Our glowing preview of Resistance 3 in July left many of us at Joystiq wondering how exactly Insomniac evolved its big-budget, if far from best-in-class, shooter from simple spectacle to what our own Justin McElroy dubbed "spectacular." In our review earlier today, Griffin McElroy wrote, "Resistance 3 isn't just a great game full of marked, inspired improvements over its predecessor -- it's a declaration of intent to become the new heir apparent to the sci-fi shooter throne." When I had a chance to talk with lead designer Drew Miller last month, I decided to tackle that issue head-on, and ask if he considers that kind of praise a back-handed compliment. "I'll take those kinds of back-handed compliments any day," Miller enthused. OK, the coast was clear.

Five years on from the original Resistance, a PlayStation 3 launch title and the studio's first first-person shooter, players would be right to expect significant growth from the team and for Insomniac, that meant struggling with what exactly Resistance, as a franchise, is. "I think with Resistance 2 we swayed towards what everyone was doing," Miller explained. "I think with Resistance 3, we said, 'Let's take a look at what works well in Resistance 1 or Resistance 2 and what works well for the Resistance franchise and not worry about what everyone else is doing. We're going to do things that aren't necessarily mainstream decisions, but this is what's right for the Resistance franchise.'"