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Game Review

Killzone 2 – Game Review

WAR, WHAT’S IT GOOD FOR? STUNNING FIRST PERSON SHOOTER!

Killzone 2 is the PS3 solution to first person shooters since COD and Halo3 being favoured on the Xbox360. It starts off where the other game left you standing with Earth being in less interplanetary invasion peril and having a revenge style plotline. You play as Sev, part of an integral team on a mission to breach Visari’s stronghold on the Helghast home planet and send him a message, probably in the form of a not so polite singing telegram where the song is a one way ticket to the otherworld.

Killzone 2 boasts impressive graphics, detailed environments and has a dirty, gritty, in need of sugar soap to clean look. The dark and dulled colours of the scenery does make for a boring backdrop but any kind of colour stands out brighter than a babboon’s butt if it had been coated in fluorescent pink paint.

Killzone 2

Lucky for you colour is used to signify door locks you can access, target points and helghast visors which is important seen as the enemy are as visible as a black lipstick case in a black lined, black coloured handbag. It makes for simpler headshots when you’re seeing red.

Scattered flammable barrels which accurately display the flammable symbol on the sides are also thematic red. These barrels make for easy dispatching of a group of Helghast provided they are standing next to it. Otherwise they are rather redundant and taking up space in non strategic points. General rule of thumb is if it’s red or glowing it usually will go Kaboom if you shoot it.

You’ll find the detail in this game astonishing, like you’ve passed that cardboard box 5 times already and wonder whether there was a good fruit market going on before you and your Earth buddies began to rain war on their asses. Loads of art deco chairs, crates and bottles scatter the dishevelled slums and city buildings making it look like a middle class breeding ground for vegetarian alcoholics.

Killzone 2

Much of the gameplay is stocks standard with your get to the chopper routine with an array of enemies out to make your walk in the park a gauntlet run. The AI are somewhat intelligent in that they will take up sheltered points before laying down covering fire, rile you up with witty banter such as eat this whilst hurling a grenade and pop their heads up from time to time to see if the coast is clear prior to riddling your body full of holes. It really feels like a cross between Halo’s theme, Gears of War’s colour scheme and Resistance’s nostalgic look at world wars.

Inane parts about the game are: 1) Your heroes do not wear helmets. Obviously a clever visual stunt so they are discernable to the other hundred NPCs with helmets. 2) Your team have a terrible habit of becoming bullet sponges who need a medical pick me up in the field of battle. You need to approach them before you can activate the medical helping hand they need and they never return the favour. Lastly, and this is really the punchilne. 3) You babysit a scientist who is dispatched to planet IN A SKIRT. Of all the dumb things to put in a game apart from a token scientist who happens to be a token female is that she be deployed IN A SKIRT. It is an appropriately coloured military skirt suit, however, it does not take away from the fact she’s on an enemy planet, strolling through battle zones IN A SKIRT.

Most of my ranting has been about the story in single player mode and really that is not what FPS games are about these days. It’s all about coop and multiplayer gaming where you get to mess with real people. Lucky for this game it does have the redeeming feature of multiplayer. Unfortunately it doesn’t help that you get half a dozen more coloured icons on screen, some of which are moving, and the FPS angle makes you feel like you’re viewing everything through a tube.

Not a game to be missed either on or off my shelf. It’s goal and check point system has driven me a little nuts but no more than the usual with playing beefed up FPS on a next gen system.

GAMEPLAY: 60%
Not one to be glued to your hand all month but enough to get some entertainment.

GRAPHICS: 90%
More bits than you could poke a sniper rifle at.

SOUND: 80%
Hefty explosions, ample use of surround with footsteps and bullet noise, enough cuss words to make your Nanna blush.

PLAYABILITY: 60%
Not much missing from the formulaic FPS staple.

OVERALL: 58%
Sassy attempt to take the interplanetary war to the enemy’s doorstep

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Original written for Sauce Magazine. Republished by permission.

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About The Author

Sooki-monster

Tiarne aka Sooki-monster is the only member of the current (Cool) Shite line up that is allowed to not have a beard. When she isn't drawing long bows and making puns, you will find her attached to a console, normally the Xbox360 and wondering why Bruce wants to watch another weird film.

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Article Information

  • Posted: Monday, June 15th, 2009
  • Author: Sooki-monster
  • Filed Under: Games, PS3, Review
Tags: , , , ,

Comments

One Response to “Killzone 2 – Game Review”
  1. J Grants J Grants says:

    Killzone 2 is one of my favorites because I’m a graphics whore!

    June 18, 2009 at 5:46 pm

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