- Front Box - sony computer entertainment europe
Sony’s 2004 first person shooter Killzone was billed as a Halo-killer but ended up becoming a victim of circumstance. The last few years have built up daunting expectations for the sequel, but fortunately things have played out in that game’s favor.
Originally slated for a September 2008 release, Killzone 2 was delayed into the next February due to an overcrowded holiday season. This gave Sony several more months to add polish to what may have been an already complete game. The results have paid off in the gameplay and especially the visual department.
The Best Graphics on the Playstation 3
Graphics alone are rarely a deal breaker for a game, but for Killzone 2 they are at least one of its major pillars. Put simply, Killzone 2 brings realism to a level seen in barely a handful of games today. Despite being almost entirely in first person, Killzone 2 manages to deliver an unusually cinematic experience.
Advanced lighting and other effects like blur, lens flare, and depth of field in games have become common in recent years, but Killzone 2 brings them to a whole new level. Much of the time Killzone 2 honestly looks like a computer-generated movie in playable form which has almost never been said for a game, much less one released in the middle of a console cycle.
Killzone 2’s visuals however are carried along by an art style that is attractive despite being generic. A basic grey sci-fi setting depicted with believable ties to today’s world is what held up the first Killzone and is what completes Killzone 2 as one of the more visually pleasing experiences among today’s shooters.
That said, the aesthetic of the Killzone franchise is basically a futuristic repurposing of World War II – a setting well explored by other shooters like Call of Duty. Killzone 2’s gameplay follows those games as closely as its setting does, but an unoriginal experience is not a bad one.
One of the Most Substantial (if also Unoriginal) Shooters on the Playstation 3
In play, Killzone 2 has few, if any fundamental differences from the war-themed shooters that are now popular on today’s consoles. This doesn’t stop it however from offering a very polished and ultimately fulfilling action experience.
The biggest thing Killzone 2 brings to the PS3 is probably its multiplayer. Depending on how well the game catches on, Killzone 2 could become one of the most significant online experiences on the PS3.
Killzone 2’s multiplayer follows the basic framework of what Call of Duty 4 introduced with some elements of Team Fortress 2 thrown in. Up to 32 players battle in relatively large environments while gaining experience and levels to eventually unlock classes like snipers or medics. The size of the games along with presence of different roles and the abundance of voice chat gives off a battlefield experience that feels surprisingly complete.
The bulk of Killzone 2’s singleplayer campaign simply has players go point-to-point shooting enemy soldiers while taking cover a la Gears of War (but in first person). Throughout this Killzone 2 does manage to arrange some impressive set pieces. Many of these do well to promote the game’s unique elements which although subtle, are notable.
Taking place in the far-flung future allows Killzone 2 to feature an impressively varied display of weapons. Only allowing players to carry one main weapon at a time encourages exploration of things like the nail gun or the lightning bolt cannon.
Perhaps more impressive are Killzone 2’s boss fights. Bosses are a rarity in first person shooters, and most of them aren’t done well. Killzone 2’s prowess with them is part of what holds it up against the other shooters it resembles so much.
Bottom Line
Despite doing nothing to change the landscape of shooters on consoles, Killzone 2 still impresses as one of the most polished and visually stunning efforts on the PS3.
Daniel Sims - Daniel Sims lives in Fairfax, Virginia and recently graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor Arts degree in ...
