First Killzone 2 Hands-On

After two years of intense skepticism, Tuesday night's first showings of Sony Computer Entertainment and Guerrilla Games' Killzone 2 to journalists have generally produced extremely positive reactions. But having cleared that first high hurdle, the next question everyone wants to know is: how does it play? Newsweek were fortunate enough to be the first to play Killzone outside of the folks at SCE and Guerrilla. Here is their hands-on impressions of Killzone 2's gameplay elements; a close-up look at the game's visuals, along with some exclusive first details on the title's design choices and story elements, will follow shortly.

[Violater]

you lucky bastard.
I want my hands on the game too.

[unbiased]

04 Jun 2006 17:04

29 - Gears of War the only game important this year
The PS3 lists have a lot of crap in it.

Only one game we should be looking forward to this year

GEARS OF WAR

and it's only on 360 that's what counts guys. Not CGI Killzone 2 footage for sure

[THC CELL]

Sounds Great to me

This,haze,halo3

Are all on my top shooter list

[VirusE]

Its a good time to be a FPS fan. Don't forget bioshock!

[Firewire]

Guys make sure you read the second article as well, I think the link is at the bottom. Excellent articles & both tell allot!

[PS360PCROCKS]

yeah I was going to mention that...but wow I guess I had no faith, but now I do. This looks phenomonal, I keep watching the video and it looks better every time...it has an odd realism to it that at first was weird but now I think it's awesome.

[hazeblaze]

Yea, both articles really give you a sense of just how much the devs are putting into this game! I hate that ppl compare this game to other shooters or other systems... b/c truthfully we do have quite a few awesome shooters coming out... and surprisingly, moreso on the PS3. But this one really stands out on it's own right now. The amount of realism is incredible. The first one also included an engaging story... if this one picks up on that, it'll truly be a blockbuster title.

[Odion]

both great posts, my only problem was with how much credit was given to Killzone 2 for the cover system.

[VirusE]

Yeah i agree, so many other games have it but maybe its the way they go about it. The cover in the video looked very fluid.

[Greysturm]

Because it still maintains a decent FPS during the cover sequence without jumping for the third person like Rainbow did. Also the fact that is optional since unlike gears and Rainbow where (well at least in my experience) no cover = dead besides providing the classical duck and sidestep routine.

[eLiNeS]

but could somebody tell me why people always say this is a HALO killer, this sounds more like a Gears of War killer and looks nothing like HALO. I hope it is a GOW killer, Epic pissed me off with that game. Don't get me wrong, I liked Gears but they ruined the multi player with there updates making it worst and worst each update.

[DrPirate]

Not to mention giving the PC owners a better version. That pissed me off.

The Killzone first person cover mechanic sounds unheard of. Anyone care to tell me of another first person shooter that did something like that?

Edit: First Person cover mechanics exist in Red Orchestra. Funny because I bought that game off Steam a long time ago. Going to go back to see how it works.

[Kleptic]

yeah i was going to mention that...I haven't heard or seen a cover system like that that kept you in fp view the whole time...sounds strange to me anyway...one of the trailers shows the character leaning around corners...sort of like FEAR...but switches your gun into the other hand if you are leaning to the left...it will probably work fine...

Personally though I would almost rather a third person view for cover...R6 Vegas did it perfectly...and its cool to see how your character looks from time to time...same with Gears...I just wish it wasn't third person the whole time...

I truely hope you can jump in Killzone 2 though...it hasn't been mentioned yet from what I have read...the first one you couldn't...and being stuck in knee high trenches and not being able to get out was one of the most frustratingly stupid things ever to occur on the ps2...

[abg428]

ok I LOVE Gears of War and I've played halo countless times, but when I saw the trailer for the game, I almost shat myself! This game my very well be a halo killer AND a gears of war stomper. AND this is only a pre- Alpha stage too!!! Wow, just wow....

[tudors]

They did not sound that impressed to me.

[the greatest]

suck it up already
dont hate on it

[otherZinc]

If the game was that good, SONY would have used KILLZONE more in their presentation. The game is OVERRATED, not close to that E3 05 demo, & its going to get laughed at when it comes to the stores.

Also, by the time KILLZONE & MGS 4 are in homes, the PS3 will be wayyyyy back in 3rd place in the console wars. This average KILLZONE will not put the PS3 in the running for 1st at all.

[Mycococo]

i liked the site view aswell. the best part of the game was watching the helghast get shot and it looking like real people being shot! they way their bodies jerked and how the turned back in reaction to the first shot and then their bodis shaking after each initial shot! since this is prepre alpha i can see the looks of the faces vastly improving to atleast look as good as mass effect and the fire will probably be tweaked aswell to look more like the cg trailer.(those 2 things were the only things under par from the trailer but everything else really did surpass the trailer)

[abg428]

I'm sorry but mass effect has NOTHING on the game....

[Snake_Doctor]

mass effect will be awesome and so will killzone.
I love the screens of Mass Effect but for some reason I felt a little let down (not much). On the other hand I thought KZ2 wouldn't live up to the hype and we would have 360 gamers making rain on our heads, but now I may put a preorder out on KZ2. I still hope my friend gets Mass effect though.

[360RULEZ]

"They did not sound that impressed to me"

because borezone 2 sucks

it's just a generic shooter with graphics that were bested on PC and Xbox360 since 1 year.

sony fandroids have no better thing to rely on than a Halo-wannabe.. theyre obsessed with Halo and Xbox360's success and so bitter about it .. their comments about borezone2 are mostly directed against Microsoft, Halo, and Gears of War

way to go, sony losers

[Kleptic]

thank you for your ignorant comments...We are all very happy to share this planet with people like you...

[the greatest]

he's mad because it took him 3 year 2 save up for an xbox360

[MrSwede]

Just come over to this side, I know it´s hard at first but once the deal is made and the buyer walks off with your 360 and you´re heading off to buy your shining brand new PS3 the feeling is warm...sooo warm

[crippler666]

Sorry but what did Halo exactly bring to the table that was new? Other than graphics it had all been done before albeit on a PC.

I can see that Halo 3 is gonna be a good game and yet you have to slate Killzone 2? Most FPS are generic and to think otherwise is just more denile.

[abg428]

I mean to to say : I'm sorry but mass effect has NOTHING on Killzone 2.....

[SlippyMadFrog]

Mass Effect isn't a FPS, it's like saying UNO has NOTHING on KZ2. :/

[abg428]

lol awwwww did the xbox360 fanboy get his feeling hurt when the finally showed what the PS3 was capable of???? You can be in denial alll you want but the proof is right in front of you. Even the press said Killzone 2 EXCEEDED expectations!!! Now you show me at least ONE game on the 360 that can beat Killzone 2 a.k.a halo killer!! LOL

[Optimus Prime]

you truly are a sony fanboy. dont even try to deny it. you tried to say earlier that you loved halo and gears, and now you talk crap about the games... hmm. thats kind of wierd for a person who loves the games dont ya think

anyways, this game looks very good indeed, wasnt sure what to expect, but this just was awsome. lovely time for FPS fans.

[i Shank u]

seriously. dont even argue it.

[fopums]

read the article, they were obviously impressed.

"Pushing in R3 on the right analog stick gave us the iron sight view through the assault rifle's scope--which, when we informed our Sony and Guerrilla hosts was the aspect of the demo which had most impressed us, gave them a bit of pause, followed by minor hilarity, until we explained ourselves further. It's not that there aren't several other impressive aspects of the game. It's just that the focus blur on the outside of the rifle scope, the scope's green tint and curved glass feel, and the green laser dot that indicates where your bursts of ammo should land--all combine for a wonderfully immersive view of the game that sucked us in both as spectators and active participants."

sorry trolls

[LeShin]

lol @ 360Rulez. Either MS is paying you to say that, or you're just retarded....I'm going for the latter.
Every single website and journalist that saw Killzone in action said that they were impressed. Where in that article did it say that N'Gai wasn't impressed?
In fact, link us to even ONE website that thinks it looks like crap? and so far the gameplay feels cool according to N'Gai who actually played it so you can't even use that card.

There's a BIG difference from being a fan and a retard. I love Mass Effect and I own a PS3. I can recognise a good game when I see it. You on the other-hand are just being childish.

I hope all your consoles break down to teach you some humility.

[PS3n360]

luckily i dont have to choose. its both for me.

[i Shank u]

i never played much FPS on Ps2, thought they all looked bad so i dont have a good opinion of them on the controller, do you like playing FPS with a 360 controller or a PS3 controller?

[Mighty Boom]

Anyone know?

[jtmill07]

Didn't they say that most of the games shown at e3 for Sony would be out no later then end of the physical year witch would be March 08????????????

[fopums]

I thought they said something about fall 2008...somewhere, nothing real concrete yet :/

[mrk01]

its suppose to be out at early 2008

[Sully907]

Wow that would suck if the release date was that far off,I'm hoping for March 2008.

[ALIEN]

KZ2 looks amazing n from what i read it plays good too. I hope guerilla keeps working hard on KZ2. By the way, MASS EFFECT is going to be great too. It's one of my favorite. I watched the new video, it looks great.

[Rims]

Poor M$, Killzone raped Halo3, no one even cares to mention about it!

[Aramis001]

We haven't even played both games yet and you're already saying it raped Halo 3? Killzone 1 couldn't touch Halo, and neither will Killzone 2.

[Corrupt]

That comment has just shown your ignorance. Stop trying to judge the game before it has even been released. Halo is a brilliant game, but Gears of War has shown that Halo is not the only great shooter out there. Give credit where credit is due.

[hotshot1237]

halo 3 dosnt even have a cover system and its the same thing over and over. and people dont even know the story. they just worry about achievments points and saying WERE HALO MASTERS. hahaha

[Salvadore]

Havent played the game and you're already bashing it... Wow, another jackass.

[Bits-N-Kibbles]

Is there a jumo button, because i dont think there is one in KZ1?

[xg-ei8ht]

All that on screen with x4 fullscreen aa.

Nice!

[hazardman]

Well there seems to be a lot of buzz for killzone 2..sure hope it lives up to the hype.

[hazardman]

hotshot your obviously not a halo fan...what kind of story is killzone going to have? killzone's story is boring..written by your 8th grade classmate. I think we should all wait til we actually play the game ourselves before we pass judgement. And most of you make it seem like killzone is gonna be ps3 savior.. I have both systems Halo 3 is a must buy..Killzone will be my weekend rental.

[abg428]

lol man ur STILL in denial??? Do me a favor, go look at Halo 3 E3 trailer and then go look at Killzone 2 E3 trailer...............thought so

[Salvadore]

Finally a preview, have been annoyed lately by some fanboys. and it looks like this will be a solid fps.

[infamouskilla99]

ummm unreal tournament 3 will be gears of war killer, and killzone will be halo's killer , halo 3 compared 2 killzone 2 omg halo 3 looks juss like halo 2 lolzzz ps3 rockssss

[Salvadore]

Another Jackass... wow, it's unbelievable. First and forth, anything not related with this news should not be discussed. Secondly, you're acting like a ignorant fanboy.

[mrk01]

the CGI killer

[Figboy]

is why people keep on bringing up Call of Duty 4 into this equation.

i looked at the Call of Duty 4 trailer (in HD no less), and then i looked at the Killzone 2 trailer (also in HD), and there is no competition.

Killzone 2 runs *CIRCLES around Call of Duty 4 in every aspect. from atmosphere, to animation, to intensity, to graphics.

i acknowledge that COD4 looks good, but Killzone has raised the bar visually on what can be accomplished in a realistic wargame setting.

Gears has set the bar on what a gritty, 3rd person shooter should look like visually, and Killzone does the same (i'm specifically referring to graphics here).

it's also nice to hear N'Gai talk about the gameplay, and how much he enjoyed this.

this is high praise, considering that he was a very stalwart PS3 "basher" (i use the term loosely, maybe "critic" is a better term), and he walked away hella impressed.

so i guess a game can have amazing graphics *AND great gameplay. they don't have to be mutually exclusive, and liking graphics doesn't mean that you don't like gameplay.

hmmph, guess Nintendo was wrong. who knew? lol

i'm excited to be a gamer, and i'm certainly excited to be a PS3 owner.

i'm glad N'Gai has a more well-rounded view of the PS3 and what it's capable of.

[MoonDust]

But I'm guessing that's not what you want to hear.

[ip-student]

Totally agree - it is too early to know what the game play will be but I completely agree that the next-gen systems (PS3 and XBOX 360) can simply do things that are not possible on the Wii. The Wii will fade as the number of HDTVs increase and Sony and MS are going to have a real fight as to who is first. I still think the XBOX 360 is a better value for gamers and I think it will win this generation but plainly you can do great looking games on the PS3 and it may end up being very close. I think the fact that they have to use the CPU to do the 4X AA shows Sony made a strategic mistake but developers are pretty darn smart and will figure out how to do amazing things - just to one-up each other if for no other reason.

The real question is whether Sony can afford another cut in price. When MS drops the price by $50-$100 it is going to start to tap a much larger segment that is willing to pay $200-$300 for a system but not $400-$600 for a system. And since MS had finally figured out that the XBOX 360 has a serious design defect (mine is still working -purchased Feb 06 - but I keep it on a on rack that is open so it gets lots of air) the design issues that everyone has should not be a problem in the future. I hope Sony stays close.

[Figboy]

you'd be guessing wrong.

i don't care if you think COD4 looks better any more than you care that i think Killzone 2 looks better. i don't *NEED to hear that it looks better from you, or anyone else. i believe what my two eyes show me.

it doesn't matter.

the fact is, your opinion isn't going to stop me from being excited about Killzone, and vice versa in your case.

out of curiousity, *WHY do you think COD4 looks better.

i'll give you the reasons why i think Killzone looks better:

1.) Art Direction: The design work in this game is wonderful, and suits the somber mood the developers are trying to convey. For a game set in a fictional future, it looks more realistic to me than COD4, which is interesting, as it's a very stylized game, whereas COD4 is trying to be contemporary and photo-realistic (kind of like SOCOM, Battlefield, etc). Killzone doesn't suffer from the "uncanny valley" effect because the characters are slightly exaggerated, almost charicature like (think of a Pixar movie, or any good CGI film, in which the characters look real and believable, because of the exaggeration of standard human features instead of aiming for photo-realism).

2.) Character Animation: From allies, to enemies, the movement of both are very fluid and lifelike. Hell, even your player character has some smooth animations. Check out the 4 minute extended trailer on IGN, and there's a lot more gameplay that showcases the animation. Call of Duty's animation is good, but not great.

3.) Destructable Environments: In the trailer, there's so much flying debris blowing every which way, adding to the hectic, chaotic feel of battle.

4.) Anti-aliasing: There's not a jaggie to be seen in Killzone, and according to the second part of N'Gai's article, the team are using the Cell's SPUs to achieve 4X Anti-aliasing. As a result, the game looks much smoother than COD four, as, judging by the HD trailer, suffers from poor anti-aliasing.

i'll have to review both trailers again, but there's more than just these four reasons as to why i think, visually, Killzone 2 blows COD4 away.

[MoonDust]

1. It's looks more realistic
2. It's not gray heaven
3. Guns look extremely realistic
4. It's a proven franchise and will have extremely fun gameplay.
5. Don't know if you saw the new trailer but it looks amazing. Especially the desert map.

Point is, i think it COD looks better and looks like it has a better feel. I won't disagree with you, you can think what you want. Both will good games just don't think less of COD4 because it is Multi/plat.

[DJ]

It looked so tight. It took about two years, but all of the hatred and doubt cast upon Playstation 3 over that dreary period got wiped away with a single game, which is crazy when you think about it. This E3 definitely went down in history as Sony's comeback.

BTW, did Microsoft or Nintendo show anything significant at E3? I didn't get to see their press conferences yet (busy-busy).

[MoonDust]

They also announce COD4 beta exclusive to 360. Scene it the game, some arcade titles. H3 trailer. I guess they are saving their surprises for X07.

[IBLEEDBLU]

call of duty 4 is looking sweet and im just as excited..

but everything about KZ2 is better - im not saying it ruins it like KZ2 ruins halo3 but its better - the mood it sets really gives it that hostile city with ur there 2 kill or be killed....the enviroments are just crazy - did u guys see the cables move to the wind? and how the pillars broke off when each round hit it...that was amazing..and the animation..simply amazing

one thing i hope they fix that the CGI trailer really made the game stand out are the explosions...the pre-alpha ones didnt seem that top notch but hopefully in time they make it more closer to the cgi

KZ2 simply owns - and if u dont agree then ur just a dumb one

and MS with surprises?? i doubt it hahaha after they saw KZ2 they must be thinking "we are screwed" go sell some more stocks lol

[Figboy]

why do you have to go there?

Killzone isn't *RUINING anything, let alone Halo 3.

for one, they have two completely different art directions, and for two, well, hell, i don't know, but Halo is going to please it's fans, and Killzone may actually *GET some more.

the first KZ was promising, but the PS2 hardware held it back. it's looking like the PS3 has what it takes to push their vision of the title. this is good news, and those that missed out on the great world and story of the original, because of hampered gameplay, may take a second look thanks to KZ2.

you can make some excellent points, but then fudge them up with your PS3 propaganda.

and *I'M a diehard Playstation fan, who loves his PS3, but come on, give credit where it's due, man.

Killzone is indeed setting a bar for visuals in a console FPS (Crysis, i think, may set the bar for PC FPSes, but at least i don't have to fork out over $1200 for a killer PC setup to run it, i'll just have to make due with KZ2, Resistance, Bioshock, etc), but it's not going to be the be all, end all, of FPS experiences. there's different strokes for different folks, and Killzone is just another flavor added to the menu.

to Moondust: you imply that Sony and Nintendo won't have surprises for the Tokyo Game Show, and the Nintendo event?

we still haven't seen *ANYTHING from the other development houses from Sony.

remember, Team Ico is working on *TWO PS3 projects, the San Francisco branch is working on *THREE PSN titles, and we haven't seen much else from Sony's other Japanese development houses yet. to think that they aren't cranking away at stuff is silly.

by TGS in September (or is it October), a few anticipated PS3 titles will be out: Lair, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, and Folklore in October.

the Tokyo Game Show will be the perfect place to show what's *NEXT for the PS3, just like i expect Microsoft to show some new stuff at their X07 event, since games like Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Too Human will probably have launched by then.

it's kind of silly to think that the companies aren't going to have this awesome back and forth that we'll all benefit from in the end.

[360_Rules]

All the best graphics in the world won't help it unless the gameplay is there. Killzone 1 certainly didn't have good gameplay.

[ps3FTW]

Fanboyism at it's best.

[IrishAssa]

you need the gameplay , graphics help improve the experience but whats the point if a game gets boring after the first level, i'm not saying this will be the case with KZ2 but this was the case with KZ1

[QuackPot]

We already know that the original Killzone was an average game with obvious flaws:

1. Graphic glitches
2. questionable AI
3 Poor physics
4. Repetitive Play

KZ was rushed onto the underpowered Ps2. Now GG/Sony have the powerful Ps3 and have brought us Killzone 2(pre-alpha) which have the following improvements

1. Fixed
2. [still to be decided but likely fixed]
3. Fixed
4. [Still to be decided]

So two out of four problems fixed. Odds are, the other two problems(AI & Gameplay) have are also being sorted. GG/Sony are clearly heading in the right direction. Why all the doubt? They were obvious problems that can be easily fixed.

[SILV3R_]

gives you more details on the game control.

[ALIEN]

fanboys!

[timmyp53]

solid =)

[Albertos104]

cooks good

[Scions Wrath]

I am very impressed with everything to do with this game, especially the awesome cover system - it just looks very cool and easy to use i can't think of anything that has used cover in an FPS and made it look so damn good!

[zonetrooper5]

While KZ2, Halo 3 and Crysis will be excellent shooters, the fact is, if the gameplay is bad and I mean bad, then whats the point in all those pretty graphics?

I've played the Halo 3 Beta and Bungie has nailed the gameplay, I have not played KZ2 or Crysis so I can't tell how the gameplay will really be. As for this game being in pre pre alpha, that is BS I reckon, the game must be at least approaching or in an internal Beta if its coming out in early 2008, also note, its been in dev for 2 years now. If it was pre pre alpha, they would still be at the drawing board or they are very slow devs.

[Scions Wrath]

Killzone 2 has reached 20,000 on the hottest games list - leaving a huge gap!

zonetrooper5 -36- i totally agree with you on gameplay but there is no way it looked bad in that trailer in any way. It is pre alpha and where development is concerned you have to remember Halo 3 is here so early because it uses the Halo 2 game engine. I would guess a Killzone 2 beta this year or very early 2008.