The title that many said would breathe life into the Playstation 3 has hit the shelves, but is it really the saving grace for the system? Although Killzone 2 manages to sit among the great first-person shooters before it, it really does nothing to set itself apart from them. That said, it is definitely and good game, taken for what it is and does.
The story is simple. It's you against them as humanity is taking the fight to the Helghast on their home planet of Helghan. On top of the story is some of the best graphics to grace the PS3 and an intense combat that will have you "poppin" Helghast tops for almost 8-15 hours in single-player mode, depending on your difficulty setting. Co-op would have been amazing in this game, but sadly and questionably there is none. You do get to fight along side the members of Alpha squad (A.I. controlled), but the game suffers from the same problem as the first Gears of War. Fallen comrades can be revived by you, but when the shoe is on the other foot, they won't even give you a second thought. What you do get is the occasional hot-headed vulgar military banter that will have you snickering from time to time.
There's a wide variety of weapons to use against the Helghast. One level even has you driving a mech to take out the waves of on-coming enemies. The games attention to detail really shines in these regards as you'll see spent casings ejecting from the guns as you fire as well as visible damage to your mech as you get hit.
The controls are the biggest issue in Killzone 2 and a take some time to get used to. The game implements a realistic weapons-to-weight factor that affects your reaction time and accuracy. If you carrying a heavy machine gun then getting a quick aim on an enemy isn't easy. You'll get a bit of delay between your analog stick movement and the character's reaction to mimic the feel of toting some heaving metal. This has caused a lot of outcry from the public. I found a few minor adjustments in the control settings helped, but not that much. If anything, the cause and effect of weight and reaction has improved my response time, due to the fact that I have to react quicker than I normally would which definitely comes in handy for multiplayer matches.
Playing as a run and gunner in Killzone 2 will achieve you nothing but a speedy death and all expenses paid trip to the loading screen before having to retry and rethink your tactics. Position and cover is very important. Even the A.I. knows this. They will run into covering positions and take aim from a distance, ducking back into cover to avoid gunfire and reload. This is something you'll learn and have to implement early in the game in order to progress.
I'll admit that i purchased this game with the intention of going through the single-player campaign, dabbling in a few multiplayer sessions, then letting it collect dust until I decided to trade it in for probably $20. Things are not going according to plan. I'm enjoying the multiplayer part of the game more then the campaign. Killzone 2 has implemented a rich multiplayer (Warzone) that draws you into the battle between humans and Helghast. Instead of joining or creating a single objective match, playing through, then creating another session, you're able to play through them all without a break in the gameplay. For example, you'll start with the oder to plant C4 at different enemy locations within a certain amount of time. The opposing faction must stop you from doing so. if you succeed, you must then stop the enemy from diffusing the bomb(s) before it explodes. Once either side succeeds, then you'll be issued a new objective telling you that you or one of your teammates or a member of the other faction has been targeted for assassination. You must stay alive or defend your teammate (depending on if you're the target or not) or take out the marked enemy before time runs out. Once you complete or fail the mission, then another order is given to kill as many of the opposing faction as possible. The side with the most kills a the end of the time limit wins. The nonstop action and objective spawns creates a sense of "Oh crap! What's next?? What's next??" feeling. This goes on throughout the span of a best of five different objectives. At the end of the match each faction gets points that contribute to the level advancement of your character, which allows for higher, ranks, different weapons, and class change options such as Medic and Engineer. The winners get a point multiplier bonus.
If you're in to FPS games, Killzone 2's $60 price tag is well met. It wins in graphics and the solo campaign is entertaining but the heart of the game is it's multiplayer. So your enjoyment will probably depend on which of those aspects your more interested in. Is the PS3 exclusive title a system seller as many are saying? I don't think so, but if you already have a PS3 then it's definitely worth picking up. Like I said, the game really does nothing revolutionary for its' genre, but what it does, it does extremely well.
via: Collective Geek
Labels: Douceswild, PS3
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