Don't ask for my PSN ID. My "cousin's best friend" acquired a copy from his girlfriend, who is an intern at some gaming magazine she wouldn't reveal to me, probably because she didn't want to lose her job. My cousin (second cousin, actually) says she works for EGM, but I think he only said that because I happened to be reading EGM at the time he brought the whole thing up and I think he just wants to cover her butt. Yes, I beat the game.
- Yes, the graphics are stellar. The best-looking game I have ever played until now is Crysis Warhead, and the games are essentially of the same scale. Killzone 2 is more visually impressive, thanks to the terrific motion blur and rediculously good animation. Taking a guy out at the knees is immensely satisfying. The explosions look like crap compared to Warhead, they're just big puffs of red smoke if you ask me, but aside from that, the game looks incredible, just not as good as Crysis (original) because it just isn't that big.
- Repetitive. Think Black. The game hardly changes throughout. The so-called bosses are just bulkier versions of the typical soldier. Pacing is like Black in that you shoot, shoot, shoot Helghast soldier after Helghast soldier and get the occassional (lame) turret or vehicular objective. The good thing is, shooting these dumb (yes, dumb) soldiers like fish in a barrel for hours on end is great fun, and the very typical weapon selection keeps it interesting. Snipe, mow down or blast them all straight to hell. I love it, but I won't do it more than once, maybe twice (the campaign, that is).
- The audio is good. It's no Dead Space, no Crysis, and definitely no Bioshock, but it's strong, right up there with Gears. The soundtrack is industrial/classical/metal, something you'd expect to hear in a new Twisted Metal game and it really suits the generic "hardcore" feel of the game.
- Buggy. Not nearly as bad as in Killzone 1, but the AI is very bug-prone, the game crashed on me twice, and audio can cut out from time to time, especially during autosaves or when you complete an objective. It's completely tolerable if you can stand to play Oblivion or Far Cry 2.
- If you aren't expecting a good story, you're in luck. I think Gears 1 fans will be right at home. Gratuitous swearing, melodramatic Saving Private Ryan esque twists, and generic Nazi archetypes galore.
- Didn't play multiplayer, obviously, and I don't really care about multiplayer.
- Hope you don't mind sitting through load-screens. The game loads like mad. Starting a new phase of gameplay is like booting up GTA3. It doesn't load too often, thankfully, but the unprecedented poly count means you have to sit and wait for the game to seemingly count the polys like pennies in a 10,000 dollar bucket.
It's not a game that would make me purchase a PS3 all over again. 4/5, maybe 4.25/5 at best. It's a heck of a ride from start to finish, but it's short, monotonous, and I skipped almost every cutscene without regret. The multiplayer could make it a AAA game, but from what I experience, you just want to play it for the rediculously good visuals. It's definitely better than Halo 3, more polished than Gears 2, and overall definitely something I could see fans of either game hating on for some time. It's not the PS3's killer app, but it's a pretty freakin' good game when you just want to kill things. Movement is very "weighty", which is something I like, and the first-person-POV cover system will probably replace the 3rd-person cover system in games to come. Pick it up if you like the multiplayer beta, I suppose. Otherwise, it's a terrific rental.
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