Resistance: Burning Skies was developed for the PlayStation Vita by Nihilistic Software who didn’t have the best track record and they shut down not long after this game. This is the shortest, blandest, most forgettable game in the series. But I still enjoyed this quite a bit. There are some interesting aspects to it and it’s worth a play through especially if you’re playing through the other Resistance games.

The most interesting thing about Resistance: Burning Skies is that it is a Vita game and an early one too. It proved that first person shooters could be done well on the system even with some touch screen controls. It plays as you would expect a first person shooter too, with L and R for aiming and shooting, the two little sticks for movement and aim and you use the buttons for jump, crouch and reload. But then it uses touch controls for secondary weapon fire, grenade throws, melee attacks and opening doors. A double tap on the rear will start you sprinting and the touch screen is used for menus and stuff too. It actually works and works well. I got used to it and was having a good time but I would never call it optimal or ideal for this type of game. There is also an uh… interesting use of a tap on the touch screen for an important moment right near the end.

Another interesting thing is that the main character is a fire fighter and this is used throughout the game. Sometimes you will need to perform a rescue. It doesn’t add a whole lot but it is something. More importantly though you get a fire fighters axe that kicks arse to use for melee attacks and sometimes on doors. It is pretty satisfying to hit Chimera with. Headshots are pretty satisfying too and I need to give a special mention to the shotgun with an explosive bolt firing crossbow strapped on top.

Resistance: Burning Skies has a snap to cover system that works but I was trying to play without using it too much because I found it more fun to be aggressive. The moment to moment action can actually be pretty good here. Rush in, drive the axe into the first enemy, blast the next with the shotgun, throw a grenade, then empty the Bullseye or Carbine and finish off the stragglers with a headshot from the Hunter. I wish they ditched the cover system, increased movement speed and rebalanced because this could have been fantastic. But as it is for every awesome encounter there was one that had me hunkering down. The Chimera are still aggressive but their AI is dumber than it’s ever been and the friendly AI is dumb too but at least not completely useless. I wasn’t a big fan of the gun upgrade system as well; I don’t know why they did just copy Resistance 3. The upgrades here are found in the environment and play a role in the story and I don’t think they really fit in the Resistance universe. There was multiplayer and is new game plus and another difficulty to keep you playing. I started a second play through on the hardest difficulty in new game plus and it’s been a blast so far; tense and harsh but I have a full and upgraded arsenal to unleash.

When it comes to the story and characters it’s pretty forgettable as you would expect from Resistance but it is enjoyable enough. It’s a straightforward journey about a man, Tom Riley, trying to save his family but it does also expand the Resistance lore especially when it comes to what America was up to. It’s a shorter, more concise campaign than any other Resistance that keeps things moving at a decent pace. What is great is that it is set right at the start of the Chimeran attack on America. This means you see the Chimera launching their assault, people reacting to them for the first time, civilians running away, news coming in on the radio and there are ordinary folks trying to fight back while the army rolls in too. I thought the side character Ellie Martinez was cool as well and I would be on board for Burning Skies 2 that has her in the lead role. Unfortunately while the visuals are impressive for an early Vita title it’s a forgettable looking game as well. It’s just kind of devoid of much personality or style. On top of that there are annoying little weapon demonstration clips and the cut scenes are unskippable.

It’s a bit disappointing Nihilistic Software was closed because there’s potential here. Maybe they just had a good budget and support though since this was a somewhat important game for Sony and the Vita at the time. People should have given this more of a chance, I had fun with Resistance: Burning Skies and think it is a little underrated. I would recommend Vita owners check this out and don’t skip this, if you’re able to play it, while doing a Resistance series play through.

7.0/10

This wraps up my Resistance series revisit and completion. It’s not the greatest series ever but I really hope this isn’t the last I see from it.