Killzone

THE BAD:
Repetitive
Story hardly delivers
Poor enough AI
Lack of colour

SUMMARY:
Killzone is a first-person shooter developed by Guerilla for the PlayStation 2. This game was hyped very high both by the public and the press. Many people considered that Killzone could be Sony's answer to the Xbox's Halo. But in the end it is a decent enough shooter for the first few levels but after that you realise that this game doesn't have too much special to offer you. It also isn't better than Halo. Not by a bit...

Killzone is a straightforward shooter for the most part. You move from point A to B and shoot any pesky Helghast soldiers who get in your way. You will be able to attack the enemy with a decent arsenal of weapons. You will get the chance to use pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, rocket-launchers and so on. While there isn't really anything that stands out as being original or unique, the array of weapons is good enough. The more interesting element of the game is that you will be able to pick a character to play as at the start of each mission. There are four characters, Templar, who is a standard infantry man, Luger, who specialises in stealth, Rico, who has a large chaingun which is very powerful but that makes him slower in combat and finally we have Hakha, the turncoat but all this really means is that he can walk through certain areas without sounding the alarm. The whole character system also changes the way the level is played but only slightly. You will be on an alternate route for a few minutes then you will be on the normal path again. Overall, it is a nice try but it isn't much to get excited about.
The actual gunplay is pretty standard but it's also pretty repetitive after a while. The enemies rarely change their appearance and the environments look really dull and washed out and that looks really bad after a while. The AI as well fails to impress me. They often get stuck or fail to react properly. The Helghast troops basically stand still and fire at you but they sometimes move back when you move closer to them. Whatever. The AI is lacklustre to say the least. The team AI is probably even worse.

The graphics also suffer from a load of problems. First of all, the framerate stutters quite a bit during heated firefights and that gets very annoying after a while. Also, there are clipping issues, blurry texture work and lack of colour as I mentioned earlier. Certain things look better than others like the weapon models but the character models often change from low-res to high-res and other such annoyances.
The sound is overall a bit better. The weapons often sound fairly powerful and the music score does a pretty good job setting the mood and atmosphere. The voices, on the other hand, aren't too bad by themselves but they are really repetitive after a while. You hear the Helghast and your fellow soldiers have their own comments during combat but they get repeated so often and it becomes very very irritating to say the least.

When it comes to the multiplayer, there are quite a lot of options and modes to play around with. You have fairly standard modes to play around like deathmatch and team deathmatch. You can play split-screen but you can also play online and Killzone has a large community so there probably are matches still being played to this day.

At the end of the day, Killzone was really a load shit. It failed in lots of aspects and these were things that should not have been a problem. It was also just being hyped too much for its own good. Most people were expecting something very special but this just isn't.

THE BAD:
Repetitive at times
All I see is grey and orange. WTF?
The enemies get all the fun *will be included in the review*
Sort of boring

SUMMARY:
After hearing how great it is, I just picked up a copy. I'm glad it was about $28 because this game was very average. The hype was beyond bad, but at least I managed a few hours before the boredom got to me. The level designs are actually a lot like on the warsites but they were very average as in very long but very bad-looking to go through with all this grey, brown and a light bit of orange (the enemies eyes). The boredom/repetitivety usually kicks in after the 3rd level which is when you realise that it's just a boring old war game but this time, the enemies have the most fun while us good guys get bored to death only being on foot missions while the enemies have tanks, planes and high-powered turrets or something.

This game was way too much like the Call of Duty series but with even grayer graphics and even more repetitiveness and boredom. The noises from the guns here are at least 3 times louder, the enemies are at least 3 times more annoying, smarter/dumber and cooler looking and this game just needs a bit more gore than it's letting on (it's MA15+ but it feels more like an M15+ game). The swearing appears as often as in Grand Theft Auto games too, but it'd be nice to cut the sailor shit and talk like WWII people instead of WWoWII (World War of Water 2) sailors who have just majored and started swearing thier lungs to death.

In Killzone, killing your enemies will be able to get you more ammo, a different gun (by replacing one of your own like in Call of Duty and Medal of Honor) and/or a Health Pack. You'll also find a new gun (usually a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher) and maybe some Medikits along the way as well. You can even crouch behind some rocks to avoid getting hit (unless the enemy is right next to you or has a rocket launcher and suddenly blows the thing you're protecting yourself with to bits) or if an enemy airplane gets above you and bombs you. Also, unlike in Medal of Honor series where you are agile and can crawl, the Killzone person is slow, always has machine guns (which aren't different I might add) and cannot be assed enough to crawl (and you have to hold the Crouch button to crouch). Also, in CoD and MoH, you usually start with a variety of guns and find new ones along the way. In Killzone, it's just Rocket Launchers, Machine Guns and a Sniper Rifle. The grenades only help by offering a distraction.

Killzone's battle system says itself. Pick up this, look at the cover and you'll know that it's a war game and you need to shoot some enemy forces with a rifle. However, this time, you won't be able to see enemies coming as easily and in smoke, you're a sitting duck ready to die. Yeah, sure, we'll just grenade our way out. WRONG! The game makes it so the grenades aren't set easily and in the fogs, aiming for the enemy is next to hard. Okay, try the gun. You'll only be wasting ammo as your shots would be too random and there's usually a 75% chance you'll miss. Oh, and in case you don't notice, planes usually would take advantage of the smoke and blow you to bits. As far as sniping goes, get ready for a very, very sensitive aiming system for it. Slightly moving the right stick gets your crosshair very far away from where you were first aiming. And while aiming with the sniper rifle, moving the left stick will cause you to not sniper without having to press R3 again. There's quite a lot of lame things going on with this.

For lame? Try the annoying invisible barriers that appear out of nowhere. Seriously, there's a lot of little hills to climb and the game won't let you climb them because of those invisible barriers. There's no excuse these days to keep those annoying little bastards because it's hardly needed. If they were gone, they'd open new paths, new missions and maybe even some more levels that will offer something good like more variety and maybe we'll be on planes and tanks. Another lame thing is the fact that the enemy has fun while we're sitting ducks on someone's fork. The enemies have all this neat shit that can kill us within a blink of an eye. Tanks, planes, the lot that we don't ever use. All we have are crappy machine guns and sniper rifles. The only thing able to destroy the enemies "fun" is with a rocket launcher and even that won't be enough to blow a few tanks up unless you have a lot of ammo. No shit, I am next to annoyed with that. The only other lame thing I noticed was the forbidden law in video games AKA backtracking. So we're done with a few missions, OH DON'T TELL ME, I HAVE TO GO BACK TO WHERE I STARTED TO GET SOMETHING DONE! SCREW THIS! It doesn't happen too often in this game, but it does. I'm not too sure as I have yet to finish this game. The last lame thing I have bothered to notice is that you cannot jump but I don't really care too much for that.

A very dissapointing thing about this is why are the characters so gorgeous looking (through a chick's eye because they're mainly all men) when the level designs are downright shitty? In a war site, you'd expect ditches, bases, cracks, hiding places and such, but instead, you're just around a few buildings or hiding in a ditch for a whole game, staring at the same grey, brown and orange colors.

Don't worry, my friend finished this and he clocked 30 hours, no cheats, no glitches used/found, so you won't need to worry about seeing the same grays/browns/oranges for a while. This game could get rid of some invisible barriers and open us up to a longer game.

However, as long as there's a war theme, lots of gore and swearing and good people graphics are there, you'll probably appreciate this if you tried it as a rental first then buy later if you like it.



Breakdown:

Gameplay: 2.
War games really have played better than this. Instead of a variety of weapons and being able to use a tank, we have to be on foot with weapons that are pretty much the same thing with a different color. The controls aren't exactly beginner friendly either. I found myself confused with controls the first time and couldn't find the grenade and better Aim controls. The shooting one was obvious if you've played a lot of FPS games on PS2 which this game didn't do as well. Also, it's linier. You climb a building, kill some enemies, go through some door, kill enemies, explore and kill enemies and such. It has never really worked in any game and this was no exception.

Control: 2.
Did I mention the controls are hard as hell to remember? The camera is First-Person and you have to use the right stick to move it around. The controls are just beyond messed up and usually, you'd find yourself confused with controls to switch guns, throw grenades and such before you get your ass owned by enemies. Then try navigating your way through a shitload of boxes, a sea of enemies and your allies without getting shot. I think the controls need tuning in Killzone 2.

Story: 2.
It's World War II.... AGAIN! It's about some Brazilian guy (if I have Nationality wrong, tell me) who is just recruited in the war and he has to finish a myraid of missions while trying to live in order to achieve this world peace shit that Medal of Honor and Call of Duty and other war games have been doing all the time.

Graphics: 3.
Now, what I can't understand is that the enemies and allies and you look stunning yet the level design is the opposite, which is shit. Too much of the same 3 colors I have mentioned too much about.

Sound: 4.
The sound is quite repetitive, but as long as they're swearing in a war (which they don't need to abuse) and shooting and blowing shit up, it's all cool. However, the only sounds that I really hate are the ones the enemies keep making during fights. I mean, "KILL HIM" is weird the first time, so hearing it another 999 times is rude and repetitive. There's also no music but war games don't need that, now, don't they?...

Lifespan: 2.
This game spanned 30 hours but I got bored of it within 3 hours due to the heavy repetitiveness and the huge boring shit throughout the game. I'd probably figure there's some bonus stuff to unlock, but if you found this boring before making an attempt, then don't bother. It's worthless.

Funfactor: 1.
No shit, I got bored within 3 hours, and with all the lame stuff I had mentioned, I don't think I'll be playing this again.


Bottom Line:

Hype is not good. Stop being forced to buy the stuff your friend keeps telling you to buy. If you are a gamer who hardly plays games or a gamer who likes War games, please, for Christ sake, rent this game and buy if you like it.

This sleeping pill just earned a 2.1/5.0 from the Drug Department (or this game earned a 2.1/5.0 from me).

THE BAD:
The gameplay can get repeditive at times. Shoot at soldiers over and over again. Especially the offline gameplay. It my opinion, there's lots of room for improvement. The teams don't work together, they just follow waypoints and don't act intelligently, like in single player missions. Also, it seems as if there isn't a variety of weapons to use during offline battlefield. Shotgun, standard machine gun you spawn with, occasional grenade launchers, and that's all. Weren't there 27 weapons? The offline multiplayer probably will wear out, and you'll get sick of it.

SUMMARY:
An overall good game. Though it could use improvement, the graphics are astounding. When you reload a weapon, it looks extremely realistic. It kind of made me want to reload my weapon over and over again =p. Also, the characters within the game are detailed. The sprays of blood from shooting people are fullfilling too. However, the gameplay is not that good. Often, thngs seem to occur over and over again. No strategy and tactics are used by the bots during offline battlefield which made me kind of disappointed. A pretty good game though, since I only got it for 10 bucks at Toys 'R' Us.

THE BAD:
No Jumping. Sniper Scope.

SUMMARY:
Killzone has to be the best first person shooter on PS2, I am a Halo buff myself but thats only for its multiplayer. Since I don't own a Xbox and only get to play when hanging out with friends. But Killzone acts very much like Halo without being a cheap rip off.

First off are the controls they are super similar, with the two joystick config. The only major differences I noticed were, no jumping and slapping people was a little more difficult. Since you have to run up to them, and wait for your little icon to appear then hit the action button. Being able to jump would've been an added improvement, although you could hurdle certain objects with the action button.

There wasn't much story involved in the game, which was a good and bad thing. Basically you are thrown into the fray from the very beginning and you are given a little story throughout the game. They never really give you a concrete reason while you are fighting the Helgast, but they sure did make it fun.

Overall Killzone is a worthy first person shooter and should definitely be given a chance if you enjoy this type of gaming.

Time to Complete: 31 hrs.[On Normal, taking my time]
Fav. Character: Hakha
Fav. Weapon: Helgast Assault Rifle

THE BAD:
> No jumping. (??)
> Annoying sniper rifle scope.

SUMMARY:
Killzone is by far the best First Person Shooter I have played on the PS2. Excellent graphics and sound, and incredibly realistic, this game makes for an excellent buy. Chances are you will be entertained by it for over half a year.

All that's wrong with it is that the campaign mode is a little too easy, as enemies scream jibberish right before engaging you, and there is no jumping function. Also, melee attacks cannot be used in multiplayer modes.

If you're into FPS titles and don't own an XBox, buy this game, you will not regret it.

THE BAD:
-Levels are a little too linear
-could have used a slightly larger selection of weapons
-No jump feature

SUMMARY:
Alright this game has gotten some pretty crappy reviews from magazines and websites, ignore those reviews, I don't know what they were thinking.

Killzone is certainly the best FPS available for the PS2, it is exciting and your trigger finger will get a workout. I want stealth games to focus on strategy, I want my FPS to be about shooting things. Pretty much the only strategy you will need in this game is figuring out which character you want to use, and the usuall duck and cover.

The levels are pretty good, they are fairly long and contain a lot of badguys. Occaisionally there will be some mounted machine guns you can use to fend off massive waves of badguys or aircraft, but it's mostly run and gun.

The outdoor levels could have used some work. There is a garden/park level that is spectacular, but there are some levels in a swamp and through some mountains that a very straight forward and linear.

Overall Killzone is great, but there is certainly room for improvement. Hopefully there is a sequal in the works, because this franchise could have loads of potential.

THE BAD:
Weird, glitchy, not-quite-done-tweaking feel to it, like the programmers could have used a little more time. KillZone II should fix these problems: dead guys get stuck in walls, controls questionable, AI a little lame. Al ittle linear, too, but that is to be expected. A San Andreas style map with free roaming would do the trick.

SUMMARY:
So, it's not a Halo killer. Who cares? I think this game stands on its own: great scenery, cool weapons, ugly baddies and a great story! Ok, it's not as good as it could be, but that just gives room for improvement! Urban warfare for the new millenium!

THE BAD:
Linear Levels
AI speech

SUMMARY:
This game is ACE! Seeing as this is in the PS2 section - why are people comparing it to Halo?! (yes, it was meant to kill Halo bla bla bla!)
This is the best FPS game for the PS2. The graphics are amazing, the gameplay is great, there's lots of kick ass weapons to choose and you can pick different characters to bring out the best in you. I haven't completed it yet, but have just got all 4 characters. So far its great!
The only drawback is the AI - the speech is repetative, but not too annoying, and your team mates tend to get in the way rather than help you out.
This is a game you can play over and over again - just to try doing levels using the different characters, which use different weapons, and (i think) have different paths through levels. Lets hope they make a second one!