Killzone 2
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Killzone 2
Forget the E3 05 trailer...this is the real thing!
While the internet has been flooded with many Killzone 2 reviews for the past month or so, releasing a review now might not have such a huge impact on our readers (since probably everyone has played the game as we speak). Still, the only thing we can say to you, yes you…if you’re reading this its because you haven’t bought it yet and you’re waiting for the only non-biased, 100% honest review out there.
Guess what? You have found what you’re looking for.
Here’s our review for Killzone 2.
Gameplay
The game follows the events of the first Killzone game and Killzone: Liberation, and entirely takes place on the planet Helghan, the home-world of the Helghast. You play as Sergeant Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko, member of the ISA Special Forces Alpha Team. Alongside teammates Rico, Garza and Natko, your goal is to capture Scolar Visari and stop the Helghast threat.
If the game’s storyline promises something “epic”, the game delivers it but through something else: the technical and visual achievement that is Killzone 2. It puts the storyline far away into the overall experience. There’s no character emotional attachment whatsoever. You want to know what happens but you will find yourself often skipping the cinematics and the dialogues in order to play and kick some Helghast butt. Plus, those who have not played the previous Killzone games will continually ask themselves what the hell the characters mean. It’s a cool thing that the game is a continuation but a little refresher in the storyline wouldn’t hurt. Usually when a game is in development for such a long time, you expect that the game actually becomes the mother of all action games currently on the market. Sadly, the game doesn’t revolutionize anything as a first person shooter and brings nothing new that we haven’t seen in other games, except of course the graphics and the sense of detail and grandeur which we will talk about later on.
Another thing it’s the average storyline. It’s obvious that the developers spent more time working on the technical part of the game rather than taking care of the script and the story which is probably the most important thing in a videogame and especially in a game like Killzone 2, a game set to emerge as a reference for future first person shooters. Don’t get me wrong, is not that the storyline is bad…is just that I expected a more emotionally and grabbing storyline rather than a simplistic good guy/bad guy thing, which can easily explain why the game’s campaign is relatively short (between five and eight hours no matter which difficulty you’re playing except “Elite”). Sure a second play through at the hardest difficulty could give you some kind of challenge but seriously, those who like a really good storyline will feel a bit left out. Add the fact that the A.I isn’t always at its best; its inconsistency can drive you mad at times, especially during the big fights. Sometimes the Helghast will use different flanking tactics; sometimes it will kill itself after shooting at an explosive tank. You’re A.I partners will take a defensive position to counter-attack the enemies’ offensive maneuvers, other times they will stay in front of you while you’re shooting or they will expose themselves after a terribly wrong usage of cover. The lack of a co-op mode would have helped this whole thing a lot better but in the end, the inconsistency can be experienced by only those who play lots of first person shooters. The masses won’t notice it that much.
Nonetheless, the game does have more positive stuff to point out than negative and everything resides on the technical development side of the game. The level design is by far on the best you can find in gaming today. From your first encounter with the Helghast on Corinth River to other locations like the Tharsis Refinery or Visari’s Palace on Pyrrhus, the levels are constructed in such a way that everything that you can find or see is either destructible, can be used for cover and of course used to kill your enemies. Yes, there is a cover system and even if it’s a very timid one and always stays in a first person view, it remains efficient most of the time. The variety of weapons is also very interesting as some of them seen in two previous Killzone games are making a return but the coolest thing about the weapons is that each one has its own physic and weight impact on the main protagonist movements. And for once, the Playstation 3 controller takes full advantage of the game and actually feels like the controller was made for the game, thing that cannot be said for most of the first person shooters available on Sony’s behemoth console. A sixaxis option that lets you set bombs and turn valves during gameplay is also available but I’m sure many players could have taken more this interactivity instead of being limited to just a few.
The game has a multiplayer component and even if the game doesn’t feature a co-op mode (Guerilla might make it available later on), the multiplayer offered in Killzone 2 is interesting, a one-of-a-kind experience, a complete tour de force in online innovation. In “Warzone” 32 players can battle in five different game types: Assassination, Search & Retrieve, Search & Destroy, Bodycount and Capture & Hold. In order to add a certain twist, some matches can have more than one game type. The first part of the match can be a simple Assassination while suddenly; it will switch onto a Search & Destroy objective match. Communication and teamwork is a must. At the end of each match, skill points will be attributed which will help the player level up and obtain a certain rank. Each rank will unlock certain types of weapons; you’ll gain access to new classes and will let you acquire other kinds of extra bonuses. If you have played other multiplayer-based games like Team Fortress for instance, you will see a few similarities. But everything has been exponentially increased to make it bigger and better. The most interesting part of the online play is the presence of a clever online clan support which allows players to form clans of up to 64 players to compete for experience points called "Valor Points", an in-game currency that clans can use to bet on online tournaments to spice the whole experience up. For those who want to practice before getting killed online or have no interest on jumping online, a nice offline Skirmish mode that lets you play against bots is also available.
Graphics & Sounds
There’s no game out there that can match Killzone 2. Since the beginning of the next-gen era, few games have excelled in this area. The Playstation 3 has already shown tidbits of its power with games like Resistance: Fall of Man, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword and Metal Gear Solid 4. Killzone 2 delivers a breathtaking visual experience like no other game has ever done before. Add to that the grandiose environments, the nicely rendered character models and the great level design, the game literally stomps any other game in this department. Some of the battles, especially near the end of the game, are simply a joy to see and experience. Seeing the horde of Helghast attacking you from all directions, explosions everywhere... I could go for hours and talk to you about the visuals in this game but it would easier for me if I told you to experience it for yourself.
Same goes for the audio in which once again, the game shines. The soundtrack points out all the great moments in the game and makes you feel like you were there, each weapon has its distinctive sound and the voice-overs are nicely done. And would be an action game without the sounds of weapon firing and explosions? Believe me when I say that certain combat scenes are simply great to play and of course to hear.
Value
The short single player experience that is Killzone 2 might not help its overall replay value but anyone who plays lots of online shooters will definitely spend more of its time in there. The inclusion of Trophies and the Elite difficulty level also adds some kind of replay value incentive but with an average storyline, some players may not be tempted to replay it again that soon. The true replay value of this game resides in the multiplayer component.
Conclusion
Four years in the making and while we could have expected a bit more from Guerilla Games, Killzone 2 is THE game your Playstation 3 has been waiting for. While it doesn’t redefine nor re-invent anything in the FPS world, Killzone 2 delivers the excitement but most of all the beauty no gamer has ever seen before. As a PS3 exclusive game, PS3 owners haven’t experienced such a thing since Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and even the first Resistance game. This game sends a serious message to anyone who wants to release another exclusive game especially designed for the Playstation 3 console.Pros
+ Breathtaking graphics
+ Solid online component, clan support
+ Great character animations, also considers weapon weight
+ Sounds effects, soundtrack and voiceovers are solid
+ High quality level design
+ One of the rare FPS on the PS3 to have a solid control scheme
+ Some action sequences are really cool
Cons
- Average storyline
- Short single player experience
- A.I is inconsistent at various times during the game
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
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