When PlayStation 3 launched a year and a half a ago, Resistance: Fall of Man stuck as a the definitive title for the console. Unsurprisingly, it surged to the top of sales charts and stands as one of the best-selling games for the system. Two and a half million copies certainly sounds like a plea for a sequel, which is exactly what Insomniac is serving up this autumn. Resistance 2 continues the epic struggle of humanity against the Chimera threat, this time on American soil. We went hands-on on with the highly anticipated first-person shooter than once again promises to establish a platform-defining experience on PlayStation 3.

Picking up literally moments after the conclusion of the first game, Resistance 2 reprises you in the role of Sergeant Nathan Hale as he's whisked away from Britain to a clandestine research facility in Iceland. American military scientists have discovered a number of soldiers possessing immunity to the deadly Chimera virus and have begun studying them in hopes of finding some sort of cure.

Before that work is finished, however, the Chimera attack the based and force an evacuation. Now it's time for the American forces to go on the defensive against an overwhelming Chimera assault on the homeland. Pinched from both coasts, the US military embarks on a desperate struggle to retain its own territory with the help of Sgt. Hale.

Joining with the Americans sees Hale grouped with other immune to the Chimera virus, a special outfit called the Sentinels. Playing through the campaign has you accompanied by a squad of Sentinels, which adds a bit of a team dynamic to the game. While you're never actually directing these allies in combat, you do rely on them for a bit of support during some of the intense fire fights that ensue.

Weaving through the streets of Chicago puts the pressure on Hale's platoon as the new Grim enemy pops out from the shadows of the city's back alleys. These skinny stalkers rush at you and scramble from buildings in a mad dash to quickly kill whatever human comes their way. The Grim are the least of Hale's concerns in Chicago, however. A massive 300-foot towering creature called the Leviathan poses a much greater threat. Obviously killing the thing on foot would be an impossibility. What plays out is a heart-stopping attempt to blast the beast with well-placed explosives.