While it doesn't change the genre, it's a damn good example of what a first-person shooter should be.
Story:
Although the story doesn't break any new grounds, it provides an adaquate narrative for the game. You play as Sev, a stand up soldier who isn't over the top, isn't super bulky, and has the all-american" appeal. Throughout each level you will follow your squad, then branch off, then meet up again, etc. The whole storyline follows Sev and several friends as you plan on bringing the war that the Helghast brought to his home (Killzone 1) back to the Helghasts own planet. Although the story wasn't exactly stellar, it held up well and I cared for many of the characters by the time the credits rolled.
Graphics:
The game is undoubtably one of the best looking games to date. Although the game doesn't display many different colors, the rugged, wartorn environments add significantly to the atmosphere and provide a convincing backdrop for an epic war. The guns looks realistic do to a neat affect that Killzone 2 takes advantage of. Everything up close has a tad bit of blur while objects far away looks clear as day. Blood effect look excessive, but solid. When running, the screen also gets blurry which also adds to the depth. Everything is put into great detail: animation, textures, environments, effect, etc.
Sound:
The sound of the game rivals its graphics by providing convincing voicework and epic fully orchestrated tracks. Voice acting starts off rocky at the beginning of the game and cussing is used rather lazily, but later on it picks up and the voice actors seem to get more comfortable with their role. The games music always correctly portrays the heat of the battle and is easily the best soundtrack any shooter has had to date. Guns sound real, explosions sound real, and movement sounds real. What more could you ask for?
Gameplay:
People that are used to playing CoD4 will find Killzone 2 to be a tiny bit slower paced in terms of movement. However, the learning curve is rather small so any FPS fan can comfortably play within an hour. Killzone utilizes a cover system, but doesn't entirely rely on it (which is a good thing). Everything about the gameplay seems to be pretty tight other than some tacked on Sixaxis controls that could've been done without. Several levels let you drive a tank or man a turret, and get this: They are actually fun!
Multiplayer:
This, my friends, is where Killzone 2 performs better than any shooter on the market.
Their are several game modes including your typical Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy, Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and an interesting mode called Assasination where you must kill a specific player on the opposing team.
The twist that Killzone 2 adds is that one match will feature 1 round of each game type. So after your team sucessfully bombs a target, you may have to turn around and protect a teammate from being assasinated, or your whole crew may have to run to an area to hold. This constant shuffling of play types ensure that no two matches are the same.
Matches can be private or public and are extremely customizable. The host can choose the map, game type, guns that can be used, how long the match lasts, and much more.
Killzone 2's multiplayer utilizes a rank up system (no surprise) but has a nice twist. As you increase in rank, you unlock new classes and guns. There are several classes including a Soldier (your typical shooter), Medic (the ability to revive fallen comrades), Engineer (creating turrets), Tactician (create new spawn points), and several others. Obviously, a more diverse team will dominate over a team with straight soldiers. This adds to the sense of a team effort and warlike battles.
While in matches, you can create Squads. When you die, but are in a squad, you can spawn on your squadmates letting you get into the action quickly rather than running from the other side of the map.
Speaking of maps, all the maps on Killzone 2 are very well designed for all playstyles and are each very unique. Each map is pretty large and adds to the war feel. When playing CoD4 online, I never felt like a "war" was going on. Just that 16 guys were in a confined area and ran around killing each other. Killzone 2's maps, however, always add to the atmosphere of the game and remind the player of the single player experience as well as the struggle.
Also, the game offers different challenges online like Headshots or Revival. So, for example, if you get 10 headshots in a single match, then you get a Headshot ribbon. Once you get 8 ribbons, you become a headshot specialist and get increased points for each headshot. The same goes for Pistols, creating effective turrets, reviving teammates, meleeing, etc.
I also found the community on Killzone 2 to be very mature and enjoyable. And yes, there are lots of people playing killzone 2 online.
Concluding comments:
If I haven't convinced you to get Killzone 2, then I don't know what will. The game has very few flaws, none of which take away from its amazing experience. Killzone 2 offers an atmospheric single player experience that carries over to an amazing online.
Killzone 2 doesn't break any molds, but it stands as a perfect example of what a shooter should be. It takes all the traits that made shooters so much fun a step further.
Killzone 2 isn't perfect, but it is a very impressive and polished experience that anyone slightly interested in shooters should try out.
Thanks for reading!