Resistance: Burning Skies is a first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation Vita, part of the Resistance series. The game was developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in May 2012. It was announced in August 2011 at Gamescom. In the game, players control the character of Tom Riley, a firefighter who fights against the Chimera during their invasion of the United States.[1]
Gameplay[]
Burning Skies offers a console quality experience on-the-go. The game retains the iconic weapon wheel and an arsenal of eight guns, a fire axe, and two types of grenades. The weapons' secondary fire mode are controlled by the Vita's touchscreen, such as swiping the touchscreen diagonally to load a molotov onto the Mule, drag and throw grenades, and swinging the fire axe. Weapons can be upgraded by Gray Tech. Similar to the weapon wheel, another wheel is included for upgrade-able abilities, six per weapon. Only two can upgrades can be equipped at once.
Double-tapping the Vitas' rear touch pad activates sprint mode. Originally, Burning Skies was going to utilise the Vita's SixAxis controls to peek over cover. However, this feature was not added into the final game. After completing the story, a "New Game+" option is unlocked in which the player retained all their weapons when starting a new playthrough. Hidden pieces of intel are also scattered throughout the campaign for the player to find.
Multiplayer[]
- Main article: Burning Skies multiplayer
Burning Skies features a eight-player online component. It features six maps and three game modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Survival.
Plot[]
On August 14, 1951, one month after the liberation of the United Kingdom, the Chimera begin their invasion of the East Coast of the United States. New York City firefighter Tom Riley is caught in the middle of the Chimeran invasion and fights through Staten Island. He eventually meets the Minutemen, a militia group, led by Ellie Martinez and together they help the evacuation. Tom is briefly reunited with his wife, Natalie, and daughter, Rachel, before he is forced to send his family to safety while he stay behind with Ellie to buy the survivors some time.
Tom and Ellie come across a mysterious shipment in a military truck known as Gray Tech, advanced alien technology that upgrades their weapons. The Gray Tech was revealed to be sent to a SRPA scientist, Richard Gorrell. After escaping a Spire missile attack and its payload of Crawlers, Tom and Ellie make their way to a military base in Bayonne, New Jersey, where Ellie introduces Tom to her ally Colonel George Amherst, who notifies Tom that his family has been sent to a Protection Camp in Union City. Immediately after, the Chimera attacks the base. Tom assists in fending off the attack and singlehandedly kills a massive Chimeran creature called the Abomination.
After saving the base, Tom and Ellie are granted VTOL transport to Ellis Island to obtain a stash of Gray Tech from a SRPA facility. The two briefly delayed their journey to Ellis Island to help a crashed VTOL's crew from the George Washington Bridge before an air strike bombs the bridge to prevent Chimeran forces from crossing. Thereafter they resumed their journey and fought their way through the SRPA facility. However, they discovered the Gray Tech had been taken away by Gorrell. They soon find an instructional film pertaining to Gorrell's Project Phoenix, an attempt to control an army of Chimera through Gray Tech modules. To their shock, Gorrell intends on using the modules on humans that are in the process of being transformed into Chimera; in which he plans to manipulate the Chimera to abduct humans from the Union City Protection Camp, where Tom's family are also located.
Tom and Ellie race to Union City but are too late to stop the adduction, in which Chimeran Carriers have taken Tom's family and others to a nearby conversion tower. The two board a Carrier to the Chimeran facility. They are separated when Ellie decides to search for survivors while Tom pursues for his family. Tom eventually finds Natalie but she is infected with the Chimeran virus. At Natalie's request, Tom reluctantly euthanize his wife. Ellie manages to rescue Rachel and several survivors. While Ellie and Rachel evacuate the survivors, Tom confronts Gorrell who has implanted Gray Tech modules on an unfinished Leviathan. Gorrell tries to convince Tom that his actions are justifiable, stating that he even gained the approval of the U.S. government to support Project Phoenix. Gorrell then attempts to control the Leviathan, but fails as the creature goes into a rampage. Tom is forced to battle the Leviathan in which he succeeds in slaying it while causing the tower to self destruct.
While making his way out of the tower's exit, Tom is ambushed by Gorrell, who berates him for ruining his plans. Tom quickly uses his fire axe to kill Gorrell in self-defense. Tom reunites with Ellie and Rachel before warning the former about the government's support of Project Phoenix and their plans with the Gray Tech. Tom parts ways with Ellie as he and Rachel walks for parts unknown.
Marketing[]
- Main article: Henry Stillman's Journal
Henry Stillman's Journal was a viral web comic that was released on May 25, 2012 as part of the marketing campaign for Burning Skies.
Pre-order bonuses[]
The avatars that are included in the pre-order bonus.
People who pre-ordered Resistance: Burning Skies received a Multiplayer Booster which allowed players to start at level 5. Players also received three profile avatars, including the two main characters from the game, Riley and Ellie, as well as a Chimeran soldier. Lastly, the pre-order bonus included a Vita lock-screen wallpaper.[2]
Reception[]
Resistance: Burning Skies received mixed to negative receptions from critics. IGN's Greg Miller gave it a score of 5.5/10, his closing comments being "The story is forgettable, the action is formulaic, and the multiplayer is simplistic."[3] GameSpot's Chris Watters also gave the game a 5.5/10, acknowledging the game for its solid multiplayer and well-implemented touch controls, but criticizing it for just about everything else.[4] Destructoid's Jim Sterling gave the game a 2/10 citing most of the fighting lackluster and uninspiring in direct contrast to Resistance 3, and called the story "a poor reflection of the original console trilogy."[5] Game Informer generally approved of the game's campaign and said that "as long as you're not hoping for a console-quality multiplayer experience, Burning Skies should satisfy fans".[6]
It currently holds a score of 60/100 on Metacritic.[7]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
 Story Trailer |
 Multiplayer Trailer |
Trivia[]
- Burning Skies is the first game in the series to have a non-military protagonist.
- The game disables the PS Vita's built-in screenshot function.
- Burning Skies seems to recycle a large amount of material from Resistance 3, including some weapons and ideas only previously encountered in that game such as the late-war Auger scope, Bullseye, and enemies such as Longlegs.
- It is the first game in the entire series to feature a Spire attack during actual gameplay.
- In keeping with the Resistance: Retribution tradition of PSP games having characters use nicknames for the Chimera, in Burning Skies characters refer to the Chimera as "stinks," a term also used in the Metastasis comic and in the books, Resistance: The Gathering Storm and Resistance: A Hole in the Sky. This includes Henry Stillman, who never used this term during Resistance 2.
- The level and C.F.G. shown in the Gamescom demo were cut from the game.
- It is the first twin-stick FPS on a handheld.
- Insomniac Games played a small part in Burning Skies development.
- There is a mission in Resistance: Retribution called Burning Skies. It is unknown if this is a mere coincidence.
- Burning Skies is the only game in the series to not feature landmarks on its cover art.
References[]
- ^ Carter, Grey (August 16, 2011). "New Resistance Title heading to the PS Vita". The Escapist.
- ^ Leack, Jonathan (April 22, 2012). "Resistance: Burning Skies Prepares For Launch With Pre-Order Bonuses". Game Revolution.
- ^ Miller, Greg (May 28, 2012). "Resistance: Burning Skies Review". IGN.
- ^ Watters, Chris (May 29, 2012). "Resistance: Burning Skies Review". GameSpot.
- ^ Sterling, Jim (May 28, 2012). "Review: Resistance: Burning Skies". Destructoid.
- ^ Rykert, Dan (May 30, 2012). "Resistance: Burning Skies: Nihilistic Software Shrinks The FPS Experience". Game Informer.
- ^ "Resistance: Burning Skies for PlayStation Vita Reviews". Metacritic.
External links[]
- Title at MobyGames.
| Resistance: Burning Skies | |
|---|---|
| Content | Characters · Levels · Enemies · Intel · Locations · Weapons |
| Gameplay | Controls · Gray Tech · Multiplayer · Trophies |
| Organizations | Minutemen · Project Phoenix · U.S. Armed Forces |
| Other | AR Monument Viewer |
| Resistance series | |
|---|---|
| Main games | Resistance: Fall of Man · Resistance 2 · Resistance 3 |
| Spin-off games | Retribution · Burning Skies |
| Special Editions | Resistance Dual Pack · Resistance: The Trilogy · Resistance Collection |
| Viral marketing games | Project Abraham · America First - America Only · Get A War Job · SrpaNet · Metastasis |
| Comics | Resistance |
| Novels | The Gathering Storm · A Hole in the Sky |
| Strategy guides | Resistance: Fall of Man Signature Series Guide · Resistance 2 Signature Series Guide · Resistance 3 Signature Series Guide |