One of the PLAYSTATION 3 system's most anticipated games is emerging from its cocoon to an increasing number of eager first person shooter fans. Find out why Killzone 2 will be every bit worth the wait...
The atmosphere is stifling... a furnace of anger given life on a planet of pure aggression. The intense ground zero heat of chaos is a total contrast to the frigidly cold temperatures miles above the ground before the Armored Personnel Carrier's flight comes to an abrupt end in the brown-grey matter of Helghan soil, firing dirt, water and men into the combat zone.
Shells strike from Helghast artillery, instantly crippling another APC full of troops. Those who aren't fried survive long enough to fly straight into a building, showering everyone below in masonry, burnt metal and charred remains. Explosions erupt from rockets and grenades. Swarms of bullets bathe in crimson. A medic performs valiant yet futile CPR on a fallen comrade while another burns to death, his final screams nearly drowned by the mocking cackle of the blaze that consumes him. Orders are barked through a cacophony of noise... and the theatre of war begins its life-ending recital.
This is merely the opening of the first person shooter epic that is Killzone 2. Prepare for something special...
Highway to the danger zone
The reaction to Guerrilla Games' hugely anticipated sequel has been well documented. Taking advantage of the PLAYSTATION 3 system's powerful hardware, Killzone 2 is already one of the most impressively beautiful titles to grace the videogames medium, even at this early stage - and it looks as good as ever, with plenty of time for it to get even better.
Simply put, the level of detail is stunning. The world of Helghan crackles around you with fierce life, plunging you into an environment that's as mesmerising as it is intimidating. The bleak weather conditions give the visuals a sombre tone, but that refuses to hide the large number of touches that become evident after mere seconds. Highly convincing lighting and shadow effects, smooth animation (the reload sequences alone are a thing of beauty) and meticulous texture quality drag you into Killzone 2's blistering reality - and it's all in aid of immersing you within a place of bubbling enmity.
"The single most important emotion the player needs to have is that he never feels safe," says Hermen Hulst, Managing Director of Guerrilla. "The enemies know [their environment] much better than you do and you're typically at a disadvantage."
Senior Producer Steven Ter Heide explains further: "It's the feeling of hostility, the feeling that you're on an alien planet and you're not wanted there. Even the planet itself seems to be conspiring against you, not just the enemies. The other thing is the sheer intensity, it's something people picked up on in the original 2005 trailer, and what they saw there was just the sheer intensity of everything going off around you, and that's something we really want to convey in Killzone 2."
It's not just the visuals that impress so far. Playing through its early levels, it soon becomes clear that Guerrilla has truly studied how other FPS' work and how to push the genre further when merging graphic fidelity, physics and gameplay.
Hel is coming with me
The brutal antagonists of the title, the Helghast, make full use of their environment during their running battles with you. Taking cover from your bullets is one thing, but their steady tactical movement forward by leaping over crates and other destructible obstacles is unnerving, nicely offset by the way they will occasionally slump and fall over those same objects when you gun them down - something that's especially satisfying when one catches you off guard only for his gun to jam at the killing stroke, leaving you to exact instant retribution.
It's this conscientious sense of gunplay that Guerrilla has paid particular attention to, as Hulst declares that "every bullet you fire has to do something". To that aim, destructibility plays a big part in Killzone 2, not just in the sense of your environment around you being laid to waste, but also in the way the Helghast take their lumps.
"We've implemented a hit response system," explains Hulst. "That means every shot you fire at the enemy triggers a different response because it's a mixture of motion captured animations with physics impulses, so depending on the range, the type of weapon and where you hit them, you get a different animation."
"We're providing a new experience"
Squad based mechanics are included for the Allied side as well as the Helghast, as you'll be accompanied by teammates who will communicate and fight alongside you, needing healing at times if they go down under a hail of gunfire. They effectively use cover and so can you, with the ability to use a look/peek system which pins you against pillars and posts with the press of button and then allows you to blind fire or look around before taking a more considered shot. And those with keen hearing will appreciate the subtle sound made by your gun when the clip is nearly empty, giving you a handy aural warning to reload without needing to look at your ammo counter.
Touches like this clearly aim to immerse you into the game, as well as the inclusion of motion controls - one such example has you rotating the Wireless Controller to reflect your arms turning a valve on the screen. "Motion control is something that PLAYSTATION 3 allows us to do, and we'll be taking advantage of that," says Hulst. "We needed to come up with something really intuitive, something that will actually help the game and create some variety. So rather than use it as a gimmick or something that feels tacked on we want to integrate it within the gameplay, and with the game being in first person, motion controls allow us to use a broader range of movements than just firing a weapon - you're doing other things as well to keep the experience fresh."
"We've implemented a lot of motion controlled activities," expounds Ter Heide. "So there's a lot more to come."
There's definitely a feeling that Guerrilla is looking to cover all bases and so far Killzone 2 is sitting very pretty indeed. "We're providing a new [cinematic] experience," says Ter Heide - and from what's on show so far it's difficult to disagree with him.
Keep checking eu.playstation.com for more on this exciting title, including information on its multiplayer modes and other surprises in store.
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