ENCOUNTERING 'RESISTANCE'.

Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer

What if aliens attacked us during the era of World War II? Instead of fighting the Axis powers, what if we were forced to take out biological nightmares?

That kind of alternate-universe thinking is a reality in ``Resistance: Fall of Man,'' the strongest original title in the PS3 launch lineup.

While this imperfect first-person shooter certainly doesn't redefine the genre, it provides gamers with an example of well-executed design as well as a window into what the PS3 can do.

The story is a combination of ``War of the Worlds'' and ``Independence Day,'' but it takes place during the World War II time period.

An alien race called the Chimera sweeps over most of Europe, infecting people with a virus that transforms them into more Chimera. They're not a pretty sight -- multiple yellow eyes, zombie-colored skin and ghoulish teeth -- so, naturally, they need to be destroyed.

That's where Sgt. Nathan Hale comes in. The story treats Hale as an unsung hero and is one of the PS3's early answers to the Master Chief, Marcus Fenix and other gaming soldiers. However, most of the story is narrated by a female British operative, and her words (with accompanying cinema screens) are the game's method of character development.

The game is certainly beautiful to look at. The backgrounds and characters are rich in color and detail, and the frame-rate for everything on the screen didn't falter the whole time I was playing.

I enjoyed some of the attention to smaller details. When I shot a Chimera soldier, his hoses came loose and spewed air. A closer look at the body also showed me his eyes (five of them) were rolled up, signaling death. I could also see perfect lip movement and facial expressions whenever characters spoke during cinema screens.

Players also will see instances of advanced AI -- you'll get the standard take-cover movements, but you'll also see that many of the enemies rarely, if ever, wander into your line of fire, unlike past FPS enemies.

Gameplay-wise, the control scheme felt natural to me, and the absence of rumble had no effect on me getting into playing it. The motion-sensing nature of the Sixaxis made its presence felt whenever a creature jumped on me -- by sheer instinct, I shook the controller ... and I ended up shaking the creature off. The best part is, it didn't feel gimmicky every time I did it.

Also a lot of fun were some of the weapons, my personal favorite being an assault rifle that fires homing bullets.

``Resistance'' also features split-screen co-op play so you and a buddy can kill Chimera together, and it also features a fleet of multiplayer options that can support up to 40 players.

Overall, think of ``Resistance'' as a way to gauge the potential of the PS3 as opposed to the best the system has to offer. It's a good place to start.

RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN - Three stars

Platform: PlayStation 3.

Rated: M for Mature.

In a nutshell: Leads new PS3 pack.