Killzone 2 (PS3)

[Flawless]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

Gametrailers Review - 9.2 (Contains Spoilers)

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[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

Wait a minute. So I purchased a beta key for nothing?

[phillyfan23]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

Wait a minute. So I purchased a beta key for nothing?

pretty much....how much did you spend?

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

9 bucks. So the demo we are getting on Feb 5th is the same one that you get when you pre order from gamestop?

[Jonesy]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

So the demo we are getting on Feb 5th is the same one that you get when you pre order from gamestop?

I'd like to know this as well?

[Cyros]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

I thought the Gamestop thing was a MP Beta and the demo releasing only being SP?

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

I thought the Gamestop thing was a MP Beta and the demo releasing only being SP?

As far as I know, that's false.

[Candyman5]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

I thought the Gamestop thing was a MP Beta and the demo releasing only being SP?

That is what I thought as well.

[Flawless]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

<div><object width="480" height="291"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/k7aRBIA4NcBs1GW2SI&related=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/k7aRBIA4NcBs1GW2SI&related=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="291" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x88igo_killzone-2-multiplayer-maps-preview_videogames">Killzone 2 - Multiplayer Maps Preview</a></b><br /><i>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/dpadmagazine">dpadmagazine</a></i></div>

[Flawless]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

1UP Review - A

With 2008 still in the rear view mirror, the first candidate for 2009's "Game of the Year" has arrived. Killzone 2 is a visual powerhouse that offers a grounded and "realistic" take on futuristic warfare. From fighting your way through shantytowns while lightning storms rage overhead to avoiding sniper fire during vicious dust storms, brutality has never been this beautiful.

Killzone 2's story is a simple one: Humanity has decided to strike back at the Helghast by invading their home planet Helghan. But that's just the backdrop for a stunning mixture of intense combat and jaw-dropping visuals that will last for 8-12 hours in single-player. Joining you in battle are the other members of Alpha squad. It would have been nice to play co-op with friends (they are strictly A.I. controlled), and your squad mates are walking stereotypes (hotheaded heavy machine gunner, easygoing tech guy, etc.), but their playful and delightfully vulgar banter serves as a respite from the dark urban environments early in the game.

Once you get out of the main city, things really take off as you find yourself moving from one fantastically designed set piece to another. One of my favorite sequences takes you through a gigantic factory, where you have to hitch a ride on the machinery while wielding the most powerful weapon in the game, the lightning gun. It's incredibly satisfying to watch the lightning arc from one enemy to the next á la God's wrath from the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Another level has you taking the reins of a mech, and tearing your way through hordes of unsuspecting Helghast soldiers. Managing the mech is simple as the controls are identical to those in the on-foot sequences, and avoiding incoming missile fire while dealing out massive damage is a thrill. Tiny details like cracks appearing in the glass after taking damage highlight the details that Guerilla placed in the world.

Beyond its good looks, Killzone 2 is a game of strategy that rewards tactical decisions and careful aim. Playing it as a run-and-gun shooter is a quick way to get killed; correct use of cover grenades is necessary as the Helghast are constantly trying to flank and bring overwhelming firepower to bear on you and your fellow soldiers. The friendly A.I. is usually competent, but squad mates will sometimes blindly run past Helghast squads on their way to checkpoints, leaving yours truly to clean up the mess. However, this is the exception rather than the rule, and if you think before shooting, it's an incredibly fun ride.

Multiplayer Thus Far

As is often the case with game reviews, there isn't always enough time to play online multiplayer before the text is written. Because of this, I didn't get a chance to level up many of the character classes. And since this is such an integral part of the multiplayer experience I don't feel comfortable "reviewing" this part of the game yet -- but I can say for certain that I've played enough to know that my overall grade will not change based on more play. So with that in mind, here are at least my impressions from my time playing in the beta and with the review build so far:

Guerilla clearly spent a lot of time on the multiplayer portion of Killzone 2, as few other games offer the same amount of depth in character customization. You can equip up to two different badges, and every badge offers different abilities to suit your style (read Sam's preview for a breakdown of how this class system works). And as discussed in the 1UP Show Killzone 2 segment, the game cleverly handles matches; instead of having you play a search and destroy match, get taken out of the game, and then switch to another match for assassination, all gameplay variants occur spontaneously. This creates a thrilling sense of momentary confusion as you switch between game types, mimicking the chaos you experience on the single-player battlefield. Depending on which game types are included in each game, matches generally take around 20 minutes to finish.

My favorite inclusion to multiplayer is bot support -- hopefully this will become an online console shooter standard. Although bots don't replace the challenge of a real-life opponent, they allow everyone to learn the basic mechanics of the game and even get a few kills in. After the game launches, I'll be posting a blog to give some more in-depth thoughts on multiplayer after spending significant time with real opponents, but again, what I've played so far has been really, really good.

What This Means

Shooters have replaced fighting games as the most over-saturated genre in gaming today, and it's increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. However, with its unparalleled graphics, incredibly well-paced single-player campaign and in-depth multiplayer offerings, Killzone 2 has established its place among top-tier console shooters. Expectations on Killzone 2 had reached ridiculous proportions; here's one of those cases where the game actually lived up to them.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

Expectations on Killzone 2 had reached ridiculous proportions; here's one of those cases where the game actually lived up to them.

[SoMiss2000]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

still no email from ebgames with my beta code. going by there today.

[Flawless]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

PC World Review - 90%

Almost, but not quite, which is where multiplayer steps in and earns Killzone 2 its stars. There's an offline Skirmish mode that lets you practice against insidiously clever AI "bots," but the real money's online against other players. That mode's called Warzone, and it offers an evolving class-driven experience for up to 32 players, built around five game types that cycle as you play and swap win states on the fly.

"Search and Retrieve," which entails nabbing a tiny speaker spouting propaganda reflective of the carrier's faction, is basically Capture the Flag, while "Search and Destroy" has you deploying explosive charges at the opposition's base (or preventing them from doing the same to yours). "Bodycount" is team deathmatch, "Capture and Hold," is king of the hill, and "Assassination" designates random players on both sides as temporary point-based execution targets.

So there's variety, with dynamism besides. But the really clever part involves Warzone's six classes, which run the gamut from support to sabotage. Everyone starts with the basics: an assault rifle, a pistol, and a grenade. As you take out enemies and accomplish tasks, you accrue points, which buff your score and yield special badges and ribbons. The higher your score, the more stuff you can carry. With enough points, you can create squads that enhance your ability to communicate with squad mates – even spawn near your squad leader.

The badges and ribbons add to the overall role-playing vibe with upgradeable class perks. Engineers, for example, can gain the ability to set automated turrets that target enemies, then rank up to add the option to repair ammunition dispensers, automated turrets, and mounted guns. Saboteurs, at the other end of the class schema, can acquire the ability to look like one of their opponents, then rank up and add the option to throw sticky proximity-detonated C4 charges.

Still not deep enough for you? Classes aren't just static columns, they can overlap. If you toil long enough and tally up the requisite essentials, you'll have the option to couple one class's abilities with another. Want a Medic who uses the Tactician's air support sentry bots to cover his curative ministrations? How about a (virtually) invisible Scout who employs the Saboteur's C4-laying ability to sneak behind enemy lines and plant incendiary surprises? The combinative role-playing possibilities are countless, the outcomes (which also iterate dependent on play styles) highly unpredictable, and the organic process itself completely fascinating to watch.

Which, speaking of watching, brings us full circle to Killzone 2's looks. Make no mistake, it's a looker. But so what? At some point the visual novelty wears off and you're left for posterity with a game that either worked, or didn't...or fell somewhere in limbo-land between.

Which makes it fortunate that Killzone 2 not only works, but in most cases excels. Even its mediocre campaign improves if you treat it as I suspect its developer's intended – a series of pitched battles designed to showcase an AI that's at worst entirely competent, and at best, entirely remarkable.

Total Playstation Review - 9

Here's the bottom line, though: whatever complaining I may do about the game's controls, they can be fixed -- and hopefully quite easily -- with a patch that needs to come (but probably won't). The stuff that can't be fixed; the flow and the pacing and the story and the graphics and the sound and literally every other positive thing I mentioned in this review is pretty much set in stone. And, wouldn't you know it, that stone is rock-solid. No, it's not a new stone, but it's a reliable, expertly realized, perfectly executed stone. A stone that--you know what? Forget the analogies, here's the straight poop: this game is awesome. If you own a PS3, you need to own this game. Period.

[jtbleek]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

The way I understand the demo is

Europe and the peeps that pre-ordered get demo tomorrow. All others get demo the 26th. The demo is the Helghast version of the storming of Normandy beach. I do not know if there is any MP part to the demo, but I hope there is (not holding my breath though)

To all the people that didn't pre-order for whatever reason there is a workaround apparently. From what I understand you can create a dummy psn profile and pretend your in Europe somewhere when you make the profile and you can dl and play it that way. Good luck.

[Candyman5]

Re: Killzone 2 (PS3)

The way I understand the demo is

Europe and the peeps that pre-ordered get demo tomorrow. All others get demo the 26th. The demo is the Helghast version of the storming of Normandy beach. I do not know if there is any MP part to the demo, but I hope there is (not holding my breath though)

To all the people that didn't pre-order for whatever reason there is a workaround apparently. From what I understand you can create a dummy psn profile and pretend your in Europe somewhere when you make the profile and you can dl and play it that way. Good luck.

OIC, Any Certain Time the demo releases tomorrow?