Like every other PS3 owner, Killzone 2 got me very excited in the days, weeks, even years up until its release. But in the end was that angst worth it?
After the playing through the single player twice in one day, (once on medium and once on the hardest level), and having since spent my fair share of time on the multiplayer, I’m left feeling a little let down.
Not to the degree that Far Cry 2 let me down. That game was probably the biggest flop in gaming history. Hell, the things they pushed hard as selling points turned out to be the worst parts. The fire sucked, in other words. You would set fire to a tree, and after a minute, the leaves would disappear, but the fire would stay where they had once been. And the open world just meant that it took for ever to get around. But anyway, back to Killzone.
A lot of the things that let me down with Killzone weren't game killers, but there were so many of them, that combined, they added up into something worth mentioning.
First of all, the graphics were supposed to be the best we'd ever seen. And they were, except for the particle effects such as fire, which lacked in detail, and also, if you've played Crysis, you'll know what I mean when I say they aren’t the best ever, only best ever on console.
The single player was too short, too linear, and even too hard. Although I and many others steamed through the game in less than 7 hours, the final mission had very spaced out save points, making it extremely hard to get through to the next save point.
The online has been hailed by many as the best seen in recent years. This simply is not the case. Don’t get me wrong, the online was certainly fun, but there are just as certainly many issues with it. Kill lag plagues the game, as does grenade spamming, and the respawn menu. In Resistance 2, if you'd like to respawn you wait 5 seconds, press X and you respawn, and only if you wish to change kit will you be asked to. In Killzone 2, if you'd like to respawn without re-selecting your kit, then too bad. You have to wait your 10 seconds (too long in such a fast paced game), press X several times, wait for the sluggish controls to wake up, select your kit, change menu screen, and click respawn. Just one question, WHY?
This is not to say the game is bad, the nuclear explosion towards the end was one of the greatest moments I’ve experienced in any game. Both online and single-player are very fun games, and there is enough there to play the campaign at least twice. Graphics and Audio is console leading, and the six-axis controlled sniper-rifle is a joy to use once you get the hang of it.
In summing up, its well worth buying this title if you own a PS3 already, but it isn't worth buying the console just to play this game. I sincerely hope they make a Killzone 3 and 4 even, I just hope they fix the issues with the current multiplayer first.
Hugely disappointingly, it seems that Guerrilla Games, developers of the Killzone and Horizon series, may be done with Killzone for good.
1 was fine, overhyped as a " halo" killer
2 was a graphical beast at the time, and felt heavy
3 was good a refinement of 2 but not much else. weird audio issues environment were to quiet
shadow fall was pretty but bland
Shadowfall had great Multiplayer though. Too bad the campaign was meh at best. It did have the occasional great moment sprinkled in.
I played through 2/3 multiple times. I played through the original once, but it felt pretty lukewarm for me. I couldn't be bothered to beat Shadow Fall. I got a couple hours in and just went "I'm done". Never touched it again. It was awesome on the tech side, being a launch title, but it didn't even match up to the first game when it came to actually having fun playing it.
3 in 3d was an amazing experience to be had.
Although not many experienced it as intended for good reasons.
You forgot the ai advancements on the playstation 2 killzone one you could have a full team of bots doing everything even playing the objective that was a big thing.
In killzone 2 they always flanked you and when available used the high ground.
Playing killzone 2 no hud 5.1 audio was/is awesome
I dont mind if someone else takes up the mantle for the KZ franchise. We are several years removed from the first game. It certainly could use a remake to gauge interest in the rest of the series. I know it has its fans... Im thinking of how a proper reboot can rekindle that old dormant flame and bring in a new generation of fans in the process.
You forgot killzone mercenaries on the ps vita but it was the worst selling sony game for awhile there.
Would like a new IP before Horizon 3. Just because games take so long to make these days.
The PlayStation 3 may not have been the strongest generation for Sony, but there were still some diamonds in the rough that deserve a revisit as PS5 remasters.
Even if they could just remaster and put on PSVR2, some would still look great as VR titles and could do a whole lot to bolster the headset w these exclusives! I'd imagine the investment of reworking these titles into VR would be way less than building new games from the ground up, and they could be amazing experiences, and VR often makes flat games feel fresh again. The Resistance and Killzone games are particularly what I want to see!!
I played killzone 3 in 3d and it really changed the game per being immersive.
In vr, that would be even more awesome.
Funny you mention that... my son wanted to play some PS3 games in 3d on my PS tv and he was blown away by how good KZ3 was. It really was a great addition to the game. Im surprised there have not been more 3d games from that era being ported to the PSVR/VR2.
resistance 1-3, killzone 1-3, uncharted 1-3, uncharted golden abyss, folklore, socom 4 , motorstorm, twisted metal, MAG, heavenly sword
Killzone 2+3
Sly Thieves in Time
Crack in Time
God of War Ascension
Motorstorm
Modnation racer
Infamous 1+2
Killzone trilogy in VR would be amazing bonus points if they offer shadow fall.
There was a psvr1 Killzone project that supermassive was working on at one stage which wasn't up to scratch and Sony brand it back in house I was hoping we would see that on psvr2 eventually.
Personally I'd love to see some more love or acknowledgement of psvr2 from Sony in general it was a expensive headset and Sony barely acknowledge it's existence
The amount of work needed to remaster these games wouldn't be beneficial on a financial and business sense.. MGS4 would probably be the best bet as it would need the least amount of work!
The time is perfect for a resistance fall of man game campaign coop multiplayer
The resistance series is str8 trash to me. Socom 3 I would welcome. Or killzone MP.
Resistance was ok but Warhawk and Starhawk was better and kept me coming back for almost a decade of fun and petty revenge on the loud mouth unskilled players 🤣
Edit I loved capture the flag dropping the pot on the flag carrier was extremely satisfying as well as transforming your plane in bot form and stumping them to death 😱
The Amsterdam-based studio reflects on its humble beginnings, beloved franchises, and growth through the years.
Up there with the top tier in the industry. Love Guerrilla Games - Horizon Burning Shores is simply STUNNING.
Same. They nailed it with Horizon. The trouble is I also want a new Killzone! Can't I just have it all?!
I have yet to play Burning Shores as I just started Forbidden West (bought at launch, just unwrapped last weekend LOL) and playing on PS5.
man...I still can't believe the graphics especially now I'm playing it on my LG OLED. that graphics and with stable performance backing it up, GG really is the master of their craft!
32.7M sales in the Horizon franchise! With 8.4M coming from Forbidden West alone! Truly a hugely successful game and franchise as a whole. Looking forward to Horizon III
One year after realease HZD sold 7.6 million.
https://www.noobfeed.com/ne...
So not a drop off.
Unless you're saying a HFW should have sold as much now as HZD sold in 5 years?
It's been 3 games, this includes Call of the Mountain. Also no, its a great improvement over HZD.
lol you are comparing:
HZD: 28 February 2017 - May 2023 (6 years+)
HFW: 18 February 2022 - May 2023 (1 year+)
We will see if it surpass original number.
@shane, 2 full main games, 2 DLC add ons, 1 VR spin off game, oh and a an official LEGO set.
Not too bad for an ip that's only been on market for 6 years
Wow, very impressive. I didn't know the numbers were so high for Forbidden West. Still playing through it myself
Yooo, when I first saw that Killzone 1 footage at E3, my friends my brothers and I were like, Holy shit! When it came out, it didn't look exactly like it, but we sunk so many hours into 1 & 2.
I even liked Killzone: SF, it was a spectacle to look at, and even today it looks good. I hope they make a new one. Can you imagine how that will look, and they can get some modern FPS pointers from Bungie.
Such a wonderful studio. They deserve all their success.
The Decima Engine is absolute 🔥 I'm just mad they have abandoned Killzone.
They are probably working on mutiple projects. One of them is Horizon 3, but another is a multiplaer game and probably somehting else.
Nice review. It's refreshing to see an actual Ps3 owner giving this game an honest review without the typical fanboy OMG PERFECT 10 score.
Hahahahaha
Coming from a Halo fan?
Anyway I would give Killzone 2 an 8.8
i would give the same score, just for different reasons. I mean I absolutely loved it for a month, but then it hit me that it was incredibly frustrating online and not very fun. Still, its probably the best game in terms of technicality, just they forgot to make it fun
If you go on metacritic and look at that 92/100, you would know there is nothing "average" about that.
To me, Halo 3 was a letdown, Gears of War 1 was way better than Halo 3, heck even bioshock was more entertaining.
good review but some of your issue don't really seem like issues to me like you complain about spawn camping but i think its a good strategy. spawn camping usually get you killed (atleast when im playing) but the thing that i do agree with is the bullet lag. That's my main concern, their also could be a bigger diversity in boards,still is doesn't need it. i hear a lot of people saying the game needs this and the game needs that. The game is fine take it for what it is a great shooter, it has a good concept and has good game play. its not futuristic with guns and stuff but its still sc-fi. The game isn't a perfect 10 few are, but the best games in history aren't either. i'm not calling Killzone the best far from it. but when it comes to best first person shooters. It's in the running and will be talked about for years to come. I'm not saying this is a system seller but if your not playing it your missing out. What will sell systems for ps3 is what sold system for them the first time. All their studios and their huge library.
lastly ill say this this game was not over hyped compared to halo halo sucked and i love halo 2 but H3 was killed off by cod4 Killzone 2 can take you away from cod halo cant.