Community Blog (thecosmicfly) - Killzone 2 Impressions

Ok, here are cosmic's thoughts on Killzone 2 which started a very lengthy thread over in the forums. Quite a few people have added their impressions, so make sure you drop in and post yours. There are some light spoilers in this post, so be wary.

thecosmicfly on Killzone 2

"For me, I've just rented it today and I'm almost finished with the campaign (I'm surprised I haven't gone blind from all those hours. :\ ). Graphics clearly don't need to be mentioned since we all know what it looks like, by which I mean they look absolutely phenomenal. Although a few effects are pretty underwelming (The flamethrower and medigun laser are pretty hideous) the overall style and look is amazing, and does deserve credit in the graphics department.

Even after some tweaking with the controller settings the gameplay still doesn't feel as tight as it should. You can't have quick hip firing and have slow, steady zoom in aiming. The sensitivity is either high or low no matter what. It takes time getting used to it, and it does give the game a somewhat unique feel, but I'm not too happy about it. Lean and Peak works great most of the time, even though it has the problem most games with cover systems do (Getting stuck on a wall even though you don't want to be). On a random side note I do wish blindfire was kept in there even if it's not as effective as a TPS (It still would've been neat to have, and we need one game that has to put the 'blind' in blindfire back in).

The areas tend to be bleak and dark a majority of the time, but you do get to travel to unique locations and set pieces, including a Gears of War-esque train ride, a Star Wars: Attack of the Clones like factory and even one level on one of the ISA Cruisers.

Vehicle sections are brief but entertaining, especially the EXO Suit romp againts the Helghast. Tank could've handled a bit better though.

The story is... adequate. It gets the job done and explains what and why you're doing things, and there is drama added into the mix. I won't spoil who dies in the game, and really their deaths don't come off as good as they should, but the amazing Orchestra score helps to get some emotion out of the scenes (Did I mention KZ2's music is kickass? No? Well it is. A lot). There are plot holes and inconsistencies that I find extremely stupid though, one of which is one of the games more important parts. The excessive profanity will get right on your nerves, thats for sure. I mean swearing can be fine, but it feels like it's thrown in the dialogue either because they couldn't think of any adjectives or to earn an M/18 rating. It doesn't feel need most of the time. Rico is a douche, full stop.

OMFG BOLT GUN AND LIGHTNING GUN KICK MAJOR ASSCHEEKS.

And that's all I can think of to say about the game so far. A word of warning though. I started on Veteran (Hardest difficulty already unlocked) to see how things would go, and now I regret doing it. This game is HARD AS HELL. No really, it's not always the challenging sort of hard, but the throw your controller at the cat or grandma type of hard. Sometimes the AI is good at one upping you tactics wise, but the game just like's flooding you with 14 Helghast soldiers from all sides that are a little too 'nade tossing happy. And some sections they respawn repeatedly until you advance enough. I can think of 3 occassions where the game has been rediculous with the difficulty, and one of them is the last level of the game, which I'm stuck on now. D: If you're going to play this game, please put it on easy so you can have a fun time killing and less time going through trial and error.

I hope to have a go of the multiplayer soon. Heres to hoping it makes the game worth purchasing, and praying that the Assault class doesn't become the most spammed/noobish class (Watch Gametrailers Killzone 2 Badge videos if you wanna know what I mean).

Updated Impressions

Finished the end of the game earlier today. That final battle still was a bitch. God I'm glad there are enough checkpoints, but it was still a cluster of fucks. Radec was pretty cool to fight against, especially with how he evades and sneaks up on you. But after that entire legion of Helghast soldiers, flametroopers, captains and rocket launching mofo's, it didn't make me think "Oh this is sweet" but more "Just let me get this fucking mission done already!".

After seeing the ending, I now literally HATE Rico. He was mostly irritating throughout the game, but what he does at the end now makes me want to slaughter his wannabe tough guy ass. D:<

As for the multiplayer...

So far, it's great! The most fun I've had in an online game for a while now. The reviews have praised the multiplayer, and it deserves it. Everything is so deep. The ribbons, badges and medals system are on par with CoD4's xp/perks system, if not better. It will take a while before things do start to get interesting (You need 350 points alone just to unlock the first class, and need to play 8 or more matches to get enough ribbons to unlock a medal and recieve new abilities. But because the core objectives in a round are enjoyable enough you'll eventually get there.

The on the fly Mission Objectives are brilliantly executed. It always keeps things moving. One minute you're defending an area and the next you find yourself turned into the assassination target. Its amazing.

The maps are surprisingly great as well. Infact I'd say there's a wider colour palette in the multiplayer maps than most of the singleplayer. Corinth Crossing would be my favourite artistically. There are so so SO many levels and layers to each map, and they're extremely huge with multiple paths. There will be times where a stalemate occurs between both teams and all it takes is for two guys two go down an empty path, outflank them and you'll turn the tide of the match.

The only real problems I have are the shooting controls. But those also come under my complaints about singleplayer as well. Its not too damaging to the experience, but when you want to fine tune that aim for a distant headshot or are caught going in circles when in a close quarters battles, the sensitivity just isn't fully up to the job.

Even having said that there are still loads of huge and minute points that make the multiplayer extremely fun. If you're in a Squad you can respawn at your squadmates position. If you're an assassination target and you're mortally wounded (Down on the ground but still just alive) you can still win the match. Hell, even the sound that goes off when you make a kill is satisfying.

I've rented this game for a week, so we'll have to see when I return it if the multiplayer is addictive enough to make me purchase it. At the moment it looks like I will be.


And yes, we need to have a 4PP Online Night with Killzone 2. Preferably on the weekend though."

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Keep up the good work

Brad