Killzone 2

I picked this up on day of release, being quite enthusiastic after thoroughly enjoying the original on the PS2. However, since playing the original I have become a devoted Xbox360 fan and have been heavily playing titles like COD4, Halo, Bioshock etc.

When I first fired up Killzone 2 on my PS3 - only the 5th game I have ever played on it - I was initially stunned by the visuals. The opening cinematic really gets your expectations up. Stunningly rendered and awesome to behold, I became increasingly agitated with the game-play. The targeting was difficult and the FPS character movement made me feel seasick. Ever the optimist (or just insanely bloody-minded) I kept at it, hoping that my persistence would pay off.

It did! In spades. The first 2 levels are nothing special in terms of game-play (notable exception - the tank is more fun than the one in Halo 3, not to mention more powerful, more weapons a a LOT faster) but after that, the game really comes into its own.

The enemies are relentless and just keep coming. Some of the coolest weapons outside the Gears Of War franchise and epic battlefields.

Also returning are the simple "spray-and-pray" levels where you and some friends, either online or on split-screen, can simply mow down wave after wave of attacking Hellghast bots. The online multi-player may just be the best one on any game available on this platform, with enough variety to keep you coming back for more.

Killzone 2 may not be the greatest FPS of all time, but with the ferociousness of Call Of Duty 4 and the visuals that out-stun Bioshock, it's a strong contender for the title!

The single-player experience is a truly enjoyable campaign across the Helghast home world that will test your skills, particularly on the higher difficulty levels, and the game simply looks phenomenal for a console shooter. But perhaps the strongest segment of the game is the extremely deep multiplayer, which gives seven basic classes with which you can create your own customized super-soldier after performing your class-specific duties. Not only did Guerrilla achieve a milestone of delivering a great exclusive title for Sony's PS3, it delivered one of the better shooters to come along in a long time. Get your hands on this game.

PRESENTATION - 10/10 Everything from the first entrance onto the battlefield to the last cut scene creates a hectic, fun and fast-paced thrill ride through a warzone where each step you take could be your last.

GRAPHICS - 10/10 Phenomenal visuals prove that Guerrilla either met or surpassed that infamous E3 trailer. Some technical issues hold it back from being a completely flawless masterpiece.

SOUND - 9/10 7.1 channel sound captures every nuance of the battlefield from gunshots to screams along with a great soundtrack. Weakly delivered, curse-filled dialog (sans Brian Cox) could have been done better.

GAMEPLAY - 9/10 You'll have to get used to the firearms as well as the AI on both sides. More turret and vehicle sections would've been great, but outside of that, the single-player campaign is fun to play through.

LASTING APPEAL - 10/10 Multiplayer is extremely deep and has the added bonus of an offline skirmish mode. This is where you'll spend the majority of your time once the credits roll.

OVERALL - 10/10

This is, by far, one of THE BEST fps I have EVER played full stop. The campaign is fantastic with a wide range of weapons to use and interesting maps and characters, and online is just nuts! There are a range of multiplayer modes and classes to choose from. There are also many maps to have a go at and are designed for every class. Even if you are not such a hardcore gamer, you will love this game. And considering you can get it as cheap as fifty dollars on eBay, it's just criminal if you don't go on and buy it. Honestly, this game is the Halo 3 of PS3, it gives COD:4 a good run for it's money also. Just do yourself a favour and maximize your PS3 experience of buying it. Now.

When I first bought Killzone 2 about a week and a half ago, just after the lagging issue was fixed and started playing it, I didn't like it at first, and I felt sure I was going to end up regretting getting the game. The gameplay was bad, and the controls felt awkward. But then I changed the controls to the Alternate 2 setting, where the controls are very similar to that of Call of Duty 4, and I have had a blast ever since.

There have been many complaints about the targeting in this game, but I find it to be fine. Not as good as Call of Duty 4, but it's very good. Of course it's not going to target the enemies for you. That makes the game much too easy. You need to use your own accuracy and gun down the enemies with precision.

Another thing I think people overlook in this game is the element of strategy. All the guns are unique in their own way. For example, the standard M82 Assault Rifle is great for zooming on enemies, the STA52 Assault Rifle fires stronger than the M82 but zooming is not as good. The LS13 Shotgun can kill enemies with one well placed shot to the chest or head region, but reloading takes ages. There are also lots of other weapons to choose from including a flamethrower and the ever-fun Boltgun. So to condense it all, you have to think about what guns you are choosing, because you can't carry two primary weapons at once. Only one primary gun and one secondary gun in your pistol.

This game also has a great cover system, and it also falls into the element of strategy. You have to pick your spots when in a shootout, and you have to find the best angle to flank them from. If you take cover behind a wall on the side, the enemy will often flank you and get at close range with you, especially on the higher difficulty settings. So you have to watch out from all directions at all times.

All the characters are unique and you either love them or hate them. The loudmouthed Natko was always my favorite, but Rico was rather annoying at times. Evelyn was cool as well, and Radec and Visari were both good villains. I would have liked to see them exposed more throughout the story, though.

My biggest complain with this game is turning. When an enemy is attacking you from behind or from the side and you have to turn to shoot them down, your character turn very slowly, and this gives the enemy time to fire more while you turn around, and often times, kill you before you can even face them. When they flank you from behind, it takes a full second to turn around 180 degrees, and this is very frustrating by the time you reach the later missions.

But if you can battle through the slow turning, which isn't a HUGE issue, and you don't mind lots of foul language, you have a very enjoyable game in Killzone 2.

Killzone 2 was finally released February 2009 and was long awaited by just about all PlayStation 3 owners. It is the third installment in the Killzone franchise. The first game, Killzone was released on the PlayStation 2 and Killzone: Liberation was later released for the PlayStation Portable. Killzone 2 continues the story of the first two games having you fight as the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance against the Helghasts. This time however you take the fight to the Helghast and invade their planet, Helghan. Your goal is to stop the Helghast war machine by capturing the Helghast leader, Scolar Visari, and making him answer for his crimes.

You start the assault on Helghan from an ISA cruiser stationed high in the clouds above the planet. Your squad joins countless others that are launched from the cruiser toward Helghan. Once landed you are immediately in the fight taking on Helghast soldiers from behind walls and above on walkways and bridges. The controls were a little odd for me, but there are plenty of ways to configure them. After getting the controls to my usual layout, I began my assault. The Helghast are not a wimpy race though and it takes plenty of rounds to take one down. Even aiming for a headshot doesn't mean you are taking down that soldier. It took me on average two or three shots to the head to take one down. The first shot pops their helmet off and then depending on the level of damage he has already taken you may have to hit his head another two times. This was the most frustrating part for me, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

The Helghast are also skilled on the battlefield. They react as you would expect them to; ducking behind walls to avoid your bullets and waiting until it's all clear to come back out. They also scatter from grenades and try to flank you and your teammates. You and the ISA however aren't quite as skilled. I found my biggest disappointment in this game was the cover system. You could "attach yourself to cover," but this didn't mean you'd actually hide behind anything. I found that sometimes he wouldn't attach to cover, sometimes he would, but I'd still be getting hit and all the while your teammates are telling you to find some cover. You teammates don't follow their own advice however. Towards the end of the game my teammate would end up running into the open and be cut down quickly by enemy fire and yell for me to come save him. When he wasn't getting killed he was shooting at enemies and doing what seemed like no damage. They are mainly there for distraction; any killing you want done you have to do yourself.

OK, AI is hard to create, but you did it with the enemy why not do it with the good guys too? Aside from that the story was decent and the landscape and characters were beautifully done, even if they aren't in the full resolution of 1080p. The scripting wasn't bad for a video game, but the timing and triggering of the conversation was slow and low pauses happened in the middle of conversations and sometimes the dialogue would be cut off before they finished their sentence.

This game was fun though and the multiplayer maps are very well designed so that each team has a balanced area to work with. If you like FPS and want a short campaign to play through before you go pop the top of your friends online then I highly recommend this game. If you aren't an online gamer then I still think you should try this time, but don't buy it just go rent it. I give Killzone 2 three downed teammates out of five.

Written by Sam for www.overcranked.net