Killzone 2 (PS3 Only)

[eor123]

I'm about to wrap up my first play through.

This game is unrelenting. You get dropped in the middle of meat grinder and stay there until the game is over some 10 hours later, give or take. There are very few cut scenes during which you can catch your breath and there are no relatively quiet moments for reflection. You are on the move and fighting like Hell to stay alive. Stuff is blowing up, people are screaming, you are getting shot from multiple directions. I really captures the chaos of battle. Immersive...you bet!

The AI is smart, aggressive, and hard to kill. I played it on Normal or "Trooper" level of difficulty. I shudder to think how hard it would be at the higher levels. During most of the  game, you are accompanied by at least one squad member and they actually do something other than get in your way most of the time. They can absorb a lot of damage but at times go down and need a first aid jolt that you administer.

The enemy is alien but not in the Halo sense. They are humans with slightly different physiology and appearance. Their uniforms, culture, and demeanor bear more than a passing resemblance to Nazis, IMO. So even thought you are on another planet, it feels more like an earth bound war most of the time. Fortunately their face masks have red glowing eyes. They make for easier targeting.

There are a lot of weapons to choose from -- both yours and the enemies. Ammunition is plentiful and there are no self administered first aid shots. You have to get to cover to recover from damage and if you start taking a lot of hits a squad member will yell at you to get behind cover.   

Even with all the fast paced action the game runs pretty well, only hanging a few seconds at auto game save spots.

I was pretty impressed with this game and consider it to be one the best linear FPS's I've played. I think it is better than much of the Halo franchise and rivals the Call Of Duty franchise for battle sequences and the adrenalin rush factor.

The voice acting is not real good. It's mostly just screaming and trash talking from both sides anyway. I did recognize the voice of the British Captain from Call Of Duty.

Sadly, it is exclusive to the PS3 so unless you have that platform, you can't try it.

KZ2 will probably be my "go to" game for those times when I don't want to think or strategize and just want a chaos-driven adrenalin rush.

[spaceboy]

Awesome game in my opinion as well eor.  Your description is spot on.  I felt it was a very gritty war game that brought you right in the middle of it all.  I really liked that first person cover system.  Seeing bits of concrete blast away next to your head was great.

I recently played the original on PS2 to check it out.  You'd be amazed at how much they improved from 1 to 2.  Totally different.   It was a decent PS2 game, but just night and day between the two.

I also looked up the backstory and it's quite interesting.  Here is a link where it all begins some 300 years before the birth of Scolar Visari.

http://mygamepages.com/index.php?topic=725.0

This link picks up the story after the birth of Visari 

http://mygamepages.com/index.php?topic=726.0

If you read from the beginning, it does actually begin to have you sympathize with the Helghast until they become too power hungry.  You'll see they are human, but the climate on Helghan affected them.

[Art Blade]

Again a very nice description/review, Eeyore  :) :-X

[mmosu]

Top notch Eor  :-X
I loved the original Killzone! It was hands down my favorite corridor shooter on the PS2 - really did a good job of reminding you that you are part of a huge conflict, and I felt it did a good job of pushing that platform.  KZ2 has been on my radar since it's release, I've just never had a good opportunity to sit down and do it.  Maybe your review will give me that little boost to get it done!

[mmosu]

OK, I'm definately going to be starting KZ2 soon!  I just watched some vids on ign about KZ3, and even though it's still over a year away, I want to be caught up!  Looks like they have done a lot of neat things: incorportated vehicles, mounted weapons that can be detached from their mountings and carried off, and also wracheted up the CQC - one vid showed a Helghast trooper getting his face kicked in and then his eyes punched out by the players thumbs  >:D  Also looks like it's taking place mostly in a cold environment, unlike KZ1 which had you in the snow for like the last 10% of the game. 

Oh yeah, and this trailer was pretty cool:
Killzone 3 Teaser Trailer

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!  :-()

[spaceboy]

and even though it's still over a year away

Check your calendar my friend!  KZ3 drops Feb 2011, about 5 months away.   And yes, you've got to play KZ2.  Right now!  Go do it!  But seriously, it's  a great game and on my replay list this winter.  Also if you like this stuff, the soundtrack is incredible.  I got it from itunes, but it may be elsewhere now.

[PZ]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!  :-()

It's beginning to look like this is the standard OWG phrase for demonstrating extreme excitement at a new game title  :-X

[JRD]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!  :-()

It's beginning to look like this is the standard OWG phrase for demonstrating extreme excitement at a new game title  :-X

The source:

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[deadman1]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!  :-()

It's beginning to look like this is the standard OWG phrase for demonstrating extreme excitement at a new game title  :-X

The source:

[smg id=2602]

That´s me when I run to the store to get FO:New Vegas, MOH 2010 and COD:Black Ops  :-()

[JRD]

That was me waiting for OFP2-DR  :-D

Now that`s me waiting to go back to Pandora, kick some Crimson Lance armored @ss and grab some pearl guns... to kick some more @ss  >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D >:D

[mmosu]

+10 coolness points to JRD for working in name-drops for both Borderlands and Calvin & Hobbes within 3 posts of each other  :-X

Oh yeah, and Space, you sir are correct . . . I've got some w@&k to do  >:D

[JRD]

 ;D :-X

Cheers, mate... I try my best!!!  :-D

[Art Blade]

+10 coolness points to JRD for working in name-drops for both Borderlands and Calvin & Hobbes within 3 posts of each other  :-X

instead of 10 rather pointless coolness points, how about slapping good JRD on the back giving him a scoring thumbs up for his kudos count?  ;)

[mmosu]

<slap> done  :-X

[eor123]

Looking forward to Killzone 3.

I'm sure glad I gave this game a chance.

My youngest stepson [ a real Halo fan ] watched a few minutes of my game play and was very impressed....and frustrated that it is exclusive to PS3.

I look forward to the end of platform exclusivity but doubt it will occur any time soon.

I think the big title exclusives drive sales of consoles. I know I wouldn't have bothered to get [ as in ask for a birthday present ] a new Xbox 360 if not for Halo and Mass Effect 2.

And my interest in Uncharted 2 had a large influence in my purchase of a PS3.

Seems like the tail wagging the dog, doesn't it? 

[mmosu]

Indeed.  I'm a Playstation lifer and it's certainly because of the exclusives, namely God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Killzone, and Gran Turismo.

[spaceboy]

to be honest I've come to be thankful for exclusivity as I think it breeds more polished games.  It stinks if a game that interests you isn't on your platform, but overall we all are playing better games when some devs concentrate on one platform.

I think alot of multiplat games are excellent as well of course and there should be those.  But having exclusives help differentiate the consoles.  I'm extremely happy with the Playstation exclusives this last year or so:  Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, inFamous, God of War III, Little Big Planet, ModNation Racers, Heavy Rain, Gran Turismo 5 (next month!).   happy happy happy  ;D

that don't mean I wouldn't enjoy Halo, Fable, Forza etc., if I had enough extra cash I'd buy a 360 as well.

if it helps Sony and MS define their consoles and promote more competition it'll breed better exclusives and multiplats.  least that's the way I sees it  :)

[mmosu]

Started my first KZ2 playthrough the other day.
Great so far, though I am having a little trouble adapting to the controls.  Something about the layout just doesn't sit right with me . . . it's hard do describe.  I've been using Standard 2 of late, but it's still not exactly what I'm used to.  Pressing the right stick in to engage the ironsights is awkward, and I'd rather have crouch mode toggle on the button press, rather than having to hold the button down.  I've been playing around with the thumbstick sensitivity too, as it feels a bit stiff to me still.  I think it's just going to take some getting used to, so as a result a haven't pushed to far into the story yet (also because the strong language doesn't make it easy to find time to play when there is a linguistically advanced 3 year old in the house!)

[spaceboy]

controls were a bit of a topic of discussion among gamers as some hated them, others liked or tolerated.  It was deliberate - I've seen a vid where the Guerilla guys were showing how they wanted the feel to be - that you had heavy gear and heavy equipment, thus the "heavy" feel, which some called "sluggish".  I personally adapted fine in comparison to Bad Co.

I think I used a layout different than that, I don't recall using R3 for ironsights.  It's been awhile since I played (plan to though before KZ3 in Feb).

[mmosu]

heavy vs. sluggish - sounds like an issue of semantics to me  :-D
But after reading that, the "heavy" feeling makes sense.  Those ISA guys are pretty heavily armed, and I guess you can't go sprinting around all day carrying that kind of gear.  In hindsight, I think that's a good example of how unrealistically agile other FPS games feel (and how used to that I've gotten), rather than an example of poor controls in this game.  But I still would change the crouch function if I could  :-()
At any rate, I'm getting more used to it and the last segment of the game was less frustrating.  I just took out the Arc tower and now I'm about to start fighting my way back toward Visari square (although I'm pretty sure that's going to be more easily said than done).  So far the game has a very chaotic feel, and I don't feel like I'm much in control at all but rather a cog in a bigger machine at this point.  That's ok though cause it seems that that's the intended feel at this stage of the game.

[spaceboy]

glad you're liking it.

that chaotic feel and not being in control is what sold me on it (along with the great graphics).  I felt more like a real war going on and you were just trying to get through each portion, your part of the big war that's going on around you.

The AI was great, not allowing you to camp in one spot too long.  Very intense.

The last battle is a tough one, but the trophy is for getting in done in under 20 mins I believe so it's meant to be that way.

Just remember the sniper rifles you have to hold the controller steady. ;)

[mmosu]

Nice tips Space, especially about the sniper rifle  :-X  There are a lot of neat little sixaxis tricks like that in this one, aren't there?  I already got the trophy for taking out a Helghast heavy in <1min, so hopefully I'll be able to pull my weight at the end too.  I remember the end of KZ1 being like that.
Another thing I'm enjoying is the weapons.  They're all very cool, and the reload animations are spectacularly detailed.  And I love the brutal recoil that your revolver has, just like any good sidearm should! 

[spaceboy]

best weapon was the Bolt launcher,  pegging a Helghast to a wall..then it explodes.  Nice. 

I also really like the melee animations, and they are supposed to be even better in KZ3.

[Art Blade]

lol@"semantics"  ^+-+

It is interesting to follow your discussion, boys.. :)

[mmosu]

I'm really liking this little number, dropped by Helghast officers.  The high ROF lets you shred nearby enemies, and it's cool to lay on the trigger and see the "brass faucet" spilling out of the ejection port  >:D  The overall design kind of reminds me of an Uzi. 
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I also included the pic of the Helghast heavy just because he's the coolest enemy in the game so far.  Described on other sites as a "7 foot tall, propoganda fueled, enraged bullet sponge" - I WANT HIS CHAINGUN!!!  :-()
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