at your target, but you can detonate it at any moment, releasing a cluster of missiles that rain down on Chimera.
Mutator
Mutator
Well, the V7 Splicer’s not back, so they had to give you some other off-the-charts wild weapon, right? Meet the Mutator, a dangerous blaster that turns the Chimera virus against the Chimera. It fires a dangerous strain of the virus at baddies, causing them to get infected, collapse and yes, explode. That’s not all it does; you can also alternate-fire clouds of the virus at large groups of enemies to incapacitate them, and the first-level upgrade for the Mutator gives you more power; hit a Chimera here, and it’ll search for its brethren before exploding. The whole explosive part conjured images of Halo’s Spiker, but all the alternate fire goodness was plenty creative.