Soldiering On

Since the most recent Resistance 2 patch came out a little over a week ago, I've rediscovered my love - some might even say, "obsession" - with the game. Besides the thrill provided by the new challenge of making it through the recently-added Superhuman difficulty mode of Coop play, I've also been trying to finally level up my Soldier class. I long ago got both my Medic and Special Operations characters all the way to Level 30 (the max), with all available upgrades and weapons purchased. But my Soldier had languished around Level 14 or so for ages, as I just didn't enjoy the less interactive role of standing there and firing while Medics keep your health up and Spec Ops provide you with fresh ammo.

Lately, though, I've been giving the Soldier job another try. It's still not as much fun for me as tossing ammo packs around or engaging in "health re-distribution" (stealing from the Chimera to give to my human teammates), but at least in Superhuman mode I'm more likely to have competent or better Spec Ops around to keep me well-stocked. When I notice that I'm getting replenished as quickly as I empty a clip into the enemy, I always make a point of saying something like, "Nice job with the ammo, Spec Ops!" into my mic. (Similarly, when I recently played a match as a Spec Ops myself, I had one of the Soldiers on the team tell me near the end that I was the best Spec Ops player he'd ever encountered. That's what I love about Coop!)

I played as a Soldier a whole lot last weekend, only to have the entire three days' worth of progress lost because of an issue at Insomniac Games' servers; but even with that I've gotten my Soldier to Level 18. I don't know if I'll really stick with it long enough to max him out, but I'm giving it my best shot these days.

And in the meantime, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and Killzone 2 both await my return. Don't worry, lads... I'll get back to you before too long, but only after I burn out on my favourite game of 2008 once again.