KILLZONE2
This game came out 27th February 2009 and sad as it may seem I actually took a day’s holiday with the intention of playing the day and completing it so I can could get this review on to the site as soon as possible. But alas that just didn’t happen, and the reason for that was nothing to do with the fact the Post Office delivering the game late, but more to do with the disappointment I felt playing this 4 – 5 year hyped game.
I have to say I was pretty disappointed to be honest… as a lover of Killzone I had expectations of K2, but it didn’t deliver, and I think it was because of the hype for one and two also because in my mind they were focussed too much on the Online Gaming side of things
Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that Online Gaming is big big business and it’s an important part of gaming and most would say it’s a forward development in gaming, but my point is that too many games, and K2 is a now the prime example, are relying on the Online gaming side of things to make the that 9/10 of game
having played and on the verge of completing K2 (in the palace trying to get to Radec the villain) as a game I can’t see where the 9/10 is… To me it’s just a very good, nice looking FPS… there is nothing ground breaking about the game that makes me say wow… when you look at Army of Two that was a different FPS because it was designed as Co-op Game, Hells Highway was similar in that you sent your fellow AI people down the flanks, so making it a thinking man’s FPS… you look at Metal Gear Solid and that is a wow that’s amazing… GTA4 was like wow this game is massive and look I’m playing a game where I’m sitting in a hotel room watching Ricky Gervais
The actual storyline in K2 was ok and is basically a continuation of the first game in that ISA are fighting the Helghast… but this time the ISA are on off world and taking the fight to the Helghast on their planet of Helghan. There are a couple of old faces, Rico and Templar who were both in the first game
From the outset the game gives you the impression that the ISA have launched a massive all out attack on Helghan and the first couple of levels continue this and the gameplay is pretty intense, but for me that intensity was lost as the game progressed and you were in a team of four and after all the intensity that had been set you would have thought that throughout the game you see and hear more about other skirmishes going on, even though late in the game you do get some proper support for a level as you approach the palace.
Essentially you play the game as an ISA grunt who is part of a team of four lead by Rico a veteran from the first game, the premise of the game is to get to the leader of the Helghast and basically take him out, but along the way you have side missions taking out Helghan weapons and defences, so basically a run of the mill War based FPS.
Now I said earlier it seemed to me they game was focussed round online, but the strange thing is, they missed a trick when it came to online, there doesn’t appear to be a co-op mode even though you play over half the game in a unit of two, so to me that was an ideal opportunity to add some multiplayer.
Gameplay :
Gameplay for me is about just picking up and playing the game and this game was pretty much a run of the mill FPS which is a good thing, but was also a bad thing what with all the hype, nothing in the game was any different from pervious FPS I’ve played… you control one player (like in most FPS), you have to take point in most missions (Like in any other FPS) you get to drive a tank (Like in Bad Company and Hells Highway) you get to ride in a walking attack vehicle as seen in Gears of War 2. In my opinion the gameplay was let down by the cover system and blind fire, which I felt was pretty poor when you compare it to Hell Highway, Drake’s Fortune, Gears of War and even Bad Company . I’d have to give gameplay an 8/10.
Content :
This is essentially the storyline of the main game and online content. In terms of Online content I have to say Killzone2 is fantastic, up 32 customisable elements of the game, each type of online gaming is there, from Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, seek and destroy etc etc and each game can be pretty unique, but for me it’s the single player that lets K2 down. Though the storyline is a progression from the first Killzone, which is OK, but in my opinion the voice acting was lesser than the first game, the interaction between the characters was lesser than the first game and the storyline just wasn’t gripping at all. It burns me to have to say to this but as a person who loves a good solid single player game I can only give Killzone2 an 8/10 saved by the online modes.
Simulation :
As with many a FPS, this game was quite linear which became quite frustrating at times because often after trying to be subtle you often just have to go gung-ho into a fire fight to force the Helghast back, but more often than not it would take a fair few attempts to clear an area, unlike Bad Company and Hell’s Highway where though linear the path forward was very wide thus giving my many many options and ways of clearing an area. But the one thing I did get from the game is that war is not an easy thing and can be pretty full and intense all the time and it’s because of this fact that this area gets 8.5/10.
Music :
The music I’d have to say, though good, was nothing special to write home about, the only time I actually noticed the music was at the menu screens, but the music I hear was ok, as I haven’t quite yet got the credits I can’t say whether the music at the end was an warranted epic, so I’ll give music a 6/10 for now,
Graphics :
For me, after all the hype, I felt the graphics were a little hit and miss, and I know that sounds a weird thing when this game has had so many people say the graphics were so good, but for me it was the little things that let it down. Let me explain. Whenever you were in a scene that was a big action scene with lots going on, the graphics were absolutely superb, or they looked superb, but could it be you were in such awe about how much was going on it detracted from individual graphics. For me it was most noticeable when you play the level where you are with one of you AI counterparts and you’re in a desert type environment, the pace of this area was a little slower and there wasn’t a vast amount of action going. So you get a bit more time to look at the graphic and maybe pick holes, but based on that level I’d say the graphics were no better and Assassins Creed and def not better than Drakes Fortune, so on that basis and because when the screen was full of things going it did look impressive, I’ll have to give the graphic 9/10
Pros of K2 :
For me the biggest pro of this game is the Online, from what I’ve played and seen it has to one of the better Online. The trophies are a good pro as it pretty easy to get a quarter of them, the others will take some planning and it was a good pro getting the opportunity to take out some Helghan scum on the PS3 and the majority of the time it a pretty looking game.
Cons of K2 :
The single player mode was far too short and compared to the first game, only being able to play the game through with just one player, reduces the replay factor, you’d complete the mission then just play online. Though the Online mode is fantastic the downside is there is no Co-op mode for the Campaign mode. In this day and age, my personal opinion is the cover system could have been a lot better.
OVERALL SCORE FOR KILLZONE 2 :
This game gets a score of 8.5/10