Killzone 2

"An amazing game on every level that mixes the best of FPS gaming."

Kill Zone 2 is here folks, and after the long wait your probably wondering if its worth a purchase. This game has had an insane amount of hype following it and with each day the game drew near my fear increased ten fold. After booting up the game and putting a couple of hours into it I was floored. This game grabbed me by the twins and didn't let go until the credits rolled. Does this mean the game is perfect? Of course not. Don't go in expecting perfection because you may walk out a little disappointed.

First off let me start with the graphics. They are truly jaw-dropping. Some areas in the game gave me a bigger wow feeling than playing Crysis on Max. Does that mean the game looks better than Crysis? No, but it surpasses it in some parts. Over all, this is the best looking console game I have ever played by far. Some of the set pieces during the game are unlike anything I thought I would ever see. My favorite part has to be a fight in a sand storm with very epic music to raise the tempo a bit. The lighting is some of the best in the business and the team makes excellent use of other things to make the game look gorgeous. There are many environments you get to visit and each one has its own look and feel to it. This is the game you will show to your friends when they come over.

Now the story is where I feel the game is being held down from being the second coming of Jesus. It's not a bad story, don't get me wrong. It actually has some really epic parts, but only if your a fan of the first game. If you never played the first game, I suggest you at least watch the cut scenes because some of the emotion won't really hit you as hard. It was a decent story but with such flawless game play, a mind-blowing story would have been the icing on the cake. I thought the characters were very likable...yes, even Rico. The story won't win any awards but it gets the job done. To put it simply the whole atmosphere is very, very epic.

Now, to get into the weapons; the weapons are kick ass. If you are constantly disappointed by the shotguns in most games then this game is for you. One blast from the gun will send someone flying back. There are some really neat, powerful weapons. My only complaint is that I wish the main weapon for the ISA soldiers sounded a little more powerful. Oh, and the grenades are so fun to use. If you practice enough with them you will be able to take out waves of enemies. I do feel one of the weapons was a bit cheap, but it was only used in half a level and it made the pacing really nice. It felt pretty good to shoot those damn enemies for giving me so much trouble throughout the game.

Now the A.I in the game. If there is anything that blew me away as much as the graphics, it has to be the A.I. I have never played a game where I feared the enemies this much. These guys flank and sneak up on you to stab you in the back. They will go anywhere and jump over anything. Their badass voices and their crazy lines don't help the situation. You will have tons of fun in firefights with these guys. I played on the second hardest difficulty and there were some areas where the soldiers had me hiding in corners watching my every side.

The gameplay is excellent and has a very solid feel to it. The controller issues were improved from the demo and I think they tweaked the turning speed a bit because it felt faster. This is a good thing of course because taking cover is a necessity, and you will get owned trying to take the enemies head on. Even though nothing new is really done to the Genre with this game, it still works. People loved other FPS games that did absolutely nothing new to the genre so this game will be a God send.

Now to move on to the multi player. This is one of the rare occasions where I can recommend the multi player as much as the single player. It is fantastic with many game modes and no loading screen in between them. The game has a points system where you level up with time unlocking weapons and special perks. It also has a class system which is really neat because most games these days are mindless death match. The only flaw is there is no party system. This is something that could probably be patched but it is a negative. The levels are well done and suite the game play perfectly. The weapons are also all very balanced so none of them are abused.


Now the big question is "Is this the best FPS I ever played in my life?" It's a tough question because I have played many, many FPS games. My answer would have to be a HELL YES!!! It has everything other popular FPS games have but it does it all 100 times better. If you don't have a PS3..... RUN RUN!!!! You will be missing out on one hell of a game.


KILL ZONE 2- 9.7

I believe no game should be awarded a 10 unless it makes your jaw drop through the crest of the earth only to turn up days later. However the reason I picked the score is because I rounded it up.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/09

Game Release: Killzone 2 (US, 02/27/09)