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Is the hype real? Hype can be a funny little thing. If you have a major game in the works, you obviously want word of its development to spread so that the game receives a generous first week sales figure. However, if the hype becomes uncontrollable and gamers expect something grandiose, they may not be particularly amused at a simply sufficient product. Killzone, is a solid first person shooter that truly pushes the PS2 to the limits, but is plagued by a wealth of little issues which tend to add up in the end.
In Killzone, you play as a group of Vekta soldiers who must protect themselves form the harm that the opposing group – the Helghast – want to inflict on you. The game’s plot is actually quite interesting with much interstellar war and crazy military factions going at it, and progresses rather well through the game’s single player experience.
The game’s single-player includes 11 missions, and a number of levels which make these up. You’ll travel to many areas from a snowy mountain to the desert, but the gameplay remains fundamentally the same throughout all of the missions. You’ll usually go through them, trying to reach the other side, while destroying countless Helghast, many of which look pretty similar to each other. There are a few detours from this line of play, like protecting against a beach assault, but otherwise the game doesn’t veer from its path. The single player allows you to play with different people, each of which has their own special abilities which come in handy here and there.
The game’s multiplayer component, however, is quite developed. The game supports up to 16 players online, and a number of bots offline, in many maps. There are many game modes included like supply drop, in which you need to collect supplies to earn points, assault, where one team is tasked with defending an object, defend and destroy, where both teams now need to defend an object, and domination, where the teams need to collect certain nodes found in the maps. The typical deathmatch and team deathmatch modes are also present. Overall, the online experience is fluid and relatively lag-free even with a full game.
Actual combat in the game is solid, if ordinary. Guerilla Games was responsible for the gory Shellshock Nam’67, and the realistic war atmosphere is translated to Killzone. The game has a number of weapons including a rocket launcher, shotgun, sniper rifle and numerous assault rifles, which are all different enough and useful for different purposes.
Visually, the game is a mixed bag. The game itself is incredibly detailed with wonderful character models (even if the animation is only commonplace), and environments which really produce the effect of a war-ridden world. All of the different environments that the game includes are excellently done and extremely varied. Unfortunately, the PS2 has a very hard time keeping up with all of the on-screen action and chugs, particularly when there is a lot going on but is never a fully smooth experience. Moreover, in what seems to be an increasingly occurring problem, the game sometime takes a bit longer to swap the low-resolution texture for the appropriate one, distracting from the otherwise great visuals.
The game’s audio component is pretty good but nothing great. The weapon effects are everyday (although some barely reach the high-quality status). Likewise, the game has a number of pretty annoying battle cries which are repeatedly used. Overall though, these are nitpicks since the audio does immerse you rather well for the most part.
Killzone is a good first person shooter. Unfortunately, gamers were expecting an exceptional game, which Killzone just isn’t. The game’s combat is a bit underwhelming, and the graphical problems are annoying but these are mixed with an otherwise graphically impressive game, complete with a grand narrative and excellent online multiplayer. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 15, 2004
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