GAME REVIEW : Killzone 2 (PS3)

KILLZONE 2 (Playstation 3)

Developed by Guerrilla Games
Published by SCEE

STORY

I'll be honest. Just like FEAR 2, I did not play the first game in the series. I thought I'd give this one a go due to its rave reviews. Therefore, I didn't really have a clue what was going on.

Nevertheless, the cutscenes are great. I really loved all the characters and the situation, I just never really had an idea what was going on as a whole. Shame really. I guess you'd of had to play the first game to know a bit more about the actual war. It left me wondering what I was fighting for, and not caring that much!

Also the ending didn't really satisfy me very much. With such great gaming narratives and twists lately (like the ending of Prince of Persia), it was disappointing. It's probably been left open for a sequel, but it just didn't click with me.

GRAPHICS

This is what everyone is talking about. And it is very true indeed. Killzone 2 does have the best graphics I've ever seen in a game so far. I consider myselt to be a true Xbox gamer, but I had to admit that this game is better looking than anything on the 360 so far.

Lighting, effects, the motion, the characters are all amazing. It is to be seen to be believed. The cut scenes all look phenomenal too... and they are created in game. No CG here.

SOUND

Also fantastic. I can't say it is as good as the graphics, simply because the sound here doesn't seem as new and shiny as the graphics on display here. It's stuff you've all heard before. The usual war and sci-fi sound effects for a game like this. Still great though.

The voice acting too is good, the stand out for me was Sean Pertwee as the General. I loved his character, and I loved his performance too.

The music is sometimes great and sometimes not. I can't say that I ever really listened or heard anything great whilst in the gameplay, but the cutscenes really shine through. A full orchestra has been used and often really makes it feel like you are watching a film.

GAMEPLAY

Hmm. I really wanted to love Killzone 2. I thought the demo was exceptional and couldn't wait to play the full game. I was disappointed though. It was the gameplay that let it down for me. The graphics and all the presentation was exactly what I expected. But I soon found that the game almost became... dare I say it... boring.

It just didn't seem to do anything new to the genre for me. A game like Halo has so many unique moments meaning that it never gets boring. One minute you're fighting with SMGs, the next you're slicing Brutes up with a sword, then taking them on in a tank. It's what makes me love Halo so much. In this though, its just shooting enemies, then shooting more enemies, then move along, then shoot enemies, then the second wave. And the process continues.

There are some vehicle sections, but they felt slightly clunky and weren't much fun. It's such a shame really, if this game had more variety I'd have loved it. But it just dragged a little towards the end. And also, I found the battles quite frustating at times. The controls felt too slow. I did adjust to them, but it still never felt great. This means that if an enemy suddenly comes up behind you, and starts shooting... you probably won't make it round in time and they'll kill me. Extremely frustrating when you're having an epic battle with very few save points and you get killed by the stupidest thing.

This game might be for you though. It was an experience. It's still one that I recommend everyone checks out at some point, but don't raise your expectations too high like I did.

BEST MOMENT

Believe it or not, my favourite moment was in the opening cutscene. It's when all the soldiers get on the dropship and suddenly it plummets from the sky extremely quickly. It takes place from a first person POV, and it really felt like some awesome ride.

STORY

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GRAPHICS

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SOUND

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GAMEPLAY

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OVERALL

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