Killzone 2 (PS3)

Review: Killzone 2 (PS3)

First-person Shooter

The hottest game of E3 2005 arrives.

Matthew

I never played the original Killzone on the Playstation 2, or the PSP version, so I wasn’t fully clued up on the backstory. Something to do with an ongoing war between the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (humans) and the Helghast (used to be human but now slightly-superhuman Nazi-types). Unfortunately this doesn’t go out of its way to explain it to newcomers of the series, but you can pretty much get the gist of it.

When you first play, you will immediately notice how awkward the controls are. There are a few different button layouts to chose from but it’s almost unforgivable that most developers don’t allow you to fully customise – especially in an FPS. Of course the fact that the Dual Shock is horrendous when it comes to FPS games doesn’t help, the analogue sticks always feel to loose and their placement wrong. Character movement also feels slow and cumbersome. Some may argue that it makes you feel like you are in control of an actual person rather than a floating gun, but here it just feels like wading through treacle. The aiming and turning speed is also very sluggish, and the over-enthusiastic recoil of most guns means run-and-gun is out the window – that’s where the “cover system” comes in. Pressing L2 attaches you to the nearest wall or crate and unlike Rainbow Six: Vegas for example where you switch to third-person, you stay in first-person here.

What's Dot Cotton doing here?

This doesn’t work as well as it should have since you still feel somewhat exposed to gunfire and you will sometimes find yourself unable to attach to what seems like a perfectly good object to use as cover. Enemies have the ability to blind-fire from cover no problem whereas you can’t seem to do this without popping your head up aswell. I don’t know if the cover system was in the game from the start but it does feel like a bit of an afterthought. Motion-controls are also used, albeit rather sparingly. When using the sniper rifle the Sixaxis/Dual Shock 3 must be held still to help steady your aim, it works much in the same way as holding your breath in Call of Duty. You also tilt the controller to simulate turning valve handles and for setting detonation charges. It’s a nice touch, particularly the sniper rifle, but it would have been nice to see it used more throughout the game.

The Helghast enemies you come up against could do with more variety. Their army is made up of pretty much the standard light, medium and heavily armed soldiers, with the occasional tank and flying robot drone. It’s also hard to take them seriously since their mockney accents make them sound like a bunch of Jason Statham wannabes, rather than the fearsome persona the story implies. However, Brian Cox’s brilliant voice acting for the main antagonist at least gives the Helghast some sense of threat. In combat the enemies prove to be more than a match for you with some impressive AI. They will press forward, putting more pressure on you to find more cover, and will flank you when given the opportunity. Headshots aside, it can sometimes take a little too much bullets to take them down and this can often be frustrating since, depending on what weapon you are using, ammo can be rather tight in places. You are certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to weapons. From SMGs, assault rifles and shotguns, each weapon has a similar version belonging to the opposite faction, although given all the variety I found the standard ISA assault rifle was more than adequate so stuck with that throughout most of the game.

Knock knock.

On most levels you will be accompanied by at least one of your squad mates, none of whom are actually memorable because they are generic beyond belief. Unlike most games where they feel like extra baggage, they are actually very competent at taking out enemies but they do have their moments of sheer stupidity. It become a chore when they are downed in battle due to wandering like a lemon straight into enemy fire, resulting in you having to revive them using some sort of hand-held defibrillator gun. What makes things even more annoying is they do no such thing for you when you are downed, you simply die and return to the last checkpoint. A wess as this, some of the soundbites they come out with can quickly become irritating, although hearing “YEAH POP DEM TOPS!!!” after a successful headshot never gets old.

Overall the singly player campaign left me rather disappointed. There is nothing you haven’t seen before – warehouses full of crates and conveniently-placed explosive barrels included. Some sections, particularly towards the end, resorted to cheap tactics which sucks almost all the fun out of it. However, it does have its moments with some decent set pieces and tense firefights. The quality of the visuals obviously won’t go unnoticed, especially the impressive vistas which give the levels a good sense of scale, and the intricately detailed weapon models. The subtle grain filter adds to the gritty, visual style of the game. While the graphics are undoubtedly good, at times it can look rather dull and generic with some pretty drab textures and a general feeling of emptiness within the levels. Although I didn’t want to mention the infamous E3 2005 trailer and subsequent ones, I was expecting better.

Steven

Secondary Review:

Killzone 2 has much going for it and is the best FPS on the PS3, but I can’t just pretend that the 360 doesn’t exist and this is the biggest problem for Killzone 2. It’s just not as good as Halo 3. I could have finished my counter here to be honest, but I’d better keep going just to avoid the ire of the Sony fanboys.

This game does look jaw dropingly gorgeous and has a reassuring solidity to it from the earth shattering explosions to the weighty, yet fun, guns. The guns have a heft to them which is missing from most other FPS’s and the slow and methodical way in which you fire, move and reload all serve to reinforce the idea that this is a robust gritty game.

The cunning AI is also worthy of mention, pressuring you to take cover and then sweeping in to flank you. Give it half a chance and you’ll find yourself out-maneuvered and with a knife in your back. But the level designs are serviceable at best and the set pieces lack the punch of those you’d find in Half Life 2 or Halo.

Your squad mates lack any real character and are easily forgettable and your character’s view point means you must either be a dwarf with a hunch back or have your head in your crotch. Things are rescued by a fun multiplayer but the accessibility lacks the refinement of any number of examples you’d find elsewhere. It’s fun while it lasts, but it’s not the spectacular system seller Sony must have wanted it to be.

Secondary Score: 6/10

While the single player was disappointing, the multiplayer was the complete opposite. There are eight different maps, all of them of decent size and vaguely based on sections from the single player campaign. The offline multiplayer mode, Skirmish, allows you to play against up to fifteen AI bots – something which is rarely included in games these days. Warzone, the online mode for up to 32 players, offers class-based play but initially this is locked as you have to rank up by gaining XP from kills and wins. These classes can be mixed and matched using unlockable skills.

The way the games play out is pretty unique, it consists of five different game types which are variants of capture-the-flag, king of the hill, deathmatch etc. Every five minutes or so it changes from one mode to the next, without taking you out of the actual game. The available game modes and time can all be customised by the host. There is also clan support, which also needs to be unlocked, and groups of four players can make a squad within the game that can then be joined with another squad. This certainly helps due to the fact voice chat is proximity-based when not in a squad. One major complaint about the online multiplayer is that it doesn’t support any sort of invite system.

You can browse your friends list in-game and join or spectate, but you can’t invite them. Considering how much thought has gone into the multiplayer, it’s unacceptable that this has been left out. One other thing of note is that the cover system is absent from multiplayer, which is probably for the better since it allows games to be played at a much faster pace.

The FPS market has become over-saturated in recent times with the release of one identikit shooter after another. It needs something to progress the genre and unfortunately Killzone 2 isn’t one of them. Ultimately the single player is unspectacular but as a package the multiplayer saves the game from becoming just another average shooter. Definitely a worthy purchase if you are interested in the online aspect, but if you are looking for a good single player experience then you will be left feeling disappointed.

Rating:

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 8th, 2009 at 6:31 am and is filed under PS3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

44 Responses to “Killzone 2 (PS3)”

Luka Anicic says:

March 8, 2009 at 10:56 am

Can you say biased? I recommend you truly play the game for a decent amount of time before you review it. You know? Cause that’s what reviewing games IS. Playing multiplayer and becoming a General doesn’t mean you played the game enough, it just means you cannot rank up more. There’s much more to do even after you unlock EVERYTHING.
Db says:

March 8, 2009 at 11:20 am

this review sucks a$$!!! You clearly are a dumb arse rtard for reviewing a game that you probably have not even played. well from your review it at least sounds like it.
youRnoobs says:

March 8, 2009 at 11:47 am

To guys who reviewed the game YOU TWO ARE FOOLS WITH NO SKILL and your review is piece of shit.
Seventh_Blood says:

March 8, 2009 at 11:51 am

I would like to know how much M$ paid for this kind of review … How can i join this business?
orbilator says:

March 8, 2009 at 11:58 am

well i am in agreement with the other posters here, me and my HALO 3 loving chums are all multi console owners and this last week halo 3 hasnt even had a look in, we been glued to kz2, we all enjoyed the single player experience aswell as the the multiplayer, and never experienced any treacle. to many games Halo 3 and cod 4 are the main offenders here, lets you run jump and flick and turn in the blink of an eye and as soon as a publisher succeeds in making something that feels more real, lame ass reviewers like yourself call it sluggish controls.

Now this review would have carried more weight if you actually reviewed it properly. Its not halo 3 and its not COD 4, which is whatyour comparing it to.. We all have favorite games be it halo 3 cod 4 or kz 2. But to slag a game for control issues which dont exist outside of your imagination is very poor indeed. Maybe this is how you get hits to your site, but you’ll attract the worst form of fanboyism with reviews like this. Infact you could have saved yourself a lot of time and space in this review if you just wrote
“Killzone 2 is not Halo 3, and we only like halo 3.”
Tiq says:

March 8, 2009 at 12:13 pm

Fucking control yourselves. You’d think this kind of shite would have died down by now, after every gaming website worth mentioning tore into all of you sad cunts for acting like any reviewer who doesn’t give the game a ten, has just walked into your house and killed your dog.
SoulSinger says:

March 8, 2009 at 12:56 pm

Well guys, probably you need only some web site viewing. Mission accomplish !
No, seriously, looks like too much generic this review to be taken in consideration. Try again
fishy says:

March 8, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Totally agree with this and suspect many who’s played top shooters on both systems would.

It is redeemed by a sublime online but the SP is generic, dull and lacking in story sadly.
Sam says:

March 8, 2009 at 1:09 pm

This guy couldnt even beat the first level. that was the most cr@p talking ive ever heard with NO details to back it up. sounds like he watched the highlights section of xbox.com complaints for Kz2 and wrote them all into one cr@ppy review. if theres nothing innovative about the single player what makes this dude love the MP so much? with every new fps released it gets reviewed for what it is. when Kz2 got reviewed it needs to reinvent the genre. the single player is better than any other fps ive ever played and the online is just as exceptional. im happy to accept a review with any score as long as they give valid reasons to back it up, but when its just a bunch of bs mushed up into concurrent sentences no true gamer would take this guy seriously.
Lmfao says:

March 8, 2009 at 1:25 pm

Man, shut the fuck up. You know nothing about games.

I had a lot of fun with this game. It’s action packed, and I learned from my mistakes when I died a couple of times. Stop hating on the damn game. It can be hard most of the time but it doesn’t mean the game sucks.

YOU COULDN’T EVEN BEAT THE FIRST PART?

FAIL.
Gecks says:

March 8, 2009 at 1:53 pm

appropriately, “Db” spells the word ‘retard” incorrectly.
Jason says:

March 8, 2009 at 1:58 pm

MATTHEW more like microsofthew
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 1:59 pm

If 1 is bad and 10 is excellent then 7 is good.

ie – the reviewer thought the game was good.

storm averted everyone.
Matthew says:

March 8, 2009 at 2:05 pm

This is delicious.
Kenboslim says:

March 8, 2009 at 3:11 pm

My god, it’s a couple of people’s opinions on a fucking game, not someone coming into your nan’s open casket funeral and shitting in her mouth. Grow up.
Sam says:

March 8, 2009 at 3:39 pm

@Matthew, no its not delicious, its stupid and yes im talking about your review, the funny thing is that everybody here got this game and they all disagree with your review. oh and your buddy there “Steven” how can he compare it to halo? is not as good as halo? please explain why? and he didn’t even mentioned the online badges ability. your and your buddy’s review lacks from details and information about the game, its like reviewed by 2 guys that only saw trailers and some video gameplay on youtube.
Diego says:

March 8, 2009 at 3:50 pm

i started reading the review and as soon as i hit the second paragraph xbox fanboy wrote this bye….
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 3:50 pm

well done Sam, I remember my first pint as well.

facts:

7 isn’t bad or ‘hateful’.

other PS3 games got higher reviews. LBP got 10. Wipeout got 9. MGS4 got 10 but I’ve not reupped it to the new site layout.

and take a look at our latest news story about XBLA on the front page.

so basically if you’re here to call us Microsoft fanboys, my advice is simple: go spit on my cock.
Eric says:

March 8, 2009 at 3:54 pm

Here’s the deal. I could have accepted your review had one of the twats on your website not reviewed Onechanbara an 8. The worst game ever made for the 360 and one of the mouth breathers on your website actually LIKED it?

Good lord. No wonder this web site has no advertising.
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 3:57 pm

yeah through choice because we’re not corporate shills. are we meant to sell out?

I thought we already had by giving KZ2 such a horribly damning review…
Adam says:

March 8, 2009 at 4:08 pm

Good Lord, I hope none of these pondlife join the forum.
Sam says:

March 8, 2009 at 4:19 pm

@ MR. Richie, your delusional i did not say your Microsoft fanboys, i own a 360 arcade my self, i don’t give a shit about Scores, i only read reviews, scores are lame. looking at your avatar i see your a grown man but with a childish brain, i don’t care about what you gave to LBP or MGS, i was talking about KZ2 review it self, its very very poorly done, lacks of info for the gamer that will read it, and i also see the review is based on more negatives then positives.

btw every shooter that has SP and MP, its dose not have that good single player mod, example (Cod4, cod5, halo3)

Shooters with only Single player, have a Great single player mode example (bioshock).
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 4:43 pm

Sam, no need to get personal.

Also, it’s just a review so no need to get upset either.

Also, and I hate to have to say it again so please concentrate… 7 on a 1-10 scale isn’t bad.
Matthew says:

March 8, 2009 at 5:07 pm

What Rich said, and also:

1) “I recommend you truly play the game for a decent amount of time before you review it.”

I completed the single player campaign once, then went back into it to play a selection of levels again. I’ve also put a good number of hours into the multiplayer.

2) “Its not halo 3 and its not COD 4, which is whatyour comparing it to.”

Not once in my review did I compare it to Halo 3, and the only mention of COD4 was about the motion controls – which I praised.

3) “Well guys, probably you need only some web site viewing. Mission accomplish !”

Obviously, since you went to the trouble of visiting the site and leaving a comment here. We aren’t in it for site hits.

4) “But to slag a game for control issues which dont exist outside of your imagination is very poor indeed.”

If they “don’t exist” then why are the developers themselves considering changing them? See here: http://tinyurl.com/dmwl37
Lmfao says:

March 8, 2009 at 5:27 pm

So Ken, people don’t have a right to say something against one’s opinion.

I *have* played Killzone 2 and this game easily deserves a 9 or a 9.5 at least. Excellent single player campaign and the multiplayer is just icing on the cake. It’s an incredible game and for this asshole to give it a 7, it makes me wonder what type of drug he was sniffing.

And Matthew, there is nothing majorly wrong with the controls. Guerilla is fixing certain issues for people who had issues with the game. Other than that, the game works well.

People are sick and tired of people like you attacking this game and not giving it the respect it deserves. Heaven forbid this was on the 360. 9’s and 10’s would be raining down, no?

Killzone 2 isn’t absolutely perfect to the point it deserves 10’s across the board without criticism but it deserves a 9/9.5 with valid criticisms.

Sadly, your review does neither.
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 5:45 pm

lmfao, let’s put it this way.

If you wrote a review and gave it a 9 we wouldn’t come and troll you. I’m still unclear as to why people are getting so upset by all this.

for your info, Bloodmask from N4G linked the article. Not us. We couldnt give a fuck about hits.

We’ve given PS3 games 10/10 and we’ve given 360 games 2/10. There’s no allegiance here because the console wars are only fought out by imbeciles. The format has nothing to do with it. This game wouldn’t have scored any higher on the 360 for us. We’re not that kind of site.

Call us whatever you like but don’t question our impartiality.
Sam says:

March 8, 2009 at 6:12 pm

The bottom line is, that all people here are disagreeing with your review, on the other review nobody commented, its like they agree on the rest of the reviews. but Killzone 2 review, nobody agrees so again the buttom line is that your “opinion” is very very wrong, i respect it as a person, but as a professional website (btw your site is not professional ) i don’t respect it… have a nice day.
Gecks says:

March 8, 2009 at 6:27 pm

see what you’ve done there, sam, is confuse “opinions” with some kind of objective aggregative of the entire human race’s reception of an entity.

and what you’ve also done, sam, is confuse a site run by gamers, like you, who buy their own games, don’t receive any money for the troubles, and give their opinions without compromise, with a “professional website”.
Kenboslim says:

March 8, 2009 at 6:44 pm

Also Sam your straw poll of ‘everyone disagreeing’ is horribly biased as the only people sad enough to purposely go to website, go to the comments section and slag people off with poor grammar are fanboys. Which you are. I mean, god forbid anyone doesn’t like your precious Killzone. If you left a constructive, polite response that would be nice but calling us out as ‘Xbots’ or whatnot means you shot yourself in the foot. If you really don’t like our reviews, just don’t visit the site again. And don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 6:46 pm

Sam, we never claimed to be anything. We’re in it for the games (any format) not money. We buy our own games and our opinions are influenced by the game itself and nothing else.

Also go the fuck away. If you think gaming is about console allegiances, advertising and hype then you’re not our target audience. You may have more luck debating gaming with the pondlife on GameFAQs.
larry says:

March 8, 2009 at 6:59 pm

hahha

stupid british bastards

halo 3????????

haha

that looks like a wii game vs KZ2

this garage website PEOWWWWWWWWWWW is even listed anywhere Meta/GR

this garbage website needs to shut down

did u even play KZ2 stupid gaylo 3 at 600p
larry says:

March 8, 2009 at 7:01 pm

KZ2 has a 91% average at meta

94% at gamestats

and 92% at n4g meta

stupid BOTS

haha comparing KZ2 to gaylo 3 at 600p which looks like an iphone game vs KZ2

this is real KZ2 review

the site is listed at meta

http://www.gamerstemple.com/vg/games17/001947/001947r03.asp

” It’ll be awhile before any game manages to match this one, and it makes previous “next-gen” shooters look like $.99 iPhone games. If you’ve enjoyed shooting a gun in a video game, I implore you give Killzone 2 a whirl”
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 7:07 pm

Garage website? Like MC Neat? I don’t understand.
Kenboslim says:

March 8, 2009 at 7:14 pm

Don’t do drugs kids!
Lmfao says:

March 8, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Richie, I am not talking about other PS3 games.

You gave other PS3 games good reviews?

Good for you.

I am talking about Killzone 2. I personally feel the 7 you gave Killzone 2 ia unfair and I chose to argue against it. I have every right to do that. I am sick and tired of Killzone 2 being attacked unfairly when Guerilla basically improved over EVERY ASPECT of the first game. I have played this game for myself, like I said and it really deserves a 9 or a 9.5.

The problem is that you don’t want to hear people argue against your review.
otherZinc says:

March 8, 2009 at 9:12 pm

“DAMN” good review!

Killzone 2 is a good game, that’s it. These guys hit the nail on the head, K2 does nothing new, nothing. The levels are uninspiring, not 1 level you will talk about for years, none.

This game took place on Helgan: you mean to tell me Helgan looks like 11th & Chase Street in Gary, Indiana (US), in the Construction District. Where is the variety, 1 train section that wasn’t as good as the train level in Gears 1, with much less going on, not impressive at all.

Wheres the co-op? This is a squad based game that has an AI partner with you at all times, why cant a human control this guy? These guys didnt even mention this, there are several things I can mention that are a standard in the industry today that should have been in Killzone 2.

Some of you bashers need to put pressure on you developers so they wont pull this **** again. I think Halo 3 is the greatest game ever, if it didnt have co-op over LIVE, I would’ve left that **** in the store. BUNGIE listened to the Forum comments & gave us 4 player co-op over LIVE. Thats impressive.

Good review guys, if it were not for the ending, I would have disliked Killzone 2.
Richie says:

March 8, 2009 at 9:20 pm

LMFAO, sorry I’m getting my fanboys mixed up here. Some people are claiming we don’t give Sony games good reviews, others are saying we’re owned by M$. So forgive me if I lump you all into the same ridiculous category.

Also, not my review. So shhh.

Also, 7 ISNT A BAD SCORE.
Tiq says:

March 8, 2009 at 9:29 pm

LMFAO, we’re all for discussion. Discussion is a wonderful thing.

Arguments arent wonderful things, they’re shit and annoying and do nothing to help people consider points of view they may never have considered before.

What you’re having is an argument. An argument because the game got a good score instead of an amazing one.

You say our problem is that we don’t want to hear people argue against our review, but the only reason you’re here is because you don’t want to hear people disagree with your own opinion about the game, now stop acting like a spoiled child, you pedantic, hypocritical eedgit.
Sibboz says:

March 8, 2009 at 10:07 pm

I would like to defend the peoww staff for having the courage to give honest and informed reviews.

Being a reviewer is a difficult venture and you will always upset somebody. This should not be the case, but ill informed and childish people are in this world of ours and they will always take things personally if you do not give their beloved game 10000000000 out of 10.

Reviews are the opinions of the reviewer, whether based on their likes and dislikes or technical accomplishments of the developer, it is never a reviewers aim to start arguments, but as Tiq said, discussions are encouraged.

I think the review is good, and when I get some spare cash I’ll pick it up because of this review.
Shindig says:

March 8, 2009 at 10:41 pm

I’m putting off the purchase for a few weeks but I’m bound to give it a shunt. I enjoyed the demo too much to put it to the sword.

Is it world class? Probably not but neither’s FEAR, Black, Project Snowblind, Cold Winter, Halo’s Trilogy and so forth. The genre’s just got so much strength in depth to be spearheaded by solitary titles.
AJRoworth says:

March 9, 2009 at 3:11 am

Wow, has Killzone 2 not cured cancer yet?
That’s what it’s supposed to be doing right?
Dan says:

March 9, 2009 at 5:22 am

Well regardless of the opinion you guys had with it, I’m still enjoying it a ton. Especially the online component.

I don’t know what you guys wanted out of this game but I found it to be a great fps that immerses you way more then halo ever did.
Dan says:

March 9, 2009 at 5:28 am

Also please ignore all the fanboy comments.

They are just butt hurt because their precious metacritic score may be hurt.
Richie says:

March 9, 2009 at 8:31 am

Well we had fun didn’t we guys? Time to draw a line under this bollocks though and lock up the comments on this article. We’re always happy to debate review scores but when people blindly ignore or distort the facts and don’t listen to the other side then we lose interest very, very fast.

Thanks for all the idiotic comments. We often hear about this kind of fanboyism but never thought it was as bad as all this. Seriously, we’re shocked and a little saddened.

Sony vs Microsoft. Halo vs Killzone. PS3 v 360. Whatever. None of it is important. Certainly not as important as you think it is. We stand by the review, a mostly positive review by the way. KZ2 didn’t blow us away and our only allegiance is with proper gamers who need to know that, in our opinion, KZ2 isn’t worth wanking yourself to death over.