Killzone 2 [PS3 Review]

I’ve owned a Playstation 3 a few times since launch but I would always end up selling it because in my opinion there wasn’t really anything that was worth playing!  But I decided to get a PS3 again for one main reason really, Killzone 2! I’ve been following the development of this game since it was first announced at E3 in 2005.  It’s been almost 5 years, and comparing this game with the development from that video in 2005 is pretty damn close. Now with the next generation of gaming here, people are expecting a lot more as far as gameplay.  They want graphics; and for Killzone 2, I think the PS3 was the only one that could handle such a load.

Killzone 2 comes after Killzone for the Playstation 2, and Killzone: Liberation for the PSP, but now you are the enemy’s planet – Helghan.  Two years earlier in the first Killzone, it was the Helghast coming to destroy an Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) colony.  This was on Vekta (the ISA’s homeworld), and after pushing the Helghan back, they decide to attack them on enemy territory to end this war once and for all.

Meet the Crew

Players will take the role of Sergeant Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko, who was a battle-hardened veteran of the special forces unit Alpha Team, who have a mission to take out the Helghast Threat.  The Alpha Team also consists of: Corporal Dante Garza; a smart-mouthed and young, Garza is a loyal, optimistic and trusty soldier.  He is a close companion of Sev, as they have served together in previous campaigns before being selected to join Alpha Squad.

Master Sergeant Rico Velasquez is the leader of Alpha Squad, and also your squadmate from the first Killzone; He’s the type of person that prefers to shoot first and ask questions later but despite this, he does have a good heart. Also, Corporal Shawn Natko, a Demolitions Expert for the ISA Special Forces Alpha Squad is an experienced soldier of the same generation as Rico.

There are also other characters that you stumble upon in the game, including Colonel Jan Templar, who was the main character in the first game, but is now the Commander of the ISA Fleet that invades Helghan.

Prepare for the Next Generation

Do you remember the days when you would be playing a video game, and the cutscenes just looked stunning, but when it got to the gameplay it was totally different?  Well in Killzone 2, the transition from the cutscenes to the gameplay is incredible, you can’t even see a change.  That was one of the main things that I liked about this game was when you are watching a cutscene, it usually doesn’t go to a loading screen but go right into the battle, and you can get going on killing the Helghast.

The Gameplay in Killzone 2, is just like any First Person Shooter, the only difference many people may expect is the controller itself.  I personally wasn’t a fan of the Dualshock controller because of how the analogs were positioned, but after getting use to it, it would just be the same as playing an Xbox 360 game. Similar to Call of Duty 4, with R1 for fire, and L1 to zoom in, while still moving, it’s very easy to go with.

They have an assortment of weapons ranging from Machine Guns and SMG’s, to Grenade and Rocket Launchers, something that they did well with the Grenade Launcher, is they didn’t make it some overpowered weapon used for instant kills but for more strategic purposes. Killzone 2 has a lot of cover-and-shoot gameplay. Similar to the Gears of War series, players will need to take cover in gun battles to get through. It’s not  a “run-and-shoot” game, and  requires a bit of strategy. Plus with the 4 difficulty settings from recruit to elite (which completely removes the HUD) you will have quite a battle on your hands.

Getting it Online

The Multiplayer for Killzone 2 supports up to 32 Players, and has a variety of game-types. Something that Guerrilla Games did with the online play, is something other developers could learn from: put all the gametypes into one game, instead of looking for a game of Deathmatch or Capture The Flag they have mashed it up into one game-type.  The way it works is when you start a game, it will start with a particular game-type such as Team Deathmatch. Once a winner has been decided it will then move to the next game until all of them are complete, announcing an overall winner.

Some games can last between 30-50 minutes, so make sure you have the time to play for that long.

Weapons online are just like Single Player, only there are some that aren’t included, and you can’t just start with powerful weapons right off the bat.  Compared to other FPS’s, you need to unlock the weapons, abilities, and different classes. They give you a rank system as well, so when you get to a certain rank, or earn certain metals, you can unlock different weapons, abilities (i.e. Heal teammates, build turrets), and classes (i.e. Engineer, Spy, Medic).  So you will spend quite a bit of time just to unlock those. I have currently played the game for about 13 hours online, and I’ve only unlocked 2 new classes, but I’ve gotten most of the weapons.

Is it in the Killzone?

The game is amazing with regards to graphics, gameplay and online features, but the story did seem like it was short. I managed to complete it in an 8 hour run first time.  I was a little disappointed but the online game more than makes up for this.

Related posts:

1. ‘Crasher’ Announce from Punchers Impact
2. Alpha Protocol Due This May
3. Ghostbusters: The Video Game [PS3 Review]
4. Skate 3 First Look
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen [Xbox 360 Review]