A skyscraper sized mechanical beast towers over grassy Icelandic hills. At first it inspires awe, since few games are rendered with such literal, uncontained immensity. But something is askew in Resistance 2, because when it comes down to the true sense of it all, it’s hardly impactful.

Playing the earlier levels of Insomniac’s latest effort left a feeling of indifference. For all its attempts at imbuing a sprawling scale, the highly deliberate crescendo of chaos generally remained at a mild plateau. Much is going on, most of it blurred together.

Opening in the thick of confusion and chaos, you’re guided through several small warehouses as the aforementioned towering wonder, the Goliath, tears apart the scenic landscape. The pseudo boss takes form right from the outset, in which you have to sit around and wait as the Goliath spins to reveal its vulnerable hind. Within minutes, the most intriguing element of the experience laid before you is reduced to the most uninvolving and formulaic of interactions; shoot a glowing point a few times and move on, nothing to see here.

Perhaps the most intrinsic problem, befuddling an otherwise decent, if slightly tired, framework, is that the movement and controls in Resistance 2 don’t entirely feel like your own. It’s as if you’re watching yourself play the game, rather than actually being viscerally immersed in what the gorgeous visuals would seemingly invite with ease.

But there is still an undeniable talent behind the wheel here, and glimpses of great variety shimmered ever so slightly. The second level, after the uninspired romp in Iceland, is set in the familiar dense woods of California. Here, the varied and beautiful aesthetics provided a mix up after a strikingly rigid opening, which saw horde after horde of Chimera and little else.

A brilliant twist in tension came with traversing the serene forest, quietly anticipating the attack of several cloaked enemies. The sheer atmospheric eeriness spawned from listening to the brooding gallop of the new, lizard-like enemies proved to be a surprise. It was the sole accent in a play session that, decidedly, struck too many of the same notes. Of course, soon after, it was back to a drivel of cloned enemies, punctuated by a boss who lumbered lamely around the rural environment, soaking up bullets and doing little else. And on that dim note, the playtime ended.

If lines are drawn to frame the best moments of Insomniac’s sequel, this Resistance could potentially be a standout. But as it stands, the bland canvas of styles is uncharacteristic of the talented folks who spawned the likes of the consistently rollicking Ratchet and Clank series. A well intonated experience is trying to find its form here, but from the initial salutations it’s too sporadic to take shape.