Insomniac Games is a developer who's very name is practically synonymous with terrifically produced, regularly delivered games. Just think of the high quality, and significant number, of the Ratchet and Clank games Insomniac has developed over the years. So when the existence of Resistance 3 was first teased nearly a year ago by a billboard on the set of Colombia Pictures' as yet unreleased Battle Los Angeles, few were surprised by the news. Still, it would be some time before the developer officially confirmed the existence of the game, at Gamescom this past August, with a live action trailer. And that was all we had seen of the game, until now.

A number of screenshots purported to be from the forthcoming game have been posted to a Flickr account. Featuring several variations of the Chimera, in addition to characters apparently named Capelli and Susan, these shots certainly look genuine. Have a look, and click on the photos to view them in higher resolution.

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Though Killzone is often credited as the best looking of all PS3 games, Resistance 3 looks like it could change that impression. The sheen and texture of the Chimera's skin, the depth of field effects visible in the boat scenes, the human characters' faces -- these may be still shots, but they are great looking still shots.

Around the release of Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Insomniac publicly indicated that Ratchet's time traveling adventure would likely be the last of their games to run at 60 frames per second. The gist of their argument was that they would be able to deliver significantly better looking games at 30 fps. At PAX 2010, an Insomniac panel admitted that they had, in fact, made good on that promise for Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, and some of the results of that decision are visible in the trailer for the game. Based on these screens of Resistance 3, Insomniac's new attention to graphical fidelity seems to be paying off.

Of course, some may be concerned about how the move from 60 to 30 fps will affect gameplay in Resistance 3. Whatever you opinion of the previous games in the series, the liquid-smooth framerate made them tremendously playable.

In the end, though, the trade-off may be worthwhile. If Insomniac can deliver a smooth playing game with graphics of the fidelity seen in the screenshots, we may be in for a treat.

Ranters, what do you think of these leaked Resistance 3 screens? Do they reinforce your anticipation for the game, or do they leave you worried about the game's framerate?

Resistance 3 is expected to release sometime in 2011, exclusively for the PS3.

Source: Flickr (via 1up)