Programming is the key to success when it comes to video games. I've seen some horrible looking games eat up all my PC's resources and still run laggy, and I've seen some of the most beautiful games ever created run perfectly smooth.

The PSP is just another system, and being a small and portable system, it is obvious that it is not very powerful. I've seen games deliver poor graphics with the excuse of "we did the best we could for the PSP's power." I almost started to buy into that whole excuse but now that I've seen Resistance Retribution, the other games have no room for excuses anymore because this game raised the bar when it comes both sound and graphics. Now I have a newfound respect for not only the PSP itself, but for this game and for the people who took the time to program such a great game.

There is just one thing that bothers me about the game's sound although, in all honesty, I don't know with me being Romanian and all, if I'm even qualified to judge... Anyhow, James Grayson is supposed to be British but to me he sounds Australian and for most of the game I couldn't get the thought out of my head that I was playing as Crocodile Dundee. Besides that, the sound was flawless. The dialogue was witty, clear and drew you into the depth of the storyline; it was also delivered exceptionally well by all the actors involved. The sound effects were excellent. All the gunfire, the explosions, the sounds of machinery and all other sounds, they were all done very well and they had a great flow to them. Another aspect to the game that I found very impressive was the music. I was not as much impressed with the actual sound as I was with the way it alternated from fast to slow. Whereas in many games the music speeds up when an action sequence starts and it slows down when you're in the clear, in Resistance Retribution, the speeding or slowing of the music is not done in relation to the action; it almost seems random. That actually works really well in this game's case because it gets your heart pumping and adrenaline flowing at all times; you never know when the music speeds up if it is a real ambush or just a false alarm.

Resistance Retribution is by far the most beautiful game that I've ever seen on the PSP; this game really showed me the true potential that the PSP possesses. The characters are beautifully rendered in the game as well as in the movie files, the animations are smooth and look realistic, the special effects look great with beautifully looking firefights and spectacular explosions. But what's the most impressive aspect to the graphics is the environment and the level design; they are phenomenal. The levels are big and have a very detailed environment. Most of the game is seen from a 3rd person perspective with the exceptions of when you're operating the mounted wall cannon or when you're driving the mechs in which case you see the world from a 1st person shooter perspective. The detail is everywhere. The outdoors environments take you through muddy terrains to snowy landscapes, but most of the game takes place inside Chimera facilities. Inside the chimera facilities you will see the true power of the PSP. The tunnels and the light effects are spectacular and not only do you get to battle your foes on solid ground, but in this game, the action takes you underwater as well. The underwater graphics look incredible, especially in one of the boss fights (I don't want to spoil the game so I'm not going to say which boss it is). Everything in this game looks spectacular. Oh, by the way, if you find yourself using the Auger rifle, it is not a bug that it shoots through solid objects. It is supposed to do that. One last thing that I want to mention is the flashlight; in dark places it is used automatically. This game is designed so well that even on the tiny PSP screen you can finally enjoy a shooter that provided a great balance of depth and shadow.