Potential Spoilers
Well, Guerilla Games has started off strong on the PS4 with their newest installment within the Killzone franchise, Killzone Shadow Fall.
Set several years after the events of Killzone 3 with the destruction of planet Helghan known as the "Terracide" due to nuclear weapons developed by Jorhan Stahl backfiring on him and his people, due to remaining ISA troop intervention(specifically Sev & Rico) left back on Helghan in their attempt to leave the planet, the VSA have granted the surviving Helghast population to take refuge on planet Vekta. Vekta is now split between two territories with Vekta City on one side, and New Helghan on the other. This is where the story and lore of Shadow Fall takes inspiration from the Cold War with the Berlin Wall, referred to as "The Wall" in Shadow Fall, and espionage as you play as the new protagonist, Lucas Kellan, a Shadow Marshal within the VSA tasked with black ops type missions such as spying, sabotage, assassinations, recon, search and rescue, etc.
If you're like me, who has been a long time fan of the series since its PS2 & PSP days(Killzone 1 and Killzone Liberation), the story is only getting better. You once again get to fight back on planet Vekta, reliving the days you got to play as Luger, a female Shadow Marshall. Shadow Fall delves more into the culture and mindset of New Helghan's civilian population and culture, whereas in Killzone 3, it concentrated more on the power struggle between 2nd in commands racing to take Autarch Visari's place after his demise in Killzone 2.
Throughout Shadow Fall you will of course, fight the Helghast, but not just the New Helghan military, but a new faction called, The Black Hand. They are a terrorist group within the Helghan population who still hold onto their past extremist values and seek the destruction of the Vektans. They are also a bit at odds with the New Helghan government as they are not pleased with how they have handled the Vektans since moving back to the planet. You'll be fighting in both Vekta City and New Helghan, where both have a very different look and mood to them, witnessing how the population lives. You are also introduced to Echo, a half breed Helghast, daughter to Hera Visari(yes, the same daughter of Scolar Visari from Killzone 3's opening intro), who seeks peace between the Vektans and Helghast, so it's your job to work with her to help stop a 3rd Extrosolar War from starting. I'm pleased with Guerialla's approach to the story with this. Many fans have been craving a Helghast campaign because they think they're the "good guys", but this is better. It's not black and white as to who is the good guy. You are essentially, a third faction to help even the playing field. The comradery that existed between Lucas and Echo, Vektan and Helghast, will hopefully forward the Killzone universe towards peace between the factions as they are both guilty of wrong doing to one another.
Now, onto the gameplay. What can I say? It plays fantastic, it's smooth, and it's fun. The weighted controls from Killzone 2 and 3 are gone, which is good and bad depending if you liked 2's controls. Me, I can adapt to either one, but I also enjoyed 2's controls. It handles more like Dice's more recent Battlfield games. Controls are responsive and tight, but also new to the series, thanks to the PS4's new DS4 controller, is the touchpad controls which are used to control an AI controlled robot buddy called, the OWL. This little drone is a very helpful little tool, used to hack into enemy alarm towers and computers, but also as a offensive and defensive gadget. Don't think of the OWL as an overpowered weapon available anytime, but more of a diversionary tool used to open your enemies up to attack. This drone can stun enemies(which will be VERY USEFUL in the later part of the game for shielded enemies and attack drones), it will fire upon enemies to divert enemy fire away from you and an energy shield that, well, shields you from incoming fire. Another handy ability of the OWL is its zip line function, which I highly recommend to those who plan on playing through the game using stealth tactics, as it helps get you down to levels that can help you gain a tactical advantage over enemies for recon or sniping.
Gunplay is satisfying. The sounds of the weapons firing, the way they feel, they feel powerful. However, that also means the Helghast troopers you fight are powerful. They'll do anything to flank you as most them are well equipped with miniguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, shotguns, spider mines, the Armadillo Troopers have automatic energy shielding. Yeah, the Helghast are very well equipped. Although, the AI does make some pretty dumb moves such as running out into the open or climbing a ladder that you're looking down towards.
Coming back to Killzone's gameplay is the choice in how you play. Levels are more open, which presents you some opportunities on how you wish to go about. Like Killzone 1, Templar, Rico, Luger and Hakha are essentially molded into one character with Lucas Kellan. You can choose to use heavy weapons, hack into enemy computers to stop enemy alarms and weapons, or use stealth tactics. Shadow Fall offers more compared to recent FPS games. Also back is secondary fire attachments for your weapons. Turn your rail sub-machine gun into a rail gun sniper rifle, use grenade launchers that fire spider mines, or use grenade launchers that fires EMP missiles. The choice is yours.
Single player is very enjoyable. I highly recommend listening to the audio logs and read the newspaper headlines to fully enjoy the story and explore the environments. A big plus for single player is the length. One of the few games that I didn't beat in 5 hours. Although, some downsides to the single player is the difficulty. I'm sorry, but I don't understand how some people had a hard time with this game. Even on the hard difficulty, it's still pretty easy. Just some advice, play tactically. Don't spray and pray and don't rush objectives and enemies head on. The OWL will be the tool to use in the later chapters. However, I know I won't be alone on this though, but admittedly, the only times you will get frustrated with is the free fall section. Not because it's hard to navigate the terrain, but because of the weird controls used to control yourself as you fly through a ruined Helghan city. You'll see what I mean.
Sound has its good and bad. Music is beautiful, the gun effects are awesome, the voice acting is... eh. Well, no, not really eh, but some voice actors' performances are better than otheres. It's not the voices themselves, but the delivery of their lines that's not so great at times. Lucas Kellan is an example. His voice sounds fine, but his delivery is monotone and dry most of the time. Echo's voice actress though, is very well done. You can feel the passion in her character as she persuades your character to help her.
Multiplayer is a blast. If you're looking for a multiplayer game that involves teamwork and skill. Shadow Fall is one of the next gen FPS games you need to play. This is by far one of the most balanced games I've played, but also one of the smoothest ones. Almost no lag, no drop outs, and no glitches on launch when I played this. Weapon and class balance is nearly perfect with this Killzone's multiplayer. Remember the mess that Killzone 3 became with the Marksman class? And I love the sniper class. Weapons do the right amount of damage and have the right amount of recoil. Each class ability serves its purpose to help your team. No aim assist in this game. It's all skill. You need to play the objective, use teamwork, and not worry about your K/D ratio. Team play comes first. A big plus is the level progression in this game. It's not based on the amount of xp you accumulate, but the number of challenges you complete. All weapons and abilities are available from the start(you still have to unlock attachments for weapons though) and this really takes out the hassle of grinding to such and such level. It only leaves the core gameplay, which helps in being able to concentrate on the objective and how to effectively play.
You're free to customize your weapons with various attachments such as combat scopes, laser sights and flashlights, etc. Each class, of course, is limited to certain weapons, so sniper rifles for the Scout, assault, sub-machine guns and shotguns for Assault, and the big guns for Support. Each class has a primary ability that cannot be changed, but can equip different abilities in their secondary ability slot. Something that may upset fans though is the lack of classes. What I mean is, the 5-6 classes that we got in Killzone 2 and 3 are not in this game. They have all been integrated into 3 different classes.
Warzone is still back from 2 and 3, with the objective changing every so and so minutes or until it's completed. The standard team death match is always available, but a big plus for the multiplayer is being able to create your own games. The amount of control to what weapons you want, what modes to put into it, how much health players have, how much damage is dealt, what abilities are available, the amount of lives, you have complete control over it. This makes for some very competitive and fun game modes such as a knife only cloak on game. Unfortunately though, Operations is gone. So, no more awesome cutscenes throughout the match. One thing you need to give Guerilla Games credit for is their support for the multiplayer. Soon, they'll be releasing most DLC for free such as maps later on.
The graphics... do I really need to comment. It looks amazing. Lighting is beautiful. As you look out towards the deep blue of Vekta City and the red lights of New Helghan, it really is just amazing to look at.
I highly recommend Killzone Shadow Fall to anyone who has been a long time fan and to anyone looking for a team based FPS experience.
It's been 10 years since Killzone: Shadow Fall arrived for PlayStation 4 early adopters, and there's no sign of another sequel.
Sadly it was dumped by Guerrilla to focus on Horizon games only. Mainline, VR and Multiplayer.
lmao sadly? Are you pretending to have actually played the series lol Sorry bud, no Killzone on Xbox.
They brought out 4 main games and 2 spin offs: one on PSP and one on Vita. That's a decent run for any series. I also understand that Shadow Fall wasn't a success commercially despite it coming out at PS4 launch, and as a big Killzone fan even I couldn't get into it, so I think Sony/Guerrilla could see it was time to move on.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love another Killzone game in the vein of KZ2 but it's just not happening. Hell, I'd even take a remake or remaster of the first 3 games.
I'd hardly say it was "dumped" though, it spanned 3 console generations and 2 handheld generations.
@obscured:”Sadly it was dumped by Guerrilla to focus on Horizon games only. Mainline, VR and Multiplayer”
Happily it was dumped by Guerrilla to focus on Horizon games only. Mainline, VR and Multiplayer( edited to reflect the writer true feelings and allegiance)
Kill zone was a FPS far ahead of its glitched competitors with nauseating bad camera angles, 10 years old screaming curses like a drunk sailor and bot aiming assist.
“Sadly”?
The Horizon games were among the best games of all time. Killzone Shadowfail wasn’t.
True, but damn the memories of KZ2 multiplayer. Still no MP as fun as that to this date.
And Sony as a whole dumped the FPS genre so they wouldn't have products competing with COD and (until purchase) Destiny.
I loved the KZ2+3 campaigns and MP in 2. There could be so much more done with the franchise. Horizon although good, I wish they'd go back to this wonderful IP. Take a break from Horizon please.
Agreed dude, I would absolutely love a reboot of the series, one can only hope that either resistance or killzone makes a return.
Have nothing but great memories, especially of the first 3 games, but all 4 were show stoppers graphically.
To making it a successful reboot they have to change that buttons layout! Make it playable like the cod button layout. Otherwise I’ll skipping it again.
And that's the reason why many fps games failed. Instead of being original and catering to it's fans, they tried to make it like cod. No, kz doesn't need cod button layout. It needs to be like it was on kz2 or balanced liked kz3.
I think Kill Zone would do great in Sony's LS push. As well as MAG reboot and bring back Resistance into LS.
Killzone games were so polished. The gameplay was just simple joy. MP was one of the best experiences.
I remember KZ3, just staring at how awesome they animated the water and then getting wasted because of it.
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.
In August, online servers for several PlayStation games will shut down, leaving their multiplayer functions unplayable.
whrere on earth is the next killzone, im soooOOO thirsty for some proper weighted, (but still fast when running/sprinting) fps gamplay, it felt sooso so good on ps3, with that, lets be honest, very small, quite uncomfortable sixaxis dualshock controller, that was just too small for western sized hands, ok for japanese kids i suppose was the point>??
now with PS5 controller, it would be totally masterfull.
I hear you. I want some NEW Killzone, especially on PS5, with the PS5 DualSense controller with that ever so impressive DualSense of an experience Haptic feedback!
Knowing how far Guerrilla has come since Horizon: Zero Dawn, Killzone can only benefit greatly from their ever growing talent!!
I think Sony has given up on their exclusive shooters. They haven't released a remaster for the Resistance series or a new SOCOM game either. I don't think Guerilla is in a rush to make Killzone since they have Horizon now too :(.
All I want is for them to build Killzone 2 with multiplayer included from the ground up, keep the gameplay the same, and I'll be happy.
GG with KZ3 and Shafowfall haven't been able to match KZ2 so I don't really have faith in another sequel.
Unfortunate that KZ2 came out during COD era where every game that didn't pay like Modern Warfare was deemed garbage. KZ2's multiplayer is definitely an all time great.
I'd love KZ2 multiplayer again. I also think they could easily incorporate a mode to compete with Battlefield style game modes
KZ2 was one of maybe a handful of games I actually put time into online. What a blast!! And the campaign was excellent as well. I certainly miss that dark world. Still ashamed I never buttoned up that Platinum.
A remake of Killzone 2 with the same grittiness and feel on PS5 would be f*cking incredible. The SP and MP were just perfect. I played the sh*t out of that game. Would happily pay a lot of money for that.
Honestly, I don't like FPS games. They're not for me, but I do agree that there was something about KZ2 multiplayer that even someone like me enjoyed.
Sony really needs to get better about tearing down servers. I don't like that they shut them down.
@Michiel1989
"since when was kz2 deemed garbage?"
As with anything, things don't get the appreciation it deserves until way after it's release.
KZ2 got a lot of flak for it's weighty controls that many mistook for input lag. People didn't like that it wasn't a twitch shooter like CoD. You also had people saying things like "it feels like you're controlling a midget", "enemies take too long to die" (you can't pray and spray in kz2. You have to shoot in bursts for your shots to be more accurate), people complained about the sniping, etc.
This led to a lot of changes in KZ3 that turned the vets off like reducing the amount of variables for bullet damage, getting rid of spawn grenades, etc.
@DarXyde
I don't think there's much Sony or any other company in that position can do much different about it... Keeping servers running simply cost money, these gomes don't generate none anymore, so eventually they need to pull the plug.
KZ2 was definitely better then KZ3, but the third one still had strong suits. It’s been many years but I remember something about Shadow Fall being made by a team at GG that did NOT do KZ2 and KZ3 multiplayer which is why it felt different. I remember when I found that out it made a lot of sense about Shadow Falls multiplayer feeling so off.
Horizon zero dawn sold more copies than all of the killzone franchise combined including spin offs on handheld. I guess that's the reason why won't see killzone from guerilla soon. There is at least one more mainline horizon coming out and their second team is working on horizon VR I believe. So it's gonna be a while unless another studio takes over.
I've been playing a lot of Killzone 2 on rpcs3 with a duelsense combined with the ability to remap controls to a modern standard and bump the game to 60fps it shows that we really need a remaster to probably the best killzone game to date although shadowfall technically beats it in the graphics department art style was so different that they are incomparable
Killzone went to the same place as Socom and Mag, more money in 25 hour single player games with no servers to maintain. Socom was literally the reason I bought a PS2, Resistance FOM the reason I bought a PS3, all gone now.
Killzone has never been weighted correctly, the jumping never worked.
A new properly-weighted shooter in the Killzone series would be great. More like Killzone 1 and 2 than SF.
I think the issue comes from the fact that the Helghast side is sympathetic while looking like Nazi stormtroopers. The Trump age has led artists to avoid this look entirely.
The sixaxis felt fine in my hands since they're small, but the ps5 really made me feel the difference. So ergonomic.
Killzone 2 was/is so good and it still looks good today. The multiplayer was fun as well. If they make a new Killzone I hope it is the style of Killzone 2.
I wish Sony didn’t abandon Resistance and Killzone. Those are some of my favorite series on PlayStation. If they’re not gonna make anymore, then maybe a remastered collection of each could be negotiated.
KILLZONE 2 was my reason for buying a PS3. If a new KILLZONE or RESISTANCE was coming out in 22 I would try to buy a PS5 immediately.
SSOD2 would be big for Sony. The only reason they would be interested in it is if they can turn it into a live service game.
In which I can see that happening.
For anyone trying to understand @Lightning77’s comment, they had a typo, this should clarify:
SOD2
Superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial, also known as manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the SOD2 gene on chromosome 6.
After 5 killzone games including portable Sony felt it needed a break I wouldn't say its abandoned however I believe we may randomly get a ps5 remaster with improved lighting to test the waters and eventually a full blown new game after all you can't just leave shadowfall on that ending
Horizon is priority now its a mega franchise for them maybe after Horizon they might revisit.
I refuse to play for online play but there is one game that would make pay for it and that's Resistance Fall of Man. That's the only game that would make me throw my principles out of the window without feeling ashamed of myself.
Remember in the mid 2000’s when nearly every developer started to do FPS or linear third person? Now nearly every developer wants to do open world exclusively because it’s the easiest type of game to leave things out and then expand upon the world with DLC.
So many fond memories of both Shadowfall and Mercenaries Vita online! Shadowfall's SP may have been weak, but the MP was still a ton of fun. I had a lot of time in both, and it's especially tough seeing the Vita's best mp experience get shut down.
RIP my old friends.
In my opinion, I thought the single player games was really decent too and was treated quite harshly by the critics, but then, I think the Killzone franchise as a whole was kinda under rated by the critics. I always enjoyed the story in these games and I liked the slower, more deliberate gunplay too.
I remember getting my PS4 on day 1 and the first game I installed was Killzone Shadowfall, my workmates and I would play it for hours on end, the mode whish switched between game modes was brilliant.
I only read the part regarding the multiplayer, because I haven't played the single player campaign and I don't want any spoilers (I am that romantic :)) but couldn't agree more.
In KZ teamplay is always at the core of it, even if you don't want to be a team player and the classes are all extremely cool and well balanced. Some abilities are more versatile than others (no problem about that) and I also like very much how you can update/change your loadouts on the fly.
Excellents menus as well, slick and super-stylish and the "new", more sci-fi style is absolutely awesome!
Also thumbs up for the party-system, warzone-join experience.
With Battlefiend having no party system (eh) and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag being still a pita for multiplayer (these are the other MP I'm playing), Shadow Fall delivers a totally smooth experience, which is something that should be a no-brainer at this point in gaming history, but that is not yet so (especially with Ubisoft games it seems)!
@ ChipChipperson, I see someone understands the Killzone universe great review looks like you enjoy the game very much as i do.
Sent from my PS Vita
Lol. No
Look, I enjoy the game quite a lot, but it is so far from a 10/10 that I could never take another opinion of yours seriously, following this review.
It's a solid 7-7.5, and everyone I know who owns a PS4 agrees and the majority of the gaming press agrees. The multiplayer is very good and keeps you entertained, but the singleplayer is very mediocre and mired in poor design choices which plagued many standard FPS games last gen. It is clear that the game was hurried along as it got further into development, with the first few missions feeling quite good and well-paced while the latter 60% of the game felt slapped together hurriedly and without consideration.
Personal opinion is one thing, but reviews are about CRITICAL opinion more so than personal opinion.
Great article, I have enjoyed a lot Killzone SF, the story is the best one that I have ever played, I'm a little tired about the CoD and Battlefield wow moments with no soul in the characters, the ending is really brilliant but probably so much European for US taste.
The graph, sound and everything related to techncial is the best in the market now.
The multiplayer is really great with match that can be done in 15 minutes even less (similar to CoD) but with the usual weight of the KZ (I loved but I understand some people prefer fighting in skates like in CoD). The only point is that the multiplayer should have better short term/long term rewards for casual people
But for me is a clear 10/10, good review