One of the most thrilling FPS experiences to date. Weak story elements, but the action is enthralling entertainment.
In-game, it doesn't tell you why the ISA are going to attack Helghan, so unless you've read the game description elsewhere, or read up on the story on killzone.com, you'd kinda assume that the ISA are attacking just for power. The rest of the story is action-filled, but overall weak in plot elements. Nevertheless, it can be one of the most thrilling FPS experiences to date, even rivaling that of PC FPS's. You always feel you're a part of the action; that's where the immersion comes in. In terms of immersion, this game really makes you involved with a large-scale battle fighting a desperate war against the Helghast, and you feel the weight of your weapon and armor as movement is slowed and kind of "clumsy". Aiming is tricky as well, but overall, the controls are fine. They are a good fit for this FPS and it's good that it tried unique controls from other FPS's. It's always a struggle to get to cover to save yourself and shoot down the helghast. You will also need to learn to master aiming, because there is much less aim assist or auto-aim in this game than any other FPS.
The campaign is difficult, making you have to struggle for your life as you try to reach cover. You die quickly, much like any other FPS, so cover is crucial to regenerate health. The AI of the enemies is of the most intelligence in any FPS, so they're difficult to kill without dying. Defeating the Helghast, the story enemies, will require you to use several tactics including making use of cover, sprinting to "calm" areas, making careful use of your weapon's ammo, avoiding enemy fire and grenades when thrown toward you, and more. The Helghast make good use of cover, and don't stay out in the line of fire for long. Some will try to run up to you with lightning speed and knife you, others will try to destroy you with rockets, use turrets to gun you and your allies down, and some may even sneak up on you and melee you. The enemies are a great challenge, and are even more difficult on higher difficulty levels as the AI intelligence increases, and it's noticeable. For instance, Helghast soldiers may let up on Recruit difficulty, but they won't give you a chance of survival on Elite difficulty!
The immersive feeling is what gives most of the thrill to the campaign, though. With top-notch visuals, booming sound effects, great animations of explosions and other effects, this game is just a thrill to play through. It feels like an interactive action war movie of some sort, and it's very fun to play through. The music is also a great arrangement for the gameplay and always keeps you as a part of the action. Basically, this is the reason why the game is a blast to play; it keeps you as a part of the action, and you feel what it's like to be in an ISA soldier's position. The feelings the game creates are real, and that's where this game truly shines.
The graphics are presented exceptionally in some areas, though weaker in a few other areas. Yes, the flash is very nice, and CGI the game uses is beautiful. Though there are some noticeable low-detail structures and low-resolution areas. The environments look great, but there are objects that pale in comparison. Nevertheless, they are amazing graphics, though not the proclaimed "graphics king" everyone thinks it is(IMO, I don't think there's a "graphics king"). But the graphical presentation does handle the game nicely, and adds to the immersion experience of the campaign.
The sound effects are great, but the voice acting is horrendous. Too much cuss words make the characters just seem like a bunch of ****'s and really tone down any story involvement in the campaign.
The story is alright for what is there, but it's missing a lot of crucial points, including why you're fighting the Helghast on Helghan in the first place. The rest of the story is not particularly powerful and less involving than the original Killzone. The characters you fight alongside are jerks who need reviving every few seconds when engaged in heavy combat. The Helghast are menacing enemies, which adds to the suspense in this shooter when they are too close to you.
The weapons are standard issue for FPS's, though there's no customization, and there are a few weapons that are different.
The game is a thrill to play through from start to finish, though it can be frustrating. The controls, though fine, are a burden to adapt to. There's nothing wrong with adapting to new things, but the punishing difficulty may keep players on the game longer than the supposed length of the game.
As for replay value to this mode, there's picking up all the intel, achieving the trophies, and destroying helghast symbols throughout the game.
MUTIPLAYER:
The game's multiplayer is an absolute blast despite a few shortcomings. Many will chose to play it as a run n' gun game with no attention to tactics at all. Though there are those who will play it the way it's intended, and the community is overall strong. Great use of ranking system encourages players to top out on the leaderboards.
Also, what makes the multiplayer different from most other shooters is the use of classes. This spices up variety in the multiplayer game, and through unlocking content, you can take the role of several different classes. Everyone starts as the rifleman, the base player in many other shooters, but in this game, you can be a medic and heal fallen players as well as restore health with med packs to your dying teammates, build a turret to defend or strike on the enemy base, decide spawn points through careful placing of spawn grenades, cloak yourself and snipe the other team, and more.
The other thing the multiplayer does great are the objective modes. There's a good variety here, and they can all be mixed in to one match. The objectives are fun to complete, and you get awarded mission points for each objective you complete. There is a good set of options and it's possible to customize your own ranked matches. It's difficult to hook up with friends, though, as it only allows the "join friend" option, and no party system. The game has only 8 maps, and the ranking up process is short, so the game does get kind of old after a while.
As for DLC, there is the promise by GG for this content very soon. I can only await the arrival of this content, including co-op and more maps and features.
For an FPS, this has to be a game to look towards. It utilizes the best of FPS features in terms of gameplay and immersion. If you're an FPS fan, this is definitely a great game to look towards. Do not look past this game. It would be a regret to dismiss this game as "just another shooter", because what it does well is just too much to miss out on.