Resistance: Fall Of Man To Feature 40 Players Online.

Never before in the history of gaming (or as long as we can remember, anyhow) has there been a FPS game that allowed 40 players to go crazy on a virtual battlefield. Until the PS3 came along, that is.

A report from PSM says that Resistance: Fall Of Man will feature 40-player online capability, which is even more than the previously announced number of 32.

Here's the juicy quote from PlayStation Magazine:

We put in some serious time playing various maps and modes in multiplayer, and despite our constant deaths at the hands of Insomniac's seasoned testers we had a blast. Resistance should offer PS3's Flagship online multiplayer experience at launch. Of course, you can also play with friends offline via split-screen deathmatch,or partner up and play, co-op through the entire single player game(this can only be done offline).

Online matches are where the real action is, though where as many as 40 players can pack the battlefield(a recent eight-player improvement over the 32-player support announced at E3) .We tried standard deathmatch in a small, hilly ice area, and massive 40-player "MELTDOWN" campaigns in a huge jungle-type enviroment with wooden bridges and platforms in the trees, "Ewok Village"- style.

Meltdown is an extension of another mode called "Node," in which two teams race to take over as many nodes as possible. Nodes are large chambers that contain several cylinders, you can re-configure the nodes for your team. Once you control a node, you can choose to re-spawn there after you die, adding strategy to the order in which your team goes after them. Meltdowns adds the twist that these nodes are actually coolants for each team's base, so by taking them over, you're overheating the enemy's headquaters. At certain heat levels a base's defenses will temporarily go down, allowing the opposing team to get inside and deal major damage.

This is the kind of feature that if done right, could be huge for PS3 sales.