Resistance: Burning Skies multiplayer proves two thumbsticks are better than one

Hands-on with Resistance: Burning Skies.

Resistance: Burning Skies will be the first first-person shooter to hit PlayStation's Vita and make full use of those two glorious thumbsticks. How's it feel? Sort of like gaming on a console.

Last week we had a chance to check out the game's multiplayer, taking on seven other players through a wifi connection with zero lag. The game's online mulitplayer will support deathmatch, team deathmatch and survival modes, though we only got a chance to check out the deathmatch in the game.

True to the series' love of unique weapons, Burning Skies will include a selection of guns from previous Resistance games as well as at least two new weapons: The Mule and the Hunter. All of the game's weapons have two forms of firing. Standard shots are pulled off with a bumper tap, while alternate firing uses the Vita's touchscreen.

So for instance, if you want to tag an enemy with a Bullseye, you tap them on the screen, then any shots you fire chase down and hit the enemy. Tapping the screen when you have the Mule shotgun selected pops out a crossbow, and sliding down on the screen loads an explosive bolt that you can then fire. If you two the Vita with two fingers and spread them apart while you have the Auger selected, your character drops a shield on the ground where you marked with the touch. The Carbine's alt fire is a grenade that's fired with a tap on the screen. And finally, tapping the screen when you have the Hunter rifle fires out a probe that shoots any enemies it spots until it hits an object. You can hold your finger to the screen after it fires out to guide it around the area.

Other touch screen controls include tapping and dragging to throw a grenade or tapping a knife symbol to melee attack. Running is triggered by double tapping the back of the Vita at any time.

The game, due out on May 29, also has a robust line-up of unlocks you can earn through experience that accrues through matches. You can check out the game in action in the video below and watch me struggle to play a match while trying to conduct an interview. Spoilers: I'm terrible.