Resistance Retribution was a game I played almost a decade ago back when it came out on the PSP, I was big into Resistance at the time and still am. However, Retribution was a game I played I got around to a certain point of and then dropped. I tried to emulate it over a decade later and it crashed on first checkpoint, so I was waiting for the PS Premium version of the game for some time. I finally played it and got to the end and what do I think of it?
I enjoyed it, however it feels like my enjoyment of the game mostly came from me being a fan of the series more so than because the game itself in terms of design and story standing out on it's own.
The PS5 version of Retribution does feel different from the PSP in some ways, the control layout is similar to Fall of Man's on PS3 and the aim assist is noticeably subdued.
I'll start with what I liked, the game being a cover based shooter does sound like a bad thing and sound like it would annoy me but at the same time, this game has the novelty is a cover based shooter in the Resistance universe and it's design template is more like Fall of Man than 2. Which means you get a bunch of wacky and over the top guns but unlike the latter game you get to hold all of them. There isn't many cover based shooters that I can think of that let's you hold all your guns, sure games like Watch Dogs and Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5 lets you do it, but you don't get the wacky sci fi guns of Resistance. Sure the lack of hedgehog and air fuel grenades are disappointing but I can forgive Retribution for this.
So for the fact that Retribution is a game that gives you a gun that can shoot through walls, a gun that can attack enemies behind cover, a chaingun with a shield, a sniper that can slow down time, an assault rifle with under barrel grenade launcher and you can hold all of them does intitially gave me more fun than games like Uncharted and Gears of War do. I love experimenting and trying out different tactics, like throwing and firing grenades at 2-3 enemies, firing the Auger on turret users and deploying the shield on the when fighting the Titans, using the Bulleseye's alt fire to take out multiple enemies at once, using the chaingun and LAARK on tougher enemies or using the Fareye on far away Hybrids. Resistance's guns are some of the best in gaming and this carries much of Retribution.
The story is decent here too, James Grayson is the best protagonist in the series and he has is a lot more memorable than Nathan Hale in R2 and Joeseph Capelli in 3. He talks during gameplay and cutscenes and he's esstentially a cross between Dick Marcinko from Rogue Warrior, Gabe Logan from Syphon Filter and a 90s fps protagonist, he acts so sincere and over the top that it is hard not to dislike him. Also read the load screens since it also helps furthur expand and characterize him.
Cartwright is in character here too, he's still just as pragmatic and likeable here as he was in RFOM.
Now this is where my issues come in. The hitboxes for the Fareye can be pretty inconsistent, there are times I scored a headshot and times where I didn't despite the crosshair being aimed there.
The game is too ambitious for a PSP game, where Chapters 1-4 felt reasonably designed with the lack of a dodge, sprint and dedicated cover and melee attack buttons. Chapters 5 and 6 feel far too demanding to what the PSP can do with it's controls.
Chapter 5 especially with how much it loves to spawn Leapers with their poorly telegraphed grabs and how much damage they do feels especially unreasonable. It's hard to know when a grab will even happen and they just happen almost at random, sometimes, they will lunge and hit you and at other times it will be a grab. The lack of a dedicated dodge and cover buttons are be missed here since there are is a higher enemy count and James has a knack for being magnetically attached to waist high walls. I got my issues with R2 but at least Nathan Hale can sprint and isn't magnetically connected to cover.
Chapter 6 shoves in too many enemies that don't compenstate for the PSP's controls as well as the Syphon Filter games and Killzone Liberation do. There is more Chimera Titan killing than the entire game of Fall of Man and the game will shove in many tough enemies like them before a checkpoint, the penultimate level in particular tested my patience since you had to fight two mini boss enemies and the game still kept on going. I am amazed some beat this using the PSP analog nub.
Overall, while I do enjoy this game, it is far too ambitious for a PSP title and was probably better off being a console spin off. Me liking Resistance as much as I did added to my enjoyment factor but I can't deny if I wasn't then the game would be a harder sell.
Infected Mode:
I thought I wasn't going to play the game again since I don't like playing games twice within in close proxmity after beating them, but I decided to make an exception for Infected Mode. After all there isn't many if any games that offer the ability to change between having finite health and regen health.
I do like Infected Mode and I do say this is probably the way to play Retribution for the first time since now you don't have to worry about finding health and now it will just regen on it's own and this makes the later parts of the game MUCH easier since now you don't have to worry about avoiding damage nearly as much since you will heal up after every fight. The Leapers that constantly pop up in Chapter 5 are a bit more bearable now but you will still have to contend with the lack of a dodge or dedicated melee attack button or how during the section that bookends Chapter 5, Grayson's slow movement speed isn't going to make fighting those Titans easier since you will probably die before his light jog can even let you relocate to the next piece of cover. The game still throws more than the limited controls of the PSP can even handle.
The fact that Resistance 2's Magnum is in the game is also a big selling point, I would've liked to at least seen the Splicer show up but then that could've broken the game's balance. The Magnum honestly is a good weapon to have since it has arguably more power than the LAARK does and it's a good weapon to use when taking on Chimeran Titans or many of the tougher enemies that appear later in the game.
I also like some of the different dialogue with Infected Mode, particularly a line where Racheal Parker mentions Nathan Hale, the character you controlled in Fall of Man. I wish there was more but what's here feels welcome since it felt like Bend didn't have to go out their way at all.
Overall, I say if you are play Retribution for the first time, even with the slight dialogue differences, play on Infected Mode, it's going to make the later parts of Retribution especially much less grating.
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