Multiplayer lead Rolson described berserks as "power-up" and "game-breakers," listing examples such as increased damage, a healing ring for team mates, invisibility, the armor-enhancing iron hear, the adrenaline burst, and so forth.

Claiming that "creative weapons breed creative player decisions," Rolson described a scenario in which an invisibility-equipped opponent infiltrates and enemy base and starts chopping them up with the Splicer.

Of course, that is just one of many possible combinations. And the more players battle online and accrue experience, the more berserks they'll unlock, though only one can be equipped at any given time.

Experience also plays a key role in Resistance 2's class-based 8-person online cooperative mode, which co-op lead Biegel claims is "revolutionary."

Set in heavily modified multiplayer maps and allowing upwards of 100 enemies on-screen--"My engine director would kill me for saying this," Biegel said half-jokingly--the co-op campaign fleshes out the overall narrative by providing additional story bits for each map.

Three classes are available, each with weaponry, equipment and berserks that are unlocked as players earn experience.

Much like Team Fortress 2, success requires that a team properly coordinate among those three classes. With their heavy-duty mini-gun and shield, Soldiers are on the front lines. They're backed by Spec Ops, who dole out ammunition and attack with their own machine gun, while Medics heal everyone and, if possible, sap some energy from foes.

Luckily, each class has their own distinctive HUD to help them fulfill these goals. Medics can see the health of their teammates, allowing them to hit those that need it most amidst the constant cries of "Medic!" and "Heal please." Likewise, if you're playing Spec Ops, you'll see a little icon over the heads of those that need ammo.

And I'm not kidding when I say that teamwork is required. At one point, a flood of foes appeared all around us, requiring us to group together as we worked through the horde. Another battle, this time with bigger mini-boss like creatures, had some of us out there distracting the big guys while Soldiers filled them with mini-gun fire and Medics tried to keep us alive.

Co-op Footage

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In addition to furthering each game mode, the experience earned in both multiplayer and single-player pools into an overall Resistance 2 rank, which Price reckons is the first time a game has combined campaign and multiplayer experience.

But while the bulk of Resistance 2 is set to improve upon the original Resistance, at least one aspect of the original won't return: vehicles.

"It was a tough call for us," Price explained to me. "Vehicles, like bosses, take a lot of special code, a lot of one-off code, and they end up being one-off design challenges. Instead, we decided to put all that energy into bosses."

We'll have to wait and see what else Insomniac has in store for us. I didn't get to toy around with any of the major boss battles, and the studio is still teasing an update to MyResistance.net community site said to pack "very unique social networking features." That said, so far, so good.

A PlayStation 3 exclusive, Resistance 2 hits November 4.