Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Nihilistic
Genre: Shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

The Playstation Vita’s advanced hardware capabilities make it a prime candidate to bring the depth and detail of console shooters to a handheld for the first time. Developer Nihilistic has taken a dive into the Vita shooter pool and has emerged with Resistance: Burning Skies, a five-to-six-hour journey into the world created by Insomniac Games for the PS3. But like most first steps into a new world, this one takes more than a few wrong paths.

This isn’t the first time the Resistance series has arrived on handhelds (that honor would go to 2009′s Resistance: Retribution for the PSP). Whereas Retribution filled in the blanks between the first two PS3 games, Burning Skies fits nicely in the space between the last two. You play New York City firefighter Tom Riley, who responds with his company to a warehouse blaze and discovers an infestation of the Chimera, humans mutated by an alien virus that has caused massive death and destruction in Europe. After several skirmishes with Chimeran forces, Riley meets resistance fighter Ellie Martinez, who recruits him to help wipe the Chimeran scourge from the Big Apple.

Burning Skies controls just as if your PS3′s dual-shock pad had a screen implanted in the middle. The twin analog sticks control movement and camera, while the shoulder buttons handle aiming and firing the full collection of human and alien weapons. Icons on the right edge of the front touchscreen allow you to throw grenades or use Riley’s fire axe on enemies or obstructions. The weapon wheel (a favorite from the PS3 games) returns, allowing you to select the two weapons you can equip an any one time. And glowing blue cubes that you find scattered among the ruins can be used to upgrade your gear.

The visuals in Burning Skies are pleasing enough, although they don’t approach the amazing detail found in the current Vita graphics standard-bearer, Uncharted: Golden Abyss. The path through Burning Skies‘ six chapters is unsurprisingly linear, with each level punctuated by a fairly simple boss battle (hit the glowy bits with the strongest weapon you have). The story throws in a curve ball or two, but it’s basically a shoot-anything-that-moves affair. Ammunition for some of the weapons can be scarce, but you’ll probably be able to finish the game without using several of them (unless you’re a trophy hound, of course, in which case this game is an easy Platinum). And composers Jason Graves and Kevin Reipl have created an excellent symphonic soundtrack for the game. Also on offer is an online multiplayer suite that includes three modes for up to eight players. The online play is lag-free with no voice support. Matches are short and surprisingly fun, which is high praise coming from someone who prefers to game alone.

But it’s the little things that can turn a good experience into an average, unmemorable one. You can’t skip the cutscenes that open each of the chapters, so every time you come back to the game you have to wait for the cinematic to end. Nihilistic has practically ignored the advantages offered by the Vita’s rear touchpad; the only thing you can do with it is double-tap to have Riley break into a run. Load times can be long, and the voice acting can sometimes be overwrought. Enemy AI can be surprisingly good, but just as often the Chimera can be dumb as a post. But most troubling is that you can’t start a new game from the beginning until you complete the first play; you can only replay individual chapters after you’ve finished them. I suppose you could delete the game from the Vita, reinstall it and start again, but who wants to go through all of that?

I’m a huge fan of the Resistance series, so I ended up quite disappointed with Resistance: Burning Skies. It’s almost as if Nihilistic was working on a version of the Vita hardware that was very different from the final device. The graphics are good but not great, and the rear touchpad is sadly underutilized. Mix in a merely average story and some overheated voice acting and you get a game that could’ve been much more than it turned out to be.

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