Killzone: Liberation was a game released back in 2006 which was fairly well received. Since then we haven’t seen another portable game from the Killzone franchise until Killzone: Mercenary which was released back in September (this year). Killzone: Mercenary was developed by the newly named Guerrilla Cambridge for the PS Vita. The Vita has had problems when it comes to killer apps (I have a list of 3 games so far that reach that criteria) and Killzone is annoyingly close to that. It just falls short is some key areas.
Firstly, its story is a bit weak. The idea is that you are a Mercenary (go figure) who basically does jobs within the Killzone timeline. He then is tasked with helping out the Vektan Ambassador on Helgan which, surprise surprise, goes awry. That might have worked if Guerrilla Cambridge left out the B-movie quality moral event. It is not only bloody obvious (I could see it happening from the beginning) but it is clearly used as a devise to make you work for the Helghast and not used to progress the story. This irritated me and came off as quite cheap. One of the biggest gripes I had, while playing the story, was its length. I think I completed it within 4 hours which is just unacceptable. Granted I was shocked as it felt longer that that but 4 hours is not a good length (I wasn’t rushing and it was on medium difficulty).
Luckily Guerrilla Cambridge has managed to develop a really good shooter on the handheld. Despite, the story and weak story, I felt like I was playing a proper console version of Killzone. The mission design is well thought out and the shooting mechanics are very Killzone-esque. It is remarkable what they have managed to achieve with this game. All the mechanics are back for this instalment (like the face on wall cover mechanics) with new touch screen controls. The touch screen controls work and do not feel out of place. This was an issue I had with other Vita games (notably Uncharted: Golden Abyss) where the touch screen controls did not feel natural. Guerrilla Cambridge has really shown up past developers of Vita games. Simple swipes to preform melee kills work because they are not overly complicated and the hacking mechanic works because it is quite simple (though they should have done a better tutorial for it). The mechanics make this game fun and it is just a shame the offline experience ended so quickly. After the story you can replay some levels (called Contracts) with differing objectives but I felt this was a bit of a cop-out and could have been more fleshed out.
Graphically this game is brilliant. Few games have made me go wow on a handheld but this is an exception. For a handheld game, it is one of the best looking games out there with character models and environments look home console quality. However, I still have an issue with their art direction (brown smudge) as a bit of colour would have brought that extra bit of life into the environments. Sound is equally impressive. The weapons really feel and sound like the pack a big punch. Voice acting isn’t as good as previous Killzone games but the actors do a valiant job of trying to give some character to the story.
Online is where this game really shines. I have started to go off competitive multiplayer (as it all starting to feel the same) but Killzone was remarkably fun and crazy such an experience can be played on a handheld system. I found no issues with connecting to a match nor did I have an issue finding players to play against. The entire system is different from most competitive shooters which are more about getting to a certain criteria/level than creating your own character. Killzone: Mercenary employs the system of gaining money by doing differing actions to then buy your own load out. It really works and fits with the whole ethos of the game. The only issue I encountered with the system is the balance of the special weapons. There are two or three weapons that are a must while the others can be ignored (i.e. a complete waste of money). There is no point having a portable game if you can’t take the thing around and I am happy to report that I had no issue playing this game online in a public café with free wifi. Also, despite being a powerful game, the battery life doesn’t seem to be destroyed by this game. It is a testament to how well-designed this game is.
Overall, this game is great but it does fall a bit short of being brilliant. While being a well-designed, beautiful handheld game, it is the story length and quality that is lacking which really brings this game down (This is the reason why it can't possibly be higher than an 8/10). It is a huge shame as this game could have been the shining example of an FPS on the Vita. Don’t get me wrong ever Vita owner should get this game but don’t be surprised by the weaker offline component.
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 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.
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.
Over the weekend reports of the multiplayer servers for Killzone Mercenary had been shut down by Sony came out. However, usually when Sony is going to shut down the servers of a game the company puts out an announcement through its game servers site, but it seemed that Killzone Mercenary’s multiplayer servers had been turned off with no notice to players, and it was not listed on the list on Sony’s server shutdown site.
Sony's *usually* good with providing notice way ahead of time for stuff like this. Still, I'm always surprised to fire up Mercenary and find people in surplus.
What but but Sony is the baddest they turn off without notice where are all those with fake anger haha
I never got to play this game because I didn't have a vita I wish it was playable on ps3
"PlayStation has quietly shut down the servers of one of its games with no warning. More specifically, if you're wondering why you can no longer play an online match of Killzone: Mercenary on PlayStation Vita, it's because servers have been shut down. Reports of the servers being turned off began to flood in this morning, and we've since confirmed with PlayStation Support that the servers have indeed been shut off."
That's why I got rid of my Vita because Sony stop supporting it especially with first party titles. I love their home consoles but I won't buy another handheld from Sony seeing how they treated the Vita.
hmmmm....the fact that the kill the last person who was using the vita and the killing of a server of a ps vita game. Could PSP successor be announced soon?
Could always just be a mistake and they will come back. Sony normally gives a heads up
It is a shining example of an FPS on vita... It is the best handheld FPS to date. It's not perfect but for a handheld it is brilliant. Graphics, story and gameplay all come together to make an amazing game for on the go.
My only complain was the lack of checkpoint. So when you exit the game without finishing the level, you have to start from the beginning.
I would have loved it, if they made the cutscenes interactive but alas they didn't.
Yeah the story is short and kind of detached with the silent protagonist but the Intel hunt made all the difference for me. ^^