Killzone 2 is a PS3 exclusive, first-person shooter game released by SCEE on the 25th of February 2009. The game is the third installment in the Killzone franchise that first began on the PS2 with Killzone followed by Killzone: Liberation on PSP.
Killzone 2 had people talking well before the PS3 was launched. There were huge expectations that Killzone 2 would be the definitive PS3 game. So was all the fuss worth it? Let’s find out!
The storyline follows on from the previous titles. The ISA are convinced that the Helghast spirit has been broken, and are now ready to launch an attack. You will play as a new character to the franchise named Sev. Sev is a part of a Special Forces team called the Alpha team. Your objective is to capture Scolar Visari, the leader of the Helghast forces and ruler of the Helghan planet. Rico is now your commanding officer, he’s all attitude and is as unlikable as before, but he helps keep the action alive – and there is plenty of action.
The first thing you will notice when you load the game up are that the graphics and visuals are breathtaking. The lighting, animations and modeling are generally top-notch. It mostly runs smoothly; there are some minor issues when it’s loading a new level or auto saving, but it’s not all that bad and overall you will be more than satisfied.
It’s important to note how the graphics add to the conflict atmosphere. Bullets spraying everywhere, guys are catching on fire or blowing up, this is total war and Killzone captures this atmosphere perfectly.
The campaign is single player only. It does give an interestingly co-op vibe to it because you will always be fighting with a squad mate or within a group. The AI is intelligent and will cover you and go after enemies you have missed. Occasionally the AI can get in your way, which is a little annoying. The gameplay is solid; you can lean on objects and line up shots or cook grenades for added safety. There is a lot of variety through the whole campaign, you will be going from giant battles to ambushes to check points to more vehicle based levels. Some of the vehicle based levels appeared a little short and should have been made longer. Overall the single player is a great campaign that will take over ten hours to complete.
So what about multiplayer? In one word, awesome! Thirty two people can play online and if you don’t have enough players you can add bots. The multiplayer mode is class based; if you kill people or complete mission objectives you get points, which lead to promotions. Promotions unlock things ranging from guns to more advanced classes. There are eight maps playable online, which are all designed to encourage immense action. The whole multiplayer experience is very well thought-out.
Killzone 2 reaches many of the high expectations. The game delivers on every front; from amazing graphics, great single player campaign modes and intense online multiplayer action. This is more than worth checking out for any serious first-person-shooter fan.