PSV Burning Skies: Resistance, Cleared

How do I put this. Overall the game is pretty by-the-numbers. Playing an FPS on the PSV really is a massive step up from the PSP (don’t even bring up PSP FPS games).

Visual detail is lacking—put simply, it looks impressive if you don’t look too closely. And there are texture errors in some spots, which is honestly unforgivable on a console platform (on PC you could at least blame drivers). The difficulty itself is okay, but the weapon distribution is bad. Once you get that three-round-burst rifle later on, you basically don’t want to use anything else… the damage isn’t even in the same league. Even the sniper rifle loses to it.

Aside from touchscreen grenade throws and special weapons, the game doesn’t use the PSV’s rear touchpad at all… disappointing… or you could call it laziness. Also, when the game is yapping away, it doesn’t suddenly make you swipe fruit on the screen—that’s great! Great! Great! Way better than fucking Uncharted! I reloaded like a dozen times in that thing because I didn’t react in time, no joke.

The boss fights are a letdown… they say you’re fighting monsters, but really you just hammer the monster’s weak point… it mainly tests your ability to hold a controller properly… painful.

The story has no depth and is kind of nonsensical. The final boss fight reminded me of the final boss in Return to Castle Wolfenstein—zero presence. Just dump every bullet you have into it without hesitation and it’s basically dead.

I only got the online multiplayer to work once. To be precise, no matter how I matched rooms, I’d get mysteriously disconnected. But that one successful match yesterday had no lag at all. I don’t know if the disconnects are a PSN problem or the game’s fault—but I play Need for Speed: Most Wanted online on PSN just fine…

Bottom line: the game is playable… but don’t expect to be blown away. It’s a very ordinary game. I’m not selling it for now, since I can still play online… yesterday I found out the people online are really trash…