Developer: Nihilistic Software
Platform: PS Vita
Rating: 16+
Genre: First Person Shooter

Resistance: Burning Skies is a difficult game to review as one can't help but feel that this has been a very big missed opportunity. This is the first twin dual stick controlled FPS for a handheld and the game does a lot right and yet playing it one feels like it was close to being great but just didn't quite make it. The game is set in an alternative 1950s America where the world has been overrun by an evil alien race called the Chimera and now it is the turn for the USA. You play as fire-fighter Tom Riley who is thrown into the conflict without any training but inexplicably has no trouble instantly mastering the alien weapons tech he finds.

I was quite fond of Resistance 3 and this game carries on with a lot of the elements that I loved. You have an arsenal of varied weapons and cover based combat, whilst most certainly present, aren't forced down the players throat as often as most modern FPSs. While I could have used more variation in weapon types from the previous entries in the series, I can't really fault a game where you gain a gun with homing bullets and a shotgun / napalm crossbow combination on the first level.

Controls are responsive and easy to pick up but the integration of the touch screen is a mixed bag. I am of the opinion that one should stick exclusively with either the traditional dual sticks and buttons or the touch screen for gameplay but if they are to be mixed, far greater care has to be taken in ensuring the flow of gameplay is not negatively affected. When the touch screen was used for actions that felt like they should be time consuming (such as loading the napalm crossbow or targeting a grenade) it felt very natural. When used with actions that needed to be performed quickly (such as targeting an opponent when leaning out from cover) they could only be described as infuriating. Simply put a large percentage of the touch screen controls either should not have been implemented or at least placed to the rear pad.

Controls alone are not the only issue. Graphically the game would be considered impressive for a handheld a few years ago but compared with other Vita games this would not be one of the finer examples. The backgrounds are acceptable, if bland, but the movement of characters and particularly some of the enemies just looked slightly off at times. Probably the greatest weakness though is the conventional gameplay and level design. While the vast majority of modern shooters have descended into ‘go to checkpoint A, shoot bad guys, go to checkpoint b, shoot bad guys again' some are better at hiding their linearity than others and unfortunately Resistance on the Vita is not one of them. Everything simply feels far too by the numbers.

This most certainly is not a bad game. If you like FPSs and have a Vita it is probably worth a try. It simply feels like with more tweaking to the controls and more time on the level designs, this game could have been so much more.

Rent or Buy: Buy
Graphics: 3/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Replay: 3.5/5
Overall 3/5

Reviewed by Jack Gallagher