Killzone 2

Hey, my fellow g1s, nemesis274 here and what I am about to give you is my very first review on a Playstation 3 exclusive. This game was just so awesome I think I might be considered a somewhat fanboy towards it. What is that game you may ask? Well, to those g1s who I communicate via Skype, they probably know what I am talking about, but to those who did not know, it’s none other than Killzone 2!

Now just to let you know, I was not originally a fan of the Killzone series. I never played the first game, but I started to develop interest in the franchise thanks to a game called Killzone Liberations on the PSP. When I saw the some videos on Gametrailers, my interests levels went, shall we say, OVER 9000? LOLZ

Anyways, it took me a few videos, introductions to the classes that the game had in store and the actual review from GT to make me eager to get the game. Other than Metal Gear Solid 4, this game was the reason why I wanted to get a PS3. I would have gotten me a 360, but I just don’t have the money to spare for an annual subscription on XBL. Maybe as soon as I finally work as a teacher in the upcoming school year, I just might do that. But enough about that…

Well, a year after the review, I finally got my Playstation 3 and a month after that, I had to make some tough decisions, which I had to even post a thread on the forums to help me decide, whether I should get Killzone 2 or Uncharted 2. And to be honest, I was really considering getting Uncharted 2 since there are very few stores out there that actually sell the game. And if they do, they sell it at twice the price even to this day, which is utter bullshit! But, as I picked Uncharted 2, I found one last copy of Killzone 2 in Platinum (basically a grey case, meaning it was one of the best exclusives) and surprisingly, the game costs half the price as Uncharted 2. So, I put Uncharted back onto the shelf saying: “I will come back for you later!” and then picked this up and drove back home and popped the game in. After less than an hour of downloading and installing updates for the game, I finally played it, and I came to the conclusion that it was really awesome, not only as a First Person Shooter, but as a video game in general. I wondered: why don’t most g1s play this game? Is it because of the new Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted 2 back then? I am not quite sure. It’s been about 3 or so days since I popped the game in, and ever since, it has never left my Playstation 3.

Okay, now that I have got that out of the way, here is the review:

1. Story

The game takes place 2 years after the events of the  first Killzone game (thank you Wikipedia) or rather took place directly after the events of Killzone Liberations, should you download the final chapter online! This time, the International Strategic Alliance (ISA) is now going to turn the tables and invade the Helghast’s homeworld, Helghan and take down their leader, Emperor Visari. Unlike the previous games, you take on the role of a new character named Sev (full name: Thomas Sevchenko), since Jan Templar (the original protagonist) has been promoted to the rank of Colonel. As for Rico, he is the Sev’s Squad leader of Alpha team (God, I never liked that guy since Liberations!)

That’s pretty much what the game is all about so to speak. And I won’t be providing any spoilers this time, but I will tell you this much: it’s pretty damn good, at least in my opinion!  It may not be completely epic, so to speak, but it is enough to immerse you to the game. And I think the best part would be one certain villain (which I might be talking about someday on a Villains blog) who is so scary and makes you want to waste him with a crap ton of ammo, or at least to me: with a bolt gun!

I'll be talking about you, later, Radec! I swear it!

2.Graphics

The graphics on Killzone 2 is one of those examples that show how much the Playstation 3 is capable of. You will know it by seeing the very first cutscene if you start the game. And in the actual game, it was pretty damn good as well. It held the tradition of Killzone of having a more morbid and dark setting that really makes you realize the horrors on the battlefield. Some g1s I know say that the game is too “grey”, but I ain’t got a problem with that whatsoever! However, there are some rare occasions that the game can get to be a bit buggy, for instance, my comrades are able to pass through a closed door and there are times that their lips don't even move while talking. But those are just some minor flaws and they do tend to affect the immersion factor a little bit.

And the blood is pretty good too. At least it looked like blood compared to games like Modern Warfare 2 which reminded me a wee bit of strawberry jam (flame shield activated). Other than that, there is not a whole lot to say about the game, graphics wise.

Well, I think I can say something else about it. And that is the character designs, especially for the Helghast troops (I ain’t got much of a problem with the ISA’s). While some designs are really cool, others just seem to be a bit funny than bad-ass!

3. Audio

The sound effects that the game has are nicely done, to say the least! They do seem to go hand in hand with the actual gameplay nicely!

But one part that is kinda weird at times is the voice acting. Don’t get me wrong, there are occasions where the voice acting is top-notch, but there are other times that it was a bit off and needs a bit more rehearsing.

As far as the audio presentation goes, the music that the game has is the best for me, especially on the menu screen. Don’t believe me? Listen to this:

Helghan Forever!-Killzone 2 Soundtrack

As for the voice acting, well you do have to check out the first video I posted above.

4. Gameplay

Now this is where the true fun lies! This is one of those games that separate the 12-year olds, from the true WARRIORS! And to do this, I need to discuss the gameplay in both the campaign mode, and in multiplayer!

CAMPAIGN

Now without a doubt, I found this game to be the most challenging First Person Shooter I have ever played. And it took me more or less, 3 tries before I beat the first level of the game.  One other feature, much like it’s first game is that there is no auto-aim feature nor is there and option to turn on auto-aim, which I never really cared for to be honest since it helps increase the difficulty and you really need to fire your weapon with pinpoint accuracy to make sure that your enemies stay dead.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the enemies too! The Helghast’s AI is really smart. For instance, they know when to react when they see a grenade before it even lands to the ground. The realism that the game was trying to pull off worked out really well over here.

The controls of the game are pretty solid for me. And there are times where you even have to take advantage of the PS3’s sixaxis motion controls to do something such as set up a charge, rotating valves, to even making sure that your sniper rifle has to be steady. Some might say this is a tad gimmicky, but I found it to be a very awesome way on utilizing the motion controls. So kudos to Guerilla Games for that!

And what makes an FPS so great? The weapons, right? Well, the weapons in Killzone 2 are well balanced and each are really fun to use, though you will always find your Assault Rifle to be the most reliable weapon in the entire game. You can only equip a primary weapon and a sidearm (which has infinite ammo), you can equip up to a max of 3 grenades, you can also go on turrets to murder a large group of Helghast troops and there are times where you can even ride various vehicles, which yet again, really fun to use! And aside from you FPS staples, there are also very unique weapons to use in the campaign such as the Bolt Gun, and the Electricity Gun.  

That is to say, is the game perfect? Well, not really, but it comes really close!

One of the main issues that Killzone 2 had had something to do with the controls! Well according to a certain g1 who responded in my forums thread a while back: “the controls lag which kills the game.” Upon playing the game for a while, I found that issue to indeed be annoying at times. But that can easily be resolved by simply adjusting the sensitivity of the x-axis and y-axis joysticks on the options menu!   

And there are some load times here and there, which are pretty annoying so to speak. Even in game there are times where it has to load probably to set up the upcoming mission objectives. The main load times are the longest I have seen in a while, they have almost the same time to load as that of Tekken 6, in my opinion. Though you do have ways to pass the time, by simply screwing around with the loading screen by tiliting the sixaxis controller around! Not much to say about that, only it makes the loading times less boring to see. But I would have appreciated it if they would rather find a way to shorten the load times, like a hard drive installation!

MULTIPLAYER

Ah multiplayer! A feature that is a standard in most FPS games today! Well, basically it has the same intense action as that of the campaign, maps that are reminiscent of the Battlefield games and add the class system resembling that of Team Fortress and a single game session can accommodate up to 32 players maximum. And that is pretty much it. Though in order to unlock the classes, you need to work your way up into the ranks, which can also let you have different weapons and items to pick depending on the actions you have done over the course of the multiplayer game. And there are two really nice features that I love the most in multiplayer: One, the gameplay has really dynamic match types that you can play and they transition to the other really well. There are five different matches in Multiplayer, namely:

Assassination: Locate and kill a target member of an opposing faction before time runs out, or defend the target from getting killed! Should the target survive, he or she is rewarded with more points

Search and Retrieve: Find and pick up propaganda speakers and deliver them to designated areas on the map. That same item can be picked up again should the previous carrier be killed. The faction who picks up the most items is the winner.

Capture and Hold: Locate, capture and secure propaganda receivers until time runs out.

Search and Destroy: Plant C4 charges at a specific area to win the game or before time runs out.

Bodycount: Kill as many members of the opposing faction as possible to win the game!

If I also may add, if you are used to games like CoD with camping tactics, you MAY want to rethink again. And other than the classes you get to unlock, there is nothing in the game that may improve your character up a notch other than your own skill. Which is why there are some stupid fanboys that I found on Youtube saying how the game is terrible and they would rather play CoD or Halo? Well, I cannot blame them, but if they think that CoD is all there is, they seriously need a change of pace. Like what parents mostly say: “Always try new things!”

Moving on….

And in order to suit a player’s style, they can switch to different classes as they please, provided that they already have unlocked the classes to begin with.  And you can establish or be assigned to a squad where they also have their own dedicate voice chat network to communicate between them! Though to set up your own squad, you need to attain the rank of Corporal.

And also you can start your own clan, recruit members and challenge other clans to wager valor points and hopefully take part in various tournaments!

Another really awesome feature Killzone 2 has to offer does not lie in the Blu-Ray disc, but rather in its website www.killzone.com. By logging in to the site with your PSN ID, you can re-watch your previous online matches, though they are more or less dots on a map, but it is really helpful if you are the tactician type of guy, as I can be!

As much as the multiplayer offers a lot of fun to PS3 owners, there are a few problems I wanted to address with this: 

First of all, while online multiplayer is fun and all, whatever happened to local multiplayer? I mean, the first game had it and so did Liberations via Ad-Hoc, so why not this one? I would rather play with a friend in my room rather than gun a battalion of bots. That’s not to say that they are not really challenging, though ‘cause they still are!

Secondly, in the campaign, you can hide and peek once you find good cover. But in the multiplayer campaign, it was not applied. Not a good move they made there, but it’s only a minor flaw.

Thirdly, I want vehicles on multiplayer! Sure you can call forth a drone if you have a Tactician class, but I want to pilot vehicles for additional pwnage.

And lastly, the weapons! Aside from the standard weapons, I would have liked it if I got a flamethrower or the bolt gun, even though it might be rare to find. But you can only get those weapons if you have the right DLC for them, which I don’t really have the tolerance for. So, I guess I will just have to stick with what I have now for the time being.

Conclusion:

Killzone 2 is an extremely intense and fun First Person Shooter you can ever find on the Playstation 3. It is definitely a must buy,give or take a few flaws and some rare occasion bugs that you might encounter in the game. And I honestly recommend video game stores to re-stock their inventory with this game along with Bad Company and Modern Warfare 2 instead of adding other games like Rogue Warrior and Haze (seriously, other than MW2, there are those who actually bought Rogue Warrior while they were still new, God have mercy on their soul!)

As for the those who may find the game fun :Well, either gamers who could use a change of pace with their FPS gaming or someone who prefers a lot more tactics rather than just raging action! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention those people who own a PS3. 

Thanks for reading, g1s. Let me know what you think of the review and express to me your thoughts on Killzone 2 by commenting below. Much appreciated, and next up is another Villains blog and maybe a release of a “show” I am working on.

I am nemesis274, and I bid thee farewell for now!