The Resistance 2 Guide To Co-op Play

It seems like the R2 forums get a new version of a "Game Guide" every couple of days, but now that I've played a significant amount of time as Medic and Spec Ops, and even have my Soldier up to Level 8, I figured it was about time to give my own personal edition.

Medic - When you play as a Medic, your # 1 priority is to dispense health (secondary fire on your gun) to any of your teammates who need it, and to revive any fallen teammate as quickly as possible. Game maker Insomniac generously makes these responsibilities quite easy by displaying little colour-coded icons over the heads of each of your allies, allowing you, at a glance, to see what the health situation is for everyone in the game (including anyone lying dead on the ground). Your gun receives health for the first of these duties in two ways: by you using the primary fire to suck health out any AI enemies you spot, and thanks to the ammo packs that Spec Ops teammates throw down on the ground (or, better yet, directly at you!). You'll personally get health for each bit that you relieve the enemy of, as well as from any fellow Medics who spot you beginning to sag. To revive a dead teammate, just stand near them and follow the on-screen prompt. To really impress those around you, recognize that you can "multi-task" by dispensing health at the same time as you use primary fire to fill the gun back up. The measure of your success, as a Medic, isn't the # of kills you get, the experience points (XP), or even where you finish in the rankings... it's how few deaths occur across the team! Also, of course, you'll largely influence the success or failure of each mission, since the only road to a "Mission Failed" result involves everyone being dead at the same time, and you're in the best position to prevent that.

Spec Ops - Like the Medic, the Spec Ops player has a job that supercedes the more obvious vocation of dealing death to the enemy. In this case, it's the dispensing of ammo. Soldiers, in particular, are dependent on Spec Ops to not only refill their weapon cache, but also to provide the much-needed energy for their protective shields. The ultimate (and ultimately-successful) Spec Ops is the man, woman or child who stands a few paces back of one or two Soldiers and tosses ammo at them almost constantly. I say "almost" because you can fill those spare seconds during which you wait for more ammo to regenerate or for the Soldiers to go through what you just gave them, by letting rip some secondary fire (which sends damage-dealing electrical orbs in the direction of the bad guys) and squeezing off a few primary fire shots that will do more damage than either the Medic or Soldier is capable of unleashing in such quick fashion. Because the universe loves you, both your primary and secondary weapons refills with each ammo pack that you hand out! As with the Medic, the game developers help you recognize who's running low by putting lovely little orange icons over their heads. If you can manage to alternate between those three actions of ammo-giving, orb-releasing and bullet-firing, in a manner that keeps your teammates well-stocked with ammunition, you'll probably finish near the top, get lots of XP, amass a respectable number of kills and win the undying gratitude of your allies. Oh, and don't hesitate to revive a downed teammate if you come across one. Orange juice isn't just for breakfast, and revivals aren't limited to Medics!

Soldier - It's actually pretty simple: Stand still, point yourself toward the Chimeran scourge that's battling your team, hit secondary fire to put your energy shield up, and then press and hold primary fire like there's no tomorrow. One of the ways you'll earn XP, besides by shooting the bad guys, is by having your shield provide cover for those behind you. Because of that (and because you're such a good team player anyway), you'll want to have the shield up whenever possible, although that of course depends on there being ammo packs supplied to you on a regular basis (are you listening, Spec Ops?). Don't move side to side (that just exposes the teammates behind you to enemy fire), and if you decide to advance, do it slowly and make sure that anyone relying on your shield is aware of it and can keep up. Shut off your shield when you don't need it, as it constantly drains when in use. And just like the Spec Ops, don't simply rely on the Medic(s) to revive every dead ally. It costs you nothing but the press of a button to help a buddy out.

Anytime that I've been in a Co-op match and most or all of the players have "gotten" their roles (along the lines of what's described above), we've had a great time, amassed tons of XP, successfully delivered hundreds of Chimera to whatever form of Valhalla those alien scum might believe in, and... oh right, saved the world in the process.