Believe the hype; Killzone 2 is the best looking game we've ever seen. Stunning facial animation, huge detailed environments and no loading screens what so ever - and the PS3 makes it look as easy as snapping a photo of Pete Doherty looking rough.
But how does it actually play? This question has gone unanswered since those naughty chaps a Guerilla swindled us with CGI over a year ago - until now...
We managed to get our hands on the SixAxis controller at Sony's Games Convention booth and play the stunning PS3 shooter for the very first time. The level we played was the third mission in; a chaotic and intense invasion of the Helgast homeworld - it looks bloody good.
This is the same demo from E3 earlier last month. You've probably seen the videos; it kicks off with a cut-scene near-identical to that of the CGI trailer from last year's E3 - and amazingly, it looks almost as gorgeous in real-time. The facial animation on each character is on par with Half-Life 2 and the scale and detail of the dark, gritty environment is just ridiculous.
Lightning - properly rendered in 3D - shakes the sky. Clouds and smoke travel with the wind, explosions whisk floating embers into the air and groups of tiny moths dance on dusty light bulbs - these are all little touches that make Killzone 2 the PS3's real technical masterpiece.
In feel, it plays similarly to the original Killzone; R2 fires your weapon, X is the action button and so forth. The cinematic flair however has gone through the roof; subtle focus blur on your weapon and nearby objects adds to the realism greatly, and the HUD is near non-existent; ammo count only appearing when you fire your weapon and visual colour-bending cues indicating your health.
The most exciting feature of the PS3 Killzone however is the new first-person cover system, which works a lot like Gears of War but without taking you out of the experience. Holding L2 latches you on to walls similar to Epic's shooter, then the left stick allows you to pop out with your gun and fire off a few shots. You can even blind fire with the R2 fire button; it's works very well and is even more visceral than the stuff in Gears.
Some of the encounters we experienced in our demo whiffed of that "cover shooter" gameplay as well; in one scene we darted easily from box to pillar with the sprint button, trying to flank around the side of a chaingun-toting mini-boss and shoot him in the back. It works flawlessly in first person, and should add some much needed variety to the Killzone formula.
Thankfully the real meat (that's the shooting) is an enjoyable venture as well. A combination of animation and physics make the Helgast satisfying to shoot; properly rendered blood splatters out realistically while Guerilla's excellent motion capture work creates some great looking death routines, complete with flailing arms and dives to the floor.
The rocket launcher - again looking near identical to the one seen in the CGI trailer - too is a rather satisfying blasting experience - though it desperately needs to support the heavily-rumoured rumble SixAxis to feel as lethal as the RPGs in other console shooters.
The AI seems to be a bit of hit and miss at this point; they're not afraid of jumping behind cover - and indeed hold their ground aggressively - but half the time they strut around like slow guerillas getting shot in the face - and while we're at it the player's own walking speed could do with an increase as well. That said, we expect a demo without god mode turned on might be a more faithful example the AI's behaviour...
It looks amazingly next-gen, but to play Killzone at the moment feels very similar to its PS2 predecessor. We'll reserve judgement though; the cover system has been implemented perfectly and works fantastically in Killzone 2's many stand offs, and if Guerilla's word is to be believed there are still plenty of surprises on the way...
This game looks amazing! I am a 100% 360 all the way guy. If anyone says ps3 is better i always say no, but for once and dont take it the wrong way ps3 guys, song elc have pulled sumit amazing out of the hat. I loved my ps2, and i would buy a ps3 just for this game :S sounds a bit stupid but... if u liked killzone 1 u know wot i am talking about.
Well hopefully they'll get the control movements a lot tighter - similar to how smooth Resistance's controls were. That was my main issue with the first one.
I really enjoyed the first game, although I know many would not agree, so the idea of it playing like the PS2 game actually makes me quite happy. As long as its not quit as scripted.
I dont care if it sells 1 million, or 2 , 20, Im just looking forward to the game.
What information i just read (or lack of),very nearly mimics the previous PSW article,and the earlier BBC reporters so called hands on play of KZ2.
For such a long awaited, generic FPS,all we get, is an article that sounds as scripted as those from an inexperienced indian employee at virgin medias customer services, or from an ad like Cilit Bang!
I for one can't wait to see such wonders as" lighting ,PROPERLY rendered in 3D " and " PROPERLY rendered blood" ,awesome !
And the the new first-person cover system, which works a lot like Gears of War but without taking you out of the experience. Holding L2 latches you on to walls similar to Epic's shooter, then the left stick allows you to pop out with your gun and fire off a few shots. You can even blind fire with the R2 fire button; it's works very well and is even more visceral than the stuff in Gears.
Sounds a lot like the age old system from the previous umpteen fps that went before this .
So , this ,along with the other articles that scirt around the things we would like to know about ,are proving more and more likely ,that it will bring nothing new to the board.
The Sun says "A game ,featuring men with guns,shooting bullets at other people,who also have guns,big guns,and BLOOD,yeah ,RED BLOOD.
9/10
At least it has them done PROPER though,we're sold on things that are proper,(BO ?).
What information i just read (or lack of),very nearly mimics the previous PSW article,and the earlier BBC reporters so called hands on play of KZ2.
For such a long awaited, generic FPS,all we get, is an article that sounds as scripted as those from an inexperienced indian employee at virgin medias customer services, or from an ad like Cilit Bang!
I for one can't wait to see such wonders as" lighting ,PROPERLY rendered in 3D " and " PROPERLY rendered blood" ,awesome !
And the the new first-person cover system, which works a lot like Gears of War but without taking you out of the experience. Holding L2 latches you on to walls similar to Epic's shooter, then the left stick allows you to pop out with your gun and fire off a few shots. You can even blind fire with the R2 fire button; it's works very well and is even more visceral than the stuff in Gears.
Sounds a lot like the age old system from the previous umpteen fps that went before this .
So , this ,along with the other articles that scirt around the things we would like to know about ,are proving more and more likely ,that it will bring nothing new to the board.
The Sun says "A game ,featuring men with guns,shooting bullets at other people,who also have guns,big guns,and BLOOD,yeah ,RED BLOOD.
9/10
At least it has them done PROPER though,we're sold on things that are proper,(BO ?).
I disagree with your colour/font size, but agree with most of what you typed. The first half of the article is a PR spiel typed up and presented as a preview.
Also, the cover system described has been pulled straight from Rainbow 6. To compare it to Gears would suggest you've never played R6, or are just trying to name-drop.
What information i just read (or lack of),very nearly mimics the previous PSW article,and the earlier BBC reporters so called hands on play of KZ2.
For such a long awaited, generic FPS,all we get, is an article that sounds as scripted as those from an inexperienced indian employee at virgin medias customer services, or from an ad like Cilit Bang!
I for one can't wait to see such wonders as" lighting ,PROPERLY rendered in 3D " and " PROPERLY rendered blood" ,awesome !
And the the new first-person cover system, which works a lot like Gears of War but without taking you out of the experience. Holding L2 latches you on to walls similar to Epic's shooter, then the left stick allows you to pop out with your gun and fire off a few shots. You can even blind fire with the R2 fire button; it's works very well and is even more visceral than the stuff in Gears.
Sounds a lot like the age old system from the previous umpteen fps that went before this .
So , this ,along with the other articles that scirt around the things we would like to know about ,are proving more and more likely ,that it will bring nothing new to the board.
The Sun says "A game ,featuring men with guns,shooting bullets at other people,who also have guns,big guns,and BLOOD,yeah ,RED BLOOD.
9/10
At least it has them done PROPER though,we're sold on things that are proper,(BO ?).
What the fck you talking about you idiot,everyone is raving about this game and you just post s**tee,your just a troll so get back to your 360 or what everelse you jerk off with.
Killzone2 + MGS + GT5 + lower priced PS3 = me buying a PS3.
The price of the PS3 has kept me from buying. If Killzone 2 (and GT5) can deliver and they drop the price of the PS3 significantly I'm on board. Otherwise I'll keep enjoying my PS2 and get a Wii this Xmas.
Cheers!
PS I was playing Killzone before I went online tonight.
The first one was terrible. It had so much hype, yet such bad gameplay.
Luckily I didn't make the mistake in buying the game myself, and only borrowed it, but it was just a really bad game in my opinion.
The controls were a bit poorly executed, the characters ran so slow that it was like they'd had something stuck up their rear for a year, and the graphics were quite average and bland.
However, Killzone 2 does look pretty cool, so I'm hoping that it plays a lot better than its predecessor, and may even be quite fun.
The graphics look pretty sweet, the combat looks intense, and I really love the environental special effects.
The only things which are putting me off at the minute are what you (cvg) said about it feeling just like the original, and also the fact that I don't know the storyline of the original, as I couldn't force myself to complete the game. I just didn't like it, so if this one does turn out to be as good as it looks, then I'm going to be a bit stuck storywise, as I won't have a clue what's been happening in the plot, seeing as it looks to be a direct sequel, and not a prequel.
Ah well, Assassins Creed, Warhawk, Resident Evil 5, Stuntman: Ignition, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Little Big Planet are on the horizon, and then there's Bioshock and Crysis on pc to get at some point too, so at least there are plenty more decent looking games out there for us to sink our teeth into...........well, that's if this one turns out to be as poor, generic and as linear as the first one.
The first one was terrible. It had so much hype, yet such bad gameplay.
.
erm, the first one wasnt terrible, it just wasnt the best thing ever like people thought.
killzone one gameplay with this cover system sounds great to me, as long as its not as linear or as glitchy as the first one, because that was the games 2 main faults if anything.
Also, the cover system described has been pulled straight from Rainbow 6. To compare it to Gears would suggest you've never played R6, or are just trying to name-drop.
Isnt this cover system different though, as its all in first person?
If your talking about vegas, that goes 3rd person whilst using cover etc.
The first one was terrible. It had so much hype, yet such bad gameplay.
.
erm, the first one wasnt terrible, it just wasnt the best thing ever like people thought.
killzone one gameplay with this cover system sounds great to me, as long as its not as linear or as glitchy as the first one, because that was the games 2 main faults if anything.
sorry but killzone 1 was a big pile of monkey spunk its only saving grace was the online mode which was glitchy
I liked the first Killzone for it's atmosphere and believabilty of location.It wasn't a great game but an enjoyable enough romp.
Killzone2 looks nice enough and i hope it ends up a great game but currently it looks a little pedestrian when directly compared to something like Halo or Unreal.
It's highly likely that K2 will turn out as reasonable as most FPS but it takes a certain magic to really stand out - Halo ,Half life are two examples and tbh there isn't many more with this pedigree.
The odds are against K2 being as good as the best even if it does have state of the art graphics.
I enjoyed playing killzone 1 too but it was not such a great game that sony kept trying to convince the public. The hype that is being created again for this game will harm it as everyone's expectations will be extremely high and minor problems will be regarded as major ones
meh....get the orange box instead, that is if it's coming out on PS3 (I'm assuming here).
No doubt it'll have a better story, tf2 will have the decent multiplayer and it's the best value game by far. Ł50-Ł60 is a lot of money to spend on an also ran like this.....pretty graphics do not maketh the game and killzone has no pedigree to warrant the hype it's getting.
Mark my words this will be average, or I'll eat my tv.
I was talking about RRP, you'll always be able to scrape some money off if you look around.
My point still stands though. I wait to see if I'm proved wrong. It still looks like a typical shooter albeit a very pretty one. Haze looks more interesting to me.
i bought mine from gamestation in store and the game website!
If you havent seen any games for Ł30 in the last decade i feel sorry for your wallet, i dont think i ever bought a ps2 game for more than Ł35, although i bought most games on line.
Fair enough about the RRP, and to be honest Haze does look more interesting, but i would have to play both to determine which is going to be better! What games have RRP of Ł60 though? the most expensive games ive seen are the usual Ł50.
Crysis p**ses all over this and everything else coming out (that i've seen) in the next year. Graphics, lighting, textures, physics, hell even the gameplay looks better than this generic storm trooper target practice in generic looking industrial locations, im not saying this doesn't look good, but bits of it just didn't look upto scratch (when the guy was ducked by the wall - was that quake 1 textures!?)
The AI seems to be a bit of hit and miss at this point; they're not afraid of jumping behind cover - and indeed hold their ground aggressively - but half the time they strut around like slow guerillas getting shot in the face - and while we're at it the player's own walking speed could do with an increase as well. That said, we expect a demo without god mode turned on might be a more faithful example the AI's behaviour...
But at the minute, what you're saying is that the game looks pretty but is nothing more than your typically dumb fps? I doubt turning god mode off will change much if all it takes is a bit of hiding before you shoot them in the face!
I can't stand sloppy graphics, but at least I don't rate a game solely on this. Too many times across all formats I read the words "amazing visuals" and not "amazing gameplay... oh yeah, and the graphics are amazing too." like it having nice graphics makes up for a game that plays like it was made for a last gen console (they mentioned PS2 didn't they?).
I'll reserve judgement because it's not even out yet, and lest I be judged a fanboy of some sort, but this sounds like another typical Sony effort; all about appearances.
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u know wot i am talking about.
