Flawed but we’ll take it as is…

by Peter Fiorilla

Fun factor: Fun

Worth to: Rent

Even with its flaws and lack of originality, this is one of the better FPSes on the PS3, but gamers should demand more than a fresh coat of paint out of their blockbuster hits.

One of this generation’s recurring themes is that even the most obscure studios can achieve great success. From 5th Cell to Atlus to the countless developers laboring on the iPhone, underdogs have succeeded at making their presences better well known in the video game industry, partly because there is a wider variety of demographics in it than ever. Even with a shift in general tastes to accommodate such unconventional takes on entertainment, however, the desire for the traditional has not been wiped away -- far from it. Killzone 2 is a game meant to satisfy the enormous demographic looking for the latest and greatest space marine shooter. Certainly not the latest or greatest, however, this is a game that relies far too much on flash and too little on substance.

Do your part, voiceless citizen

Helghan is a battlefield for its people, fighting for life on a war-torn piece of rock scarred by powerful natural storms. From gray corridors of military barracks to red deserts tortured by intense winds, fighting in this hellish nightmare is Sargaent Sevchenco of the Intergalactic Strategic Alliance (ISA), the protagonist of this space marine’s epic. Duty shuttles him from one battlefield to the next, a silent soldier willing to risk life and limb for his people’s retribution; aside from his occasional bouts of profane dialogue, he is a tragically underdeveloped character in a potential cinematic masterpiece.



That is all the game’s narrative amounts to: potential. The Killzone Universe has more than enough interesting content to make for an engaging story, but aside from the fans willing to research it online, Killzone 2’s narrative will be like that of any typical military shooter: lazy, sloppy and full of tough dudes who are just dying to kick some ass. It explains that the ISA is responding to an attempted Helghast invasion with all-out war, but beyond that, the plot never goes anywhere. Even the loading screens are home to pathetically poor written text; for example, a line for an ISA marine starts out “Known for his hatred of the Helghast...”, and a similar description is used for an ISA doctor. With a limited amount of words allowed, explaining that a protagonist dislikes villains is just silly and unnecessary.

Clearly very little importance was placed on the written elements of Killzone 2, but really, the FPS genre’s boost in popularity was hardly due to fantastic scripts. People like shooting in shooters, but even in that area this is a mixed bag.

Standard shooter fare

Each campaign level feels unique and has its own identifiable design, but this is largely due to the varied visuals. In terms of gameplay, it all feels pretty standard; the game’s arsenal in particular feels limited, with no creative guns a fan of series like Resistance or Ratchet and Clank have come to expect. Even the most unique weapons (bolt gun, flamethrower) are given to the player for a mere handful of minutes, never to be seen again once the ammo runs dry.

What may prove detrimental to some is not just what bullets the guns fire, but how they control. Guerilla Games’ latest shooter has very sluggish, weighted controls that will severely turn off fans of the ultra-quick Call of Duty games (this is not a criticism so much as an observation). The sniper rifle online is particularly offensive, as it utilizes the SIXAXIS to a fault; moving the controller oh-so-slightly jerks the reticule across the screen, making it unnecessarily difficult to aim.



Still, even with the contestable quality of the arsenal, punching lead, electricity and bolts into the enemy Helghast grunts is entertaining -- there are some major drawbacks to this short single player epic, though. Despite nearly always being accompanied by an ally, there is no co-op feature, which would not be problematic except that the allies’ AI is daft -- a sharp contrast to the war-savvy minds of the Helghast. There is a lack of noticeably different enemy types, and bosses are push-overs (one is easily defeated in about ten seconds on the hardest difficulty setting. Come on!).

The cover system is a welcome addition to the world of first-person shooters; Sargaent Sevchenco can get behind walls, crates, etc., to avoid enemy fire, then pop up -- still partly protected by the cover -- and shoot at enemies a la real life. It is a shame that this is a strictly single player feature.

Online woes

Fans of first-person shooters will find a lot to like about the single player campaign, even with its issues, but online multiplayer is a feature that will garner extremely mixed reactions.

Taking advantage of the cliché ranking system all shooters are adopting these days, online’s initial offense is just that -- the obnoxious hierarchy system. Leveling up in Killzone 2 multiplayer takes a lot of time, which would not be unfortunate if not for that the decent [and, perhaps, overpowered] classes are only unlocked after quite a few hours of playtime. The original class everyone is forced to use is a generic, weak soldier with no abilities to speak of. No one wants to be at a severe disadvantage in a competitive online game, but it is required thanks to some baffling design choices.

Unlocking all of the game’s classes takes about twice as long as beating the campaign, and there are more abilities to uncover afterward, but do not mistake longevity with content -- there are a mere eight maps, a couple of which will turn many players off. Each level was crafted with the intent of giving certain classes an advantage (a large, expansive desert map is ideal for the sniper, whereas a claustrophobic military barracks favors the engineer and assault classes), and while a nice idea on paper, this just means maps that favor a disliked class will turn off a player. There are six extra maps available for $12, and while they are a nice (if overpriced) addition to the game, the amount of DLC adopters is incredibly slim and it is difficult to find a game, let alone a full one.



Finding an ideal game can be problematic for any map; match-finding is limited, and coupled with the long load times, can turn a simple search for a desired match into a couple minutes of dumbly staring at the screen. This is somewhat rare, but an annoyance nonetheless.

Flawed fun

Even after unlocking the most enjoyable classes to play as and finding a match with preferable settings, online multiplayer is flawed. Spawn grenades turn matches into long, torturous lessons on why enemies should not be able to spawn directly outside of one’s base; once a team sets up camp, it is nigh impossible to drive them out. It gets worse; bases have very weak protection (stationary sentries that can be destroyed with a single grenade or less than a single clip of any weapon), so there will be times when both teams are spawning in the same base -- this is where games quickly deteriorate into dying, spawning, seeing lots of smoke, shooting blindly and then dying. Base-camping happens very frequently in small maps, and is a serious issue that could have been remedied with ease.

For the sake of argument, let us say that a player has unlocked desirable classes, found an ideal match and it is not a fucked-up mess because of spawn grenades. This player is undoubtedly enjoying the experience, but there are even more, smaller-size issues. There is sometimes a delay after shotgunning down an enemy, giving that player up to a full second to fire back (needless to say, this is an issue that will inspire nerd rage). The voice acting gets very old very early on in the experience. Medics are rewarded for reviving an ally, even when that ally has a good chance of being on the battle’s frontline and will probably be killed within a second of standing back up. There are many, many small issues plaguing Killzone 2’s online multiplayer. None of them ruin the experience, but all of them add up to small bouts of frustration frequently.



However, if a player has unlocked desirable classes, found an ideal match that is not a claustrophobic mess and they miraculously avoid irksome issues, then this lucky player will have a blast. Secondary abilities are fun to use (even if some of them seem overpowered, such as the C4), and there are some genuinely cool ideas to be found, such as the invisible sniper and his scout-and-mark ability. Those who can conquer multiplayer’s inaccessibility will find more to love with it than to hate.

Summary

Guerilla Games comes across as creatively inhibited with this tough sell. Killzone 2’s brief single player campaign is mildly enjoyable and flawed multiplayer has hooked a loyal fanbase, but really, these are hardly notable accomplishments in such a saturated genre. There is no particularly engaging feature in Killzone 2 that could elevate it above the crowd, no nanosuit innovation or clever weapon design; yes, it will entertain, but competition should breed innovation, not genericism. Even with its flaws and lack of originality, this is one of the better FPSes on the PS3, but gamers should be demanding more than a fresh coat of paint out of their blockbuster hits.