So by now you’ve heard about the dust-up over the inclusion of Manchester Cathedral in the game Resistance: Fall of Man. The Church of England are considering legal action against Sony claiming Sony failed to obtain permission to use the Church interior in the game. Now according to a BBC report , the Church is after is an apology and the removal of the game from store shelves. Turns out that Manchester has a bit of a problem with guns and youth crime and the church is none too keen on the thought of shoot-outs taking place inside the Church, and the message that is sending out to the kids of Manchester.

Now the Incomplete Gamer, for one, was happy to hear the news, because as chance would have it we’ve been playing a spot of RFOM this weekend and we’re all for anything that makes what we’re doing seem topical and current. The Incomplete Gamer spent several hours (read days) immersed in the Resistance world, and we now feel confident in offering up our 2 cents worth for the collection plate.

RFOM has sold a whopping million copies, but clearly the Church of England hasn’t bothered to buy or rent a copy and play through the level in question. Nor have many of the on-line news sites reporting the news. The Incomplete Gamer has, and because we’re really not that accomplished in the art of 1950’s Sci-Fi first person shooters, we probably spent more time in the virtual Manchester Cathedral nave than the average gamer.

The level begins with you inside the deserted and largely destroyed Cathedral. Deserted to the extent that it’s sans congregation, minister and organist, destroyed to the extent that the pews are missing. In fact, the only human life form in the church is your character, the games protagonist, Nathan Hale. But the church is not deserted by any means. The squeals you can hear (think a thousand agitated rats fleeing fire) are the sounds of alien beasties; Leapers to be precise, swarming down from the Cathedral rafters above you.

A Leaper is a small four legged Chimera. Think a lizard crossed with a scorpion and beaten with an ugly stick and you’re almost there. About the size of a medium dog, Leapers always attack in large swarms, leaping (not surprisingly) upon their victim before taking a bite. They are fast little buggers and the general advice is to put as much distance between you and the Leaper as possible, moving backwards while spraying them with your weapon of choice. Which is when things get tricky in the Manchester Cathedral because you are locked in the Church initially with no were to hide. Your best option is to turn and run into the small alcove at the back of the Cathedral, forcing the Leapers to funnel into the smaller room when they do approach, and thereby increasing your odds of killing them all as they enter the room. That’s the theory anyway. The reality is this. Turn and run, position yourself in the far corner of the alcove and wait, as the squealing and rushing grows louder and the Leapers run aimlessly around the floors of the cathedral before finally swarming together and rushing the alcove. And you shoot and strafe and initially you’re winning the battle but at a certain point you are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and a few sneak in to the alcove and attack you and suddenly you’re panicked and spinning in circles with your gun pointed at your feet shooting wildly and then you’re on the ground, the colour fades to charcoal and you’re looking down from above on the body of Nathan Hale. Repeat that little scene a few times and you’ll have a pretty accurate feel for the level.

The Leapers aren’t the only aliens you’ll encounter in the Cathedral. You’ll also have to dispose of two Steelheads, and a number of Hybrids. Sure these guys are humanoid but we’re pretty sure the Church of England won’t be claiming them as God’s creatures either, what with their multiple eyes, nasty claws, bad teeth and all. I know it’s a broad Church, but not that broad. The Steelheads and the Hybrid do shoot back however unlike their cousins, the Leapers, and it’s these gun battles that the Church of England are presumably objecting most to.

Should the game be pulled from shelves or the level featuring the church removed? We’d hate to see it come to that. For us, the level was one of those memorable set pieces that stay with you long after you’ve finished playing. Here’s the thing. When Manchester has a problem with gun-wielding children shooting gun-wielding aliens then we’ll reconsider, but for now we’ll continue playing and enjoying Resistance Fall of Man, and we’d recommend everyone else do the same.