Resistance 3 multiplayer to feature a maximum of 16 players

Details of Resistance 3's multiplayer have emerged, and fans of previous titles' large-scale battles are unlikely to be pleased.

"Our biggest motivation in determining our new player-count was the fun times that we and the community had on maps like [Resistance: Fall of Man]'s Busyard and Rooftops, as well as the Bayou House and San Francisco maps in [Resistance 2]," Insomniac community manager James Stevenson wrote of the dramatic change on the EU PS Blog.

Previous Resistance titles sported multiplayer battles of up to forty and sixty players.

Resistance 3 will sport Human vs Chimera deathmatches as well as various objective-based modes on a variety of settings worldwide.

Stevenson described the game's character upgrade system as "very deep and customizable", catering to player's "unique play style".

"For instance – each player can choose and level different support abilities – such as a Bubble Shield, Ammo Beacon (give ammo to teammates) or Radar Beacon (enhance your team’s radar)," he wrote.

"There are also tactical abilities you can use against your enemies, such as the Doppelganger (projects an image of you nearby to distract enemies) or Dash (an explosive burst of speed to evade enemy attacks)."

In addition to abilities, players will have the chance to upgrade both a personal and combat "attribute", including booby-trapping your corpse with leapers.

Stevenson said Insomniac aimed to bring across "the best of both Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2‘s MP and co-op modes".

A multiplayer beta will begin later this year, with Insomniac urging fans to sign up for the company's newsletters to be among the first to know the details.

Resistance 3 releases exclusive for PlayStation 3 in early September. See a couple of new images below.