Killzone 2

"FANTASTIC!"

Killzone 2 well what can you say? Its gobsmackingly brilliant so much so its hard to know where to begin there is just so many things that are fantastic about this game.

I'll start with the graphics, they are stunning by far the best on the PS3 and probably the best on any console shooter. At times you just have to stop and marvel and them. The colours the textures the lighting are all just so so good you just cant help but say wow! And it isnt a clean looking shooter it has a gritty dirty look which is what you expect a war to be like and they have done a great job on it.

The gameplay is almost just as good, you acctually feel like a soldier you can feel the weight he carries. The guns are all fantastic (especially towards later levels) you can feel every shot and the recoil it carries, the weapons also feel weighty adding to the realistic feel you get from the game. There is nothing more satisfying than popping the head of a helghan with your trusty shotgun its just so fun. The AI is clever and keeps you on your toes, they will try and flank you or flush you out of what cover you have got behind using grenades. They also use cover and blind fire, if you shoot in their general direction you will often see that the helghan will wait for a while before popping back up to try and take you and your squad down again. Unfortunately your squadmates dont appear to be as clever as the helghan and you often end up thinking whats the point of them having guns because they are pretty much something else to aim at for the helghast and you often end up doing most of the killing yourself.

The story is good, its a solid story to keep players intrested until the end (and a good end at that) however it isnt something that will keep users coming back for more, there are a few good moments but nothing hugely memorable. However the ending may bring up the question will their be a killzone 3? Your teamates are ones you would probably forget all to quickly more so than the story. They appear to be just a bunch of hardnut but rather stupid space marines. The only friendly character with any noticable intelligence is Garza and the commanding officer Templar. However once again the helghans seem to have got the top trump in characters, Scolar Visari is voice acted magnificently and after the end of one of his speeches you really want to stand up grab your trusty rifle and run into the battlefield screaming as you go. He really is a spirit lifting (or crushing) leader and though he doesn't say much he is still by far in my opinion the best character in the game.

Multiplayer is probably one of the best out there today it really is fantastic. It has depth and substance to keep users playing for a very very long time, with the eventual ability to mix and match different ranks to different perks you can create the perfect soldier. Games are fully customisable and the option to have ever changing objectives can become long and very intense which makes the victory and the x1.5 bonus that little bit more satisfying. The maps vary from the vast pyrhuss rise to the smaller more compact Blood Craught. The 8 are all different and the variations mean you will never have the same game twice. The stunning visuals are still in the online section and appear to have been plucked straight from single player with nothing to tell between the two, the same goes for the guns and controls.

However there are a small tiny issues that need to be adressed one being the flying droids, I find it impossible to get the 5 kills required to get one of the eight ribbons needed to unlock the ability to mix them with another class, the droids are both weak in fire power and in armour, they are also fairly inaccurate making them pretty much useless and more of a annoyance as they fly around like a mosquito which is pretty much what they are, im not asking for the COD4 chopper just something a bit more substantial. The turrets have the a similar problem although they are stronger and do more damage they are still too easy to take out and are more of a annoyance that a true threat. But dont let this put you off multiplayer is still probably the most fun, intense and in depth you will play and have played for a long time.

Overall Killzone 2 is a truly fantastic shooter and although it may have its cristics it deserves to compete with the best of them. Its a totally different experience to the CODs and Halos and deserves and the devs deserve to be applauded for a not just a job well done but a job fantasticly done. Whatever you dont miss out on this brilliant game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/04/09

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