Seriously, I`m getting sick of these sausage fest-OH MY GOD DID THAT GUY JUST EXPLODE IN MY FACE?!
I guess that since the 50`s every generation expected space travel to become as usual as taking a bus in ten years or so. Strangely enough, this hasn`t this occurred yet, but in the universe of Killzone, not only humans have acquired proficient spacecraft, but also created an entirely new race – Helgast. Some things never change, and the “normal” humans, the ISA (which stands for… something apparently) and the Helgast are soon in war. The game picks up with an actual backstory, but nobody gives enough damn to explain what happened before you hit the “New Game” button.
Anyway, the developers have saved you the trouble of playing the campaign for longer than 7 hours, so the single player picks up in the middle of ongoing assault on Helgast home planet where the nice human government is trying to end the war by quickly capturing the Helgast leader. Beats me why they simply didn`t nuke the planet from orbit instead of relying on foot soldiers and risking with untold amount of casualties but whatever.
As the army is now hiring only testosterone-filled a-holes, so here are you, between three other insufferable jerks, who can only serve as the worst stereotypes of real soldiers. The main character has a name, so does his comrades and even some (two) bad guys are actually referred as persons, but the story boils down to orders yelled in your ear by somebody who acknowledges your efforts in practicing holocaust by commenting how you took your sweet time sightseeing. Also, the ending is an ass.
What the hell, I only came here to shoot things anyway.
Those 4 years of development were not entirely wasted on beer and hookers it seems. Killzone 2 has some of the finest, most refined and fun shooting mechanics in a console FPS. It`s like an oiled clockwork but, just as any item made by human hand, it has flaws. After the initial release of the game, a lot of people complained about the "weight" of the guns, or "lag" in the control. This was a function of the "dead zone" on the sticks. Basically, a large portion of the thumbstick`s potential range about the center was basically inactive or offered very little "action" in game. You had to push the stick pretty far in order to initiate on screen action, and then when you did, input ramped up pretty dramatically. A bit later, the game was patched, and a new setting appeared in the options menu called "High Precision Mode". What it did was reduced the amount of deadzone on the sticks, in effect increasing the range or resolution of input, which allowed for small, incremental movements of the stick to result in smaller, incremental tweaks to aiming in game. Doesn`t sound like much of a reason to stop playing the game but, as far as I know, some people were frustrated with the controls enough to quit the game. I didn`t find the controls to be such a pain, however it is a lot harder to pull headshots with a sidearm and shotgun`s precision suffers quite a bit. Overall, I would classify KZ2`s approach to controls as “different”. Given the pressure Guerilla had by the gaming community and Sony, I admire the balls they had to take a step aside the mainstream, even if it`s a minor one.
Another interesting addition to the tried-and-true aim-shoot-reload-repeat mantra, Killzone 2 has implemented an interesting cover mechanic. Yes, you heard me right, even first person shooters do that now. All jokes aside, the cover thingy is done really well. You press R2 to stick to the nearest surface and use the left stick to move out of cover. Here is one but very frustrating flaw here – the R2 button also is used to crouch, so it is common that instead of bending over you stick to a wall and get raped by bullets. Another niggle is that the camera is placed around the character`s stomach instead of head, so you can`t be sure if you are ever safe from a headshot.
As I already mentioned, the combat is done exceptionally well. It is made even more awesome by pouring gallons of blood on the screen as you kill an enemy in close range or get shot yourself. The gore isn`t taken to extreme, however you can blow off heads with sniper rifle or shotgun. Yet, I must express my antipathy for the health screen. There is none, of course, as in all shooters these days, but, as you get shot, the screen runs red with your own blood and when your health drops low, the screen blurs to black and white. I wonder what the developers had in mind when they decided to eliminate any chance of actually *seeing* in their fantasy world of gray and brown. I`m not exaggerating - the visibility is so poor that you`ll have a hard time spotting a cover, not to mention seeing whoever`s shooting at you. This has caused me countless deaths not only in campaign but also in multiplayer, where it is even more important to have a clear view of things.
Speaking of multiplayer – the most important section of KZ2 – it`s a mixed bag, a love/hate relationship. Now, I understand the Killzone 2 was supposed to be a system seller and system sellers are games of universal appeal. Warzone – a fancy way to say “multiplayer” – is something like a vehicle-less Battlefield, less customizable (character-wise) Call of Duty and poorly balanced Team Fortress 2. Basically, what we got here is an objective-driven, class-based fragfest – but with limited appeal. How come? Simple – hostility against new players.
First of all, at the beginning of your online “career” you only have one class to choose from, with only two, almost identical guns and no special abilities to give you an advantage in combat. As you grind through the game, you`ll unlock new classes, guns and abilities, but it takes WEEKS to have the privilege to play with guns or classes you actually want. What a load of horse ****. How am I supposed to play effectively amongst players with my rank if no one has unlocked any useful classes yet? How is it fair to play with higher-ranked players who have a huge advantage over me? Seriously, who the hell came up with this crap?
Once you get the initial learning curve, the Warzone shows it`s true colors. Even with its sluggish controls, Killzone 2`s multiplayer component is fast paced, exciting and satisfying. The objectives are variations Modes include Bodycount (Team Deathmatch), Search and Destroy (one team attempts to place bombs on a target while the other tries to stop them), Search and Retrieve (both teams fight to bring items to specified locations), Capture and Hold (teams fight to control certain points on the map), and Assassination (a random player is chosen on either team to be eliminated to win the round and must be protected). The interesting thing is that every session contains all of these objectives and the players are given a small amount of time to complete them. This seamless transition between game modes fuels the need for solid teamwork to carry out the objectives and you`ll see people silently grouping together and working side by side to win. You can also form or join other players’ squads. Being in a squad allows to spawn next to the squad leader and follow what the rest of the team is doing as they show on screen as icons representing their name and class, making teamwork simple and convenient.
For a warm-up, you can play an offline skirmish game with bots or add them to a under populated MP match if you are the host. The reason I`m mentioning this is that the enemy AI is one of the finest out there. The Helgast bastards gladly flank you, flush you out of cover with grenades or make you dance cha-cha-cha with startling accuracy. I wish I could say the same about friendly AI in campaign but all they do is take cover (where you wanted to), run in front of you gun and die, die, die only to call for your help to revive them. Not that it particularly ruins the single player experience but it’s a noticeable flaw.
For the most part you`ll be using either ISA or Helgast assault rifles, favoring premier simply because of the reflex sight. There are about 16 weapons in the whole game, what doesn`t sound too bad - if they all were equally as awesome. The overpowered machine gun will make your life a living hell in multiplayer, it takes an eternity to aim the shotgun plus it`s laughably weak, the rifle is as useful as a conventional WWI firearm, the sniper rifle is *the* worst sniper rifle in history –both zooming in/out is performed by Up button on D-pad, which makes it a pain to use this weapon while in cover, what`s more, the aiming recticle is so bloody small that you`ll need a microscope to actually see an enemy. And guess what, if your hands are shaking, your rifle will shake as well, thanks a lot SIXAXSIS.
What`s the worst, you can carry only ONE, yes, ONE weapon of choice at a time. The other slot is taken by either pistol or revolver, both with infinite ammo. While it`s understandable for multiplayer, the campaign often makes facepalm worthy moments when you have to choose between a gun everyone`s using or have fun for five seconds and discard the weapon for something more common. As if that wasn`t enough, two of the coolest guns – boltgun, which nails enemies to walls and then explodes, and flamethrower, which shoots flammable stream of piss, are only available for multiplayer ONLY if you buy the DLC.
This DLC crap is the cancer of gaming if you ask me. But for a game that`s been in development for four years and is released with only eight maps, they have the nerve to nickel and dime me for this ****? And for the “definitive FPS on PS3” Guerilla Games show little support to their own game. When was the last patch? Half a year ago? New updates, weapons, features, hell, even maps? Yeah, you wish.
The multiplayer isn`t bad actually. It just needs more tweaking, updates, content. Something that shows that Guerilla Games care about their own game. Something that expands the community. Support, you know?
Ever since the legendary trailer from E3 2005 (which I`ve never seen), Killzone 2 has been anticipated as console graphics king. Well, I`ll be damned, the dark, gritty world of Helgast looks bloody fine. I have yet to see better texture work, finer lighting and antialaising on a console game. KZ2 doesn`t have a mandatory install, which is a plus, but I wish it had an option to store it on your hard drive since loadings during the in the middle of levels and for multiplayer maps are in between “Not worth complaining” and “F@#& THIS $%*^!”
Guerilla Games aimed for a dark, oppressive atmosphere and KZ2 delivers. Planet Helgan is a gloomy, desolate place plagued with lightning and dust storms. Streets are full of debris, corpses and other horrors of war. Perhaps you`d wish for a larger scope since Modern Warfare 1&2 beat KZ2 in terms of size and scale, and the widely advertised environment destructibility is either scripted or purely cosmetic but Killzone 2 looks great nonetheless.
The first thing you`ll notice starting the game is the intro cinematic. Make no mistake – those brilliant facial and body animations aren`t fake. From the movement of your squad mates to reloading your gun, everything is so fluid and lifelike you won`t believe it. And I simply *have* to mention the death animations. There are no others like it. Simply put, Killzone 2 is bloody gorgeous.
Much like most of today`s big-time shooters, KZ2 features “Saving Private Ryan” worthy sound design. If you have full surround sound, you`ll feel like in a real battlefield – especially while playing multiplayer. Music isn`t bad either – the majestic orchestral pieces greatly enhance the experience. If only the voice acting lived up to the rest of the package –it`s just like in every other marines-go-save-the-day shooter, unless you count the bad guys – Scholar Visari and Colonel Radec are quite memorable characters just because of their fantastic vocal talents.
Even with its massive symphony of hype, Killzone 2 delivers a solid, fun FPS experience in both single and multi player modes. If you are willing to overlook the controls, leaning curve for MP or simply the fact that KZ2 isn`t very original, you should have a great time with Guerilla Games exclusive shooter for Sony`s Black Box o` Blu-Ray.
Hey, guess what, I didn`t use “generic” even once! Oh wait-