It has been a long time coming. Ever since that amazing E3 2005, Killzone 2 has been on the hype train. Some of it positive and some of not so much. Reasoning was due to the fact that there is no way they can ever make the game look that good. Well my friends the game is here and I am happy to announce that this is the best looking game I have ever seen on a console.
The game just blew me away on how amazing it looked. From the texture models to the character models, it just looked so damn good. Not to mention some the best lighting effects I have ever seen. On the same subject of tech, this game has to be played on a HDTV and some kind of surround sound setup. I play this game only on my HDTV and my 5.1 headsets and damn, I am impressed every time I play (the game can also output in 7.1 if you have that setup).
Lets start off with the campaign. Campaign is of average length, about 8-10 hours if you are methodical (or first time Killzone player). I blasted through it in about 6 hours on my first playthrough, which kind of surprised myself. And as suspected each level show cases how technically brilliant the game is.
However one thing that you may need to get used to is the controls. I have played the original and the controls are pretty much identical. Those who haven’t played the original may need some time getting used to them. The general consensus on this issue however is that players hated the controls in the beginning and as they played on they started to get the hang of it.
In terms of shooters Killzone 2 doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Except maybe for the cover system, which is all in first person. It works by the player crouching behind cover and using the sticks to peak over the top and place shots. When you are in cover your not just looking at the wall, your character peaks over the top so you can see where to place shots. Guerrilla made it very clear that this experience is entirely first person, straight down to the cover system. Which works very well because it keeps you engaged and keeps the gun fights very intense.
In terms of the story, I am going to say it was just a little above average. The story does has its moments but in general the story is there to setup for a sequel. Which is a shame because there was a lot that could have been done here (you don’t have to play the original to understand the story of Killzone 2). The story does have this notion even though you have a clear and distinct enemy doesn’t mean they are always the enemy. Guerrilla makes it so that each faction can be equally bad. The dialogue is also quite cheesy at times but I did chuckle at one or two mom jokes.
Where this game shines is multiplayer. If you played the original the multiplayer was kind of janky. Guerrilla has greatly polished the multiplayer for the sequel and now its quite brilliant. Killzone 2 uses xp based system to unlock guns and new classes a la Cod4. On top of that they introduce classes that can effect the battlefield in many ways, similar to Team fortress 2. Except one cool thing is you can mix and match each classes abilities. For example, you can be a medic who’s primary ability is to revive. Now if you have unlocked the repair ability from the engineer class you can now be an engineer medic; have ability to revive buddies and repair turrets or ammo boxes.
If you have a PS3 and need a shooter/multiplayer game, absolutly buy and play this game. Campain is good, Multiplayer is excellent with tons of options so there is very high replayability. With the release of the new maps Guerilla is looking to extend the life of this game for a while. So buy it, play it and hopefully i’ll see you online. My psn name can be found on the “Links” page.
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