BalekFekete
Shared on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 06:54I was a bit worried, I won't deny it. Sure, I've done a midnight release or two to get a game as soon as possible, but I've never jumped on an international copy before in order to get into a new title sooner than I would via the traditional B&M stores. However, the hype and anticipation around Killzone 2 got to me, and I ordered a copy of the region-free game from a retailer out of Hong Kong, paying an approx. $10 premium to get it yesterday rather than next Friday. After putting a bit of time last night into the campaign, I can say unequivocally and without hesitation IT WAS WORTH IT!!!
I have never, ever, in my entire gaming life that spans back to the Atari 2600-era, experienced a game that felt as visceral, as engrossing, as enveloping as Killzone 2. Other games, the Gears and Call of Duty series come to mind, present a great atmosphere and story. While the story in Killzone 2 is nothing more than your typical "space marines invade alien planet and get it on" that we've seen in countless sci-fi flicks from Aliens to Starship Troopers, the presentation is spot on. Think of the most frenzied, eye-popping firefight you have seen in any FPS to date, and put it on every performance enhancing steroid flowing through every professional athlete ever. Then you get a feeling for what it may be like (I can only assume) to be in a live fire zone in combat. There are more enemies coming at you from more directions than you can track with two sets of eyes, and unlike the cover system in other games, in Killzone 2 just because you're behind cover doesn't mean that you're in an impenetrable bubble. You can still get flanked, get shot, and get killed - trust me, I know that now all too well.
Graphically, the game lives up to all the hype. Period. The demo gave us a taste, but the full game presents so much more going on that it's impossible to take it all in. In other FPSs as of late, my first time through has always been at a snails pace so I can really take it all in. Well, first off, given what I tried to convey above - sit in one place and you die. Then, there is just so much to take in, it's not possible at one time. It will take at least another run through, if not multiple, for me to really start to feel like I've absorbed all that the level designers have put before us. Final quick note on graphics, per se, is on the destroyable Helghast symbols are hard to find. Sometimes they are pretty obvious, but most of the time they have blended into the background and I've just missed them. But that's ok...did I mention I'll be playing the campaign again - and not just to do it on the hardest difficulty for the trophy!
The weapons are awesome. The sniper is a ton of fun to pop melons with (including the appropriately named trophy for doing just that), the rocket launcher we know feels great, and the LMG just chews through the enemies like a warm knife through butter. Finally, the flamethrower. Ok, most have been critical over what the stream coming out of the gun looks like. Yeah, it is different than the flamethrowers we've been used to - it's spraying plasma. Tell yourself that and it's all good. But the stream isn't what matters; it's the effect of the burning Helghast. Quite simply put, those animations are the best I've ever seen. Period. That same animation comment holds true for all the death animations in action, but even more so when they are alight.
I'm only about half way through the campaign, but even with just a few hours can say the campaign alone is worth the price of admission. And knowing that the multiplayer aspect is where you get your bang-for-the-buck out of any FPS, I can't see anything else touching my PS3s disc drive, apart from the random Blu-Ray, anytime in the foreseeable future. A full review will come once I complete the campaign and get a chance at multiplayer when the servers come up on the 23rd or 25th.
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Comments
Submitted by LandserBait on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 15:23
Submitted by Crimson_Fox on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 07:06
Submitted by Devonsangel on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 07:24
Submitted by BlowMonkey on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 08:08
Submitted by Tat2 on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 10:20
Submitted by BalekFekete on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 10:43
Submitted by williamadamsesq on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 10:49
Submitted by Baine on Fri, 02/20/2009 - 14:56
Submitted by BalekFekete on Fri, 02/20/2009 - 15:01