Spread the Chimeran Virus with Resistance: Burning Skies

Boost your XP

by Sammy Barker Mon 21st May 2012

Resistance: Burning Skies may be the first fully featured first-person shooter to grace a handheld console, but the PlayStation Vita is capable of doing so much more. Chatting on the Australian arm of the PlayStation Blog, producer Frank Simon has revealed a little more about the shooter’s Near-based social networking functionality.

Using the GPS application you’ll be able to “infect” other Vita’s in your immediate proximity. Passing the Chimeran virus onto other consoles will allow you to net XP bonuses, so it’s well worth taking the game out and about with you to ensure the infection spreads as far as possible.

Frank Simon said of the feature:

With new hardware comes an exciting new scope of uncompromised gameplay capabilities for the first FPS on PlayStation Vita. Taking further advantage of the unique social connectivity of PlayStation Vita, while playing Resistance: Burning Skies in the dynamic new multiplayer mode, Near will enable players to become infected with the Chimeran virus for multiplayer bonuses – and “gift” these to other PS Vita users.

Phew, that’s a lot of marketing buzz-words, Frank. Still, sounds like a pretty neat addition, doesn’t it?

[source blog.eu.playstation.com]

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

1
KALofKRYPTON
Mon 21st May 2012

Cool

2
JavierYHL
Mon 21st May 2012

every1 go buy a vita for me to infect!!!

3
Squiggle55
Mon 21st May 2012

I would love to understand how Near works. Are they saying you need to be playing Resistance Multiplayer at the time for this to work, or just carrying your Vita around, or do you have to open up Near and run a near update? And then the question is, can your Vita be in sleep mode while you walk around? Because I thought sleep mode disconnected everything on the Vita to save battery.

Edit: ok I just learned something. If you want Near to keep sniffing for internet connections and other Vitas nearby, you have to let it go to sleep by itself and not put it into sleep mode by hitting the button. I think if you have a wifi only Vita it sniffs out internet connections and the system sees other Vitas that have been nearby that same connection and when you update Near it says you met that Vita. So I suspect you don't technically need a 3G version to take advantage of this in Resistance.

4
KALofKRYPTON
Tue 22nd May 2012

@Squiggle55

Near doesn't really work like the 3DS 'Street Pass' feature. It's fairly poorly implemented really but does have potential, I've downloaded a few ghost laps for WipEout and avatars and a new cue for Hustle Kings-yet to get any Black Market trades for Uncharted though. It all just needs to be simpler.

As far as I can work out- WiFi and 3G work pretty much the same, but as you mention, the location data for the WiFi only version is dictated by the available WiFi hotspot- whereas 3G would be wherever you actually are. I've used my phone as a WiFi hotspot for Near and it works exactly the same as it does using my home internet connection, obviously showing different location data. So I assue this is how the 3G version works too (anyone with one feel free to correct me there ).

For Resistance I would assume it's done via both online play and via Near. Something similar to Ridge Racer's 'Devil' re-gift. If you don't have it, when playing online in RR you can be re-gifted with a new design for the front end menu and a new race type just by racing with someone who already has it- independant of Near. So, that- it could of course be the tiresome Near out and about 'map' method- which would actually be a bit lame . . .

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