Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 03 February 2009 05:27
Entertainment
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Last night is a frenzy of frightened flight, as I ran from cover to cover under a hail of Helghast hot-lead. The ISA have invaded Helghan, and the result is not pretty and yet beautiful. Click on through for Killzone 2 first impressions and a swag of screen shots.
Killzone was, from memory a somewhat disappointing FPS game for the PlayStation 2. It told the grim story of an invasion by the SS styled Helghast against the ISA (Interplanetary Strategic Alliance).
The game was difficult, and at the time one of only a few attempts at a FPS style game on a console, so controls were fledgling to say the best.
Killzone 2 turns the tables on the original, and tells the story of Sergeant 1st class Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko. As part of Alpha Squad, Sev and his comrades are taking part in a counter invasion of Helghan, the enemy’s home planet.
In improbably designed invasion craft that look more like open topped road construction vehicles than sensible drop-ships, Alpha Squad land on the polluted planets decaying urban-scape and begin their assault.
From the get go, you are in the battle. Picking out the glowing red eyes of the enemy from the haze of destroyed buildings, lens flare, smoke and explosion effects. Bombarded with the sounds of war and looking for your next objective through the cacophony and confusion.
I have spent a couple of hours on the single player campaign, and come away shocked and awed by the Killzone 2 experience. Here is an early take on this PlayStation 3 exclusive.
The Good: Killzone 2 is a good looking game, despite being set in a war-torn, bleak, urban environment; it manages to provide a vibrant every changing ocular sensation. In particular the character models are beyond anything else I have seen in this type of game before – a step up from even the Gears of War 2 character set.
The in-game-engine cut-scenes in particular, have characters that capture that lifelike movement that conveys personality. Garnering player immersion along the way. Compared to a game like Halo or Mass Effect, the cut-scenes and subsequent game-play carry over are engaging and fluid.
The action is unrelenting, like Call Of Duty: World at War, you will find yourself glancing from side to side as the Helghast defend themselves with a certain level of guile and strategy. Probably not to the level of CoD, but close enough to get the heart racing.
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