Killzone 2 Review

The amount of hype surrounding Killzone 2 is almost as unbelievable as the game's visuals. Since the first controversial pre-rendered trailer appeared almost four years ago the game has constantly been one of the oases in the drought of PS3 exclusives. Finally with us after a lengthy and fairly secretive development process, is it worth the wait?

A review of Killzone 2 just wouldn't be complete without mentioning the simply astonishing visuals. I can't remember a game with graphics of this calibre on any console and it certainly rivals anything produced by the upper end of the PC market. Not only are the vistas incredibly detailed they are also very crisp and striking. Lighting is also fantastic and lightning effects in particular stand out as particularly retina-scorching. There is a healthy variation in styles and whilst there is an emphasis towards the grey and brown side of the palate, it all adds to the atmosphere.

The story follows the ISA (a coalition of interplanetary troops) as they invade Helghan the home planet of the militant and evil Helghast. That's as far as the story really goes; there is very little context or background whatsoever which is a severe disappointment. The Helghast themselves are brilliantly designed with glowing eyes, sinister trench coats and a plethora of fascistic iconography. In essence, they couldn't appear more evil if they were embezzling money from charity and regularly leaving dogs inside hot cars with no windows open.

It seems the main problem with the Helghast is that knowing little about them means fighting them seems a little futile. The parallels with recent military invasions are completely overlooked which certainly doesn't help the story. The characters and scenarios are drawn from so many action clichés you can scarcely go for 5 minutes where you don't recognise at least some elements. The main characters, the protagonist in particular, are either unlikeable or totally forgettable and at times I was hoping they wouldn't succeed as at least the enemy were charismatic.

In-game voice acting is also weak especially in comparison with many other recent titles. Brian Cox does a sterling effort in a minimal role to get across some sense of a tyrannical dictator but is nowhere near utilised enough. To add insult to injury the developers chose to reuse a voice actor from the previous game in a totally different role which is a baffling and confusing decision if you played the original. The majority of your enemies also seem to originate from the land of stereotypical regional accents, presumably as the ISA forced anyone with a personality to leave.

However, it is unlikely that you'll be playing Killzone 2 for its story and expecting some kind of high brow war epic would be asking a little too much. The game itself holds up fairly well, but with the incredibly high standards of recent additions to the genre it all feels a little outdated.

The weapons themselves are brilliantly designed and there is a really nice selection available. Doing away with the luxury of two main guns, á la Halo, you are restricted to a single primary weapon and a choice of two pistols. The selection is intelligent and they all feel realistic (the lightning gun aside) and powerful. The standard shotgun feels devastating at close range and the bolt gun is ridiculous but satisfying.

The first thing you'll notice are the controls. If you are a big action gamer you will likely be confused and check your settings. To say they are sluggish is an understatement and you can look at your watch safely in the time it takes to turn where you want. Thankfully a recent patch has helped the situation and I would heartily recommend upping the sensitivity. Even after you get used to the system you never feel fully in control and picking off enemies never feels as precise as in other titles. I found myself finding the weapon with the highest rate of fire and flailing everywhere in the hope I would hit something on several occasions, which isn't what you want to do in a first person shooter.

As the game progresses the controls become less of an issue, but by the time you feel fully comfortable the game has finished. The single player is short at 10 levels (one of which takes all of 5 minutes) and none of them feel terribly connected.

Interestingly, Killzone 2 goes for a type of gritty realism which translates into the gameplay as having to take cover in a fire fight. Now, the idea of a cover system in a first person game is a strange one and is hard to get used to. Having to spend most of your time crouched admiring the textures of various walls and boxes isn't terribly fun and the controls governing it are fiddly to say the least. It is manageable, but slows the gameplay down to a snail's pace as you inch out of cover over and over again. Enemy AI is almost supernatural on the harder difficulty levels with every single Helghast trained to accurately throw grenades at a rate of one per minute over a distance of 200 metres.

You play through most levels accompanied by an AI team mate, which seems to scream out "co-operative mode". Unfortunately this isn't the case and you have to endure some incredibly tedious and incompetent friendly AI. At times I thought this would be a twist revealing that your squad mates were actually Helghast double agents, such is their desire to get you killed.

Your allies frequently run headlong into lethal fire, hog the only available cover in an area and walk straight into sniper shots you spent several seconds carefully lining up. You are required to revive them should they go down which is usually in an impossible place to get to them safely. Their personalities also grate when they have the gall to shout at you, telling you what to do and insulting you for shooting them after they dive into your stream of fire. Personally I wished for an option to leave them to die or put the last bullet into them yourself.

These are niggles in what is otherwise a decent enough first person shooter. The level design is well thought out and the set pieces are certainly epic enough, especially when combined with the excellent visuals. The problem is Killzone 2 does nothing new for first person titles and it certainly doesn't do them anywhere near as well as other franchises.

Thankfully, multiplayer is a saving grace and is definitely much improved when you get to grips with the controls. Playing in large team battles feels good and you aren't plagued by the awful AI when facing off against human opponents. There are a variety of game modes and an obvious influence from other popular class based multiplayer titles is no bad thing. A variety of collectables and unlockables from both the main game and the multiplayer is bound to extend its replay value and it already has a dedicated following.

Sadly, Killzone 2 isn't the killer exclusive that PS3 owners were hoping for but it tries so hard to be. At times you catch glimpses of the potential and it really has some excellent moments and set pieces. Unfortunately the single player is let down too often with frustrations and it isn't as accessible as it thinks it is. However, long term replay value from multiplayer is certainly an incentive and those visuals are something to at least see on a widescreen television if only to justify your purchase of a PS3. Killzone 2 is certainly the start of a next-generation franchise. Here's hoping whatever sequel follows adds more substance than style.