Killzone

"Not exactly as good as other FPS games. But one of the best for the PS2."

Killzone is the long awaited supposed Halo killer that would be on the level, or even surpass the level that Halo had set for console based FPS games. It was hyped beyond belief, but in the end it wasn't a Halo killer, but just because it wasn't as good as a certain game, doesn't make it a bad game, that's what some people don't understand. Also, considering PS2 isn't the best FPS console, it is a good game.

Story.
This game starts out with one of the most dramatic openings I've ever seen. It shows the uprising of the evil Helghan race, their hatred towards Humans, and their first attack. A Helghast is basically a mutated, or evolved human. In this future, Humans had ventured into space travel, and colonization of different planets. Along the way, something bad happened and a certain amount of Humans went to a planet to live away from the rest of Humanity. The new planet at first made them weak, but then they grew stronger. Now they're back, with a vengeance.

Graphics.
The graphics in this game are not as good as they were expected to be, but they are good nonetheless. The style in this game is more of a realistic version of the future. The buildings, weapons, and just overall environments are realistic. The buildings in this game actually do look like they've been through a war. They also look plain to emphasize that war has gone through and it's just a battlefield now. There are also many places where you'll be out in the wilderness, these still keep the gritty feel, and look. They look and feel like they should, wastelands.

The soldiers in the game have surprisingly good detail in the face, the rest of the body is good, but could use a bit more detail. The enemies also have good detail; they are dressed in all black with orange-red eyes to show they're evil nature. The only bad part is that through most of the game, there will be only one type of Helghast to fight. It's just the same guy repeated over and over. There are also some pretty good water effects in this game, especially the explosions.

The weapons in the game have are very well done. A lot of attention was put on these. They look like weapons that could really exist, and the animations for reloading are some of the best I've ever seen in a game. Yes, they take a long time to reload guns in this game, but that's just realistic, it takes time to reload guns, especially in the heat of battle. Pay attention to the animations, though it might take a while to reload, you'll notice that the hands are moving pretty quick in some guns.

One of the only problems I had with this was the gritty effect that is implemented on the game. To make the whole theme gruesome war and survival the screen is gritty most of the game. Now this is not a problem on most parts, but on parts where there is a lot of dirt, the dust plus the gritty effect can just overwhelm the eyes. But what this game does have is it's own unique style. Another was the disappearing damage to the environments. Black spots and gun shot holes appear and stay on walls and such. But sometimes you'll notice that these will blink on and off. Also when someone dies, their body might start to twitch erratically. The frame rate is consistence most of the time, but sometimes it does seem to drop.

Gameplay.
This is another section some people had problems with. There is nothing wrong with the gameplay in this game. The actual controls are very similar to Halo; there is a primary and secondary fire button for almost every weapon. A grenade button and crouching. The controls are good and flow freely; all weapons are responsive and above all realistic. The kick back on the assault rifles is extreme; the long distance shooting will need getting used to with these. There are many weapons; they're easily divided into 4 categories: a shotgun, assault rifles, pistols, grenade launchers, a sniper rifle, rocket launchers, and machine guns (obviously there are frag grenades only). To throw grenades requires “cooking” them, so every throw will require timing and careful aiming. Probably the biggest problem that makes this games controls feel a bit clunky is the lack of a jump button. There is a vault feature, (it allows the player to jump over small obstacles) but it's rarely usable and mostly a useless feature. Another unique feature (but a good one) is the sprint button. In the game normal moving speed is very slow jogging. But pressing the sprint button will make you actually run much faster, but after you run out of stamina you'll slow back down, and weapons aren't usable while sprinting. A weird thing they added in this game is the sniper files scope. The way you aim is not normal. When aiming you will have to keep the analog stick in that direction because if you let go, the crosshairs will return back to the center. It makes the sniper rifle actually hard to use, add to that the orange color of the scope, and long distance shooting will be hard. One more thing, this game is slow paced. Most FPS games are fast paced shooting everything games, but not this. In most battles you'll need to use tactics and strategy or else you will die. So if a slow paced FPS doesn't please you, than this game might not.

Sound.
The sound in this game, if anything, is awesome. From the intro you'll know the dramatic tone that is set by the music and voice acting. There is no actual music while playing the game. The music is only in cut-scenes, but it always fits in well. Besides, during gameplay the attention is put on the weapons. Explosions and gun shots are awesomely done. A thing I liked a lot was that every gun in this game has its own very unique sound. There is always a background noise to make it feel more like a battlefield. You'll hear gunshots and explosions far away to give a feeling of real war.

Multiplayer/Online.
Offline multiplayer is the bad part about this game. The modes included are good. There's team deathmatch, deathmatch, domination, supply drop (sort of like capture the flag), assault, and defend and destroy. All these modes are fun to play. The game also has bots included. You can adjust from 1-7 bots per team, and their difficulty. There are around 7 maps to choose from. Playing a single player offline battle field is fun, nothing bad happens. Two player split screen is when the problems start. When playing two players the frame rate will drop significantly. Given the gritty effect, this will make the game feel pretty slow, and might even make you dizzy. Other than that the controls are pretty responsive, or as responsive as they'll get.

The online in this game is very good. It's a straight forward online FPS. The modes and maps are the same as in offline multiplayer. The servers have little to no lag. There is no clan system, but people still make clans via gamebattles. There is a friends list, buddy list. And, like with any other online games, there are cheaters, but they don't out number those who want to play fair. The only problem that most people agree on is hit detection. It'll take like a fully clip of ammo to kill someone, that's why the majority of weapons used online are explosives. But the new patch should fix everything.

Note: You will need 3000kb for the patch, or else you won't be able to play online.

Overall this is not a Halo killer; it's not the greatest game in the world. But if you play it, it is a good FPS. The graphics are good, and present the gritty realism of war. Controls might seem a bit clunky at times, but for the most part they're good. The multiplayer both on and offline is good, even though offline might get a bit slow. It's a good game, and possibly one of the best FPS games for the PS2. Now at a Greatest Hits price, it's definitely worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/23/05, Updated 09/12/05