'Killzone 2' an unparalleled experience

Online and multiplayer modes exceed expectations.

By Derek Reagan

Published March 5, 2009

It has been a quite some time since Guerrilla Games dropped the trailer for "Killzone 2." During the wait, PlayStation 3 desperately needed an exclusive first-person shooter to rival Microsoft's "Halo" -- and the hype for "Killzone 2" set the stage for either an epic game or an epic failure. The wait is over and the game is finally here.

Wow.

This is the breath of life that Sony has been holding out for after being stomped during the holiday season by both Microsoft and Nintendo. Guerrilla Games has made a first person shooter unparalleled by any game in terms of game play.

The story mode is definitely the weakest component of the game. If you are looking for a game purely for the story and the missions, then avoid putting the money down. I'm not saying playing through the missions is a bad idea, but the storyline isn't the most unique to ever be put in a retail game.

The story is very basic, with the premise being the humans are taking the war to Helghan to fight the Helghast. It seems to be modeled after certain elements of fascist enemies in past World Wars. Your artificial intelligence squad mates seem to lack the same level of AI as your enemy, but you'll be able to complete the missions even without the computers help in close to 10 hours. "Killzone 2" also has great use of the PS3's six-axis control scheme and is very intuitive.

The beauty of the game lies in the core elements. The game play feels much more realistic than anything on the market. Your character moves at a closer to real life pace and the video game reaction time has been scaled back in this game so you can't turn 180 degrees in a split second. The graphics are fantastic and it is a prime example of how games continue to work towards real life visuals. The enemy Helghast knows how to dip in and out of cover and provide a challenging and refreshing enemy.

Multiplayer in "Killzone 2" is the best online experience created for consoles. There are eight maps with tons of destroyable environments. There are the basic game types by different names with team deathmatch (body count), capture the flag (search and retrieve), king of the hill (capture and hold) and a couple other assassination missions. What makes the multiplayer robust is the class system.

Like ranking up in online "Call of Duty," the better you perform, the more points you receive to go up in class. Eventually, you will unlock different weapons and the seven classes. The classes include scout, saboteur, tactician, medic, assault, engineer and the basic soldier. Each class has its own "perks." The scout has temporary invisibility, the saboteur can disguise as an enemy soldier and the engineer can create automated gun turrets. Each class has two perks that give them all their individual strengths and weaknesses. The class system increases the lasting appeal exponentially.

My only complaint is the lack of multiplayer on a single console, which makes it impossible for multiple people to use the same PlayStation 3 console. But put simply, "Killzone 2" is the game that makes it worth your while to buy a PlayStation 3 if you haven't already.