Liberation is a solid game that relies on strategy and lots, lots, lots of patience.
- solid graphics
- great weapon variety
- challenging strategy
NAYS
- becomes exponentially difficult and frustrating
- the mini-game concept is cool but not well executed
- nonsensical story
Killzone: Liberation is a followup to the PS2 shooter Killzone. If you haven't played the original, don't worry, as the story in KL doesn't press anything forward nor does it provide any reason for you to play the game. Not that a game like this needs a decent story anyway, but a basic plot of "we are good guys, let's kill bad guys" is just as interesting as watching grass grow. Predictable plot "twists" don't help either, nor does the cliffhanger ending that makes the story even more nonsensical.
Thankfully, KL does not rely on storytelling to keep gamers hooked. Rather, the game is about tactical action and in that regards it does a great job of keeping you on your toes.
You play the game from an isometric view. All missions involve you traveling from point A to point B, killing everything in between while trying your best not to get killed. What helps an otherwise run-of-the-mill stale genre is that a lot of strategy is involved in staying alive.
Littered along your paths are crates, structures, and other various objects strategically placed to provide you cover from incoming fire. The trick to staying alive is to stay covered while waiting for a chance to shoot the enemy. Thankfully, your weapons usually auto-lock on the nearest enemy in your sight, which you can know by the enemy's health bar appearing above him. You can also target environmental objects such as gas barrels to blow up enemies within the perimeter.
If it were just a matter of taking cover, the game would have been boring. The good news is that enemies are aggressive and almost always force you to leave your cover. More often than you'd like, you'd have an enemy tossing grenades constantly at you while another is trying to snipe you out, and then another enemy approaching you with a shotgun to deal lots of damage. The aggressiveness always keeps you on your toes and forces you to finish enemies quickly, and taking out most menacing enemies first.
While this is good, it is also against the game in that the unusual aggressiveness of the enemies - and often unfairness - lets you die very often. There is a checkpoint system so you don't have to venture far off to die again. Still, the punishing difficulty often gets too frustrating at later levels. The enemies outnumber you by the hordes, and often you can't get a good shot while taking cover, which forces you to venture out in the open on a suicide mission.
What doesn't help here is that before engaging in a level, you are not told what sort of level it is. This is important because prior to every mission you select a weapon and some upgrades. Selecting a wrong weapon is always fatal and you'd find yourself restarting missions. The good news is that there are numerous ammo crates that provide ammo and other weapons, but some initial heads up would have been appreciated.
Other than killing enemies, you are required to get key cards, open doors, and often escort a partner with you along the way. You can give commands to your partner like killing off an enemy or hiding behind certain objects. The system is simple and intuitive and your partner usually does a decent job of not getting killed.
In addition to the main campaign, you unlock extra mini-games that provide a challenge and some variety. They range from killing off targets in a time limit, to disabling bombs or acquiring some items in the least amount of time. You are rewarded medals based on your performance as well as ability points. These ability points aid you in the main campaign, as they allow you to carry more grenades, disable traps faster, and the sort.
While it is a good incentive to play the mini-games to make the main campaign a bit easier, the mini-games are not any less difficult than the main campaign and can prove as frustrating. But the fact that you have to "take a break" from the campaign to play mini-games for upgrades is slightly unorthodox. You don't have to, but it does make the main campaign slightly easier.
In the graphics department, the game doesn't disappoint. The environments are solidly detailed, with lots of special effects going about with only hints of slowdown at times if things get too hectic. Sound-wise, the game is OK but nothing you'd call home about.
In the end, your liking to Killzone: Liberation depends on how patient and stubborn you are. The game is difficult - and punishing - but the thrill of finishing a mission is without a doubt a great feat in itself. If you fancy some aggressive tactical shooter and don't mind dying, then by all means go for it. Otherwise, you'd best stay away.