Resistance Retribution on Playstation Portable Hands-On Impressions.

We thoroughly enjoyed the slow-paced gameplay of Fall Of Man and loved the scale of Resistance 2. Hearing that the series was making it's way to the PSP we were mildly excited but somewhat sceptical. How the hell can they port a game like Resistance to the PSP? It's been done with mixed response.

Resistance Retribution continues the story of Fall Of Man with British protagonist James Grayson. The game plays from a third person perspective and comes from Sony Bend, developers of the PSP's Syphon Filter games. The lack of a second analogue stick is instantly noticeable when playing the game. It's obvious the Sony Bend team have spent time trying to develop a formula that works on the PSP but sadly it's still awkward.

Resistance Retribution ditches the series' first-person viewpoint and opts for a third-person camera. The left nub moves the player with the face buttons used for aiming (Triangle is up, Square is left, etc). The game compromises accuracy with an aim assist module which works well. When near to objects the player also automatically locks into cover.

We found it all really difficult though. Perhaps it's just a measure of our short time with the game but the clunky movement and seemingly overpowered enemies made the game extremely difficult. We were thrown into a battle with two Titans almost immediately; each of which took around 4 clips of the standard rifle to take down. While this stays true to that Resistance universe, we feel like the lack of mobility made killing the enemies much harder than it should be.

The graphics are amazing throughout. Really, really amazing. We traversed an underground facility and were blown away by the detail packed into the Chimera, Titans and environments. It's perfectly true to the Resistance universe Insomniac have developed.

We'll need more time with the game before we can come to a conclusion on the controls. Initial impressions are tainted by the controls but it may be a case of waiting for the gameplay to gel.