Hopefully there's still plenty of work left in Insomniac's alternative-reality first-person-shooter...

From the creators of Ratchet & Clank, Resistance: Fall of Man promises to be an explosive launch title for the Playstation3 later in the year. Blending typical Sci-Fi influences with the first-person-shooter genre, Resistance: Fall of Man finds the player in an alternative universe, set in Great Britain during 1951 but one in which World War II never materialised. Instead humans have had to unite against a greater threat, an alien species of unidentified origin known only as the Chimera, who threatens to plunge the planet into chaos and bring it under their control.

Assuming the role of a U.S ranger named Nathan Hale (a descendant of the captain of the Continental Army who fought against the British during the American Revolutionary War); the paradigm presents an interesting twist, as Hale attempts to combat the threat, fight alongside the British (as opposed to against) and uncover further information about who the Chimera really is.

Although the E3 demonstration was brief, it provided a taste of what to expect, which appears to be wave after wave of wanton carnage. Working our way from a position at the top of a hill, the demonstration tasked us with fighting our way forwards alongside fellow soldiers opposing the Chimera onslaught. The final game promises to recreate locations from across England, including the likes of Manchester and London, which the developers claim will be almost unrecognisable without the amount of carnage occurring (sounds just like Manchester to me).

The game demonstrated an impressive level of visual quality, bringing a war-stricken England to life with stylish effect. Hopefully Insomniac still have plenty to do, however, as the game world did seem too sterile, with a distinctive lack of physics affecting objects and the environment. Given the sheer firepower that's being offloaded in a few seconds of Resistance: Fall of Man, it's a little surprising to find everything remaining so static, walls don't crumble down upon impact; explosions resulted in a pretty plume of dust and smoke but didn't react with nearby objects - you were just left looking for something a little bit more from the PS3 beyond neat textures, high resolutions and solid character models!

Despite claims of "sophisticated behaviour" and the ability to "interact with their environments more realistically", TVG also seemed to miss out on such claims, with the Chimera putting their weight behind sheer numbers rather then complex battle strategies, in the demonstration at least. Often it was a case of lining up your sight and letting them have it, as they failed to move or seek cover from the environment - in a strange kind of way, it felt reminiscent of old-school FPS, which put the emphasis on numbers rather then complex AI routines.

Set in an alternative world provides the designers at Insomniac a certain degree of freedom, which they've certainly leveraged when it comes to the game's weaponry and vehicles. Vertical takeoff and landing ships replace typical planes and helicopters within the game, lending a suitably futuristic feel to a first-person-shooter uncharacteristically set in the past. The demonstration began with standard variations on the shotgun and assault rifle, though given Insomniac's penchant for weird and wacky original concepts, as witnessed in the Ratchet & Clank series, we'd imagine the constraints to be well and truly lifted when compared to other WW2 first-person-shooters.

Beyond the twist of an alternative reality, Resistance: Fall of Man should hopefully introduce some further novel elements to the actual gameplay. Hale's health can re-generate over time, an unremarkable feature in the genre, but one we're assured is explained in the storyline and could possibly hint at other supernatural powers.

Early information suggests that the game will support Sony's online strategy with plans to support up to 32-players in the game, along with 4-player splitscreen. Now although we don't want to spoil anybody's spectacle, it's worth remembering that it was only last year in which Microsoft was boastfully talking about 50+ players on Perfect Dark Zero. Exactly what type of multiplayer modes will be offered has yet to be disclosed, with initial speculation hinting towards traditional deathmatch scenarios along with co-op support of some sorts.

In the short time we had with Resistance: Fall of Man it was hard to determine where the main pull of the game lies. It looks likely to provide a frantic first-person-shooter experience, but then again most do; visually it's impressive, without being overly so and certainly something you'd expect rather then be surprised at from the Playstation3.

It is worth mentioning once again that the demo was brief, and so we'll reserve judgement until a later date; at this stage, however, it's the game's alternative reality premise which holds the most intrigue - let's just hope some of that extends into the actual game.