Killzone 2 Preview

By Tom Bramwell Published 11 July, 2007

Quite what that screenshot was about...

Phil Harrison says Killzone 2 is important to Sony because the level of anticipation has been set so high. Picking through the wreckage of the first in-game screenshot, which popped up in a US newspaper just prior to E3, it's easier to read it the other way: Killzone 2 is important to Sony because the level of cynicism has been set so high. MotorStorm, another E3 2005 graduate, overcame the stigma by delivering on the concept rather than the graphics. Settling into a screening room beneath a Sushi bar on the streets of Santa Monica last night, we got our first chance to see whether Killzone 2 could hope to do likewise.

Like the E3 2005 trailer, it begins in crowded confines, aboard an "intruder" - the aerial equivalent of a D-day landing barge, apparently used for fast, rough deployment in the face of heavy resistance. Grey clouds dominate the background as you pull alongside another barge and exchange frightened comments and orders. Suddenly, a spark of lightning blasts the other barge and it violently disintegrates in a flash of red that's part explosion and maybe part blood haze. Perhaps we're imagining it. The lightning came from below. As the clouds part, your eyes zigzag the storm-ridden greys and browns of an industrial complex, part of a sprawl of dirty buildings, courtyards, ramps and walkways, peppered with explosions and bursting with violent noise, into which you're swooping as all around you cling on for dear life.

The intensity's apparent before you even land. When you do, the scattered wreckage of your shattered metal surroundings provides points of natural or at least coherent cover, as a rendezvous objective flashes across the top of the screen. Helghast are in a mixture of elevated positions around your squad, which is reinforcing friendly troops already deep in combat. The concentration of activity is instantly arresting and easy to mine for highlights. Shot in the neck, a Helghast trooper gropes his throat theatrically before trying to return his hands to his gun and taking more bullets in the chest and hips, twisting as each impact shatters his capacity to respond. Elsewhere a frag grenade lands in amongst his friends, and the explosion blows them to their knees and onto their faces. Herman Hulst, MD of Guerrilla, tells us afterwards that enemies react differently not just based on the game's interpretation of positional damage, but also the weapon used.

'Killzone 2' Screenshot 1

If E3 2005 set expectations high, this sets them low. Much too low. It looks far better than this.

Despite the initial open setting, it's claustrophobic, and the demo spends more time in corridors and crossing walkways to clear Helghast positions. The palette, in keeping with Killzone 1, is intelligently narrow. The redness of the blood spurting from jugular veins and chest wounds is in stark contrast to the limited grey scale. When you walk past a body in a pool of blood, it jars. Meanwhile the sounds around you are being articulated with something called audio occlusion, Hulst says, which helps to put the noises you here into environmental context - with a grenade blast indoors quite different to one in the open. Probably the most striking thing, however, is that it's a good three or four minutes before we notice something that punctures the atmosphere: the slight tagging of a wall by an allied soldier as he turns a corner, as his character-model's reaction to the scenery overrides his animations.

None of this, you may notice, is to say that Killzone 2 today resembles the Killzone 2 "target footage" demonstrated in 2005. What we have instead is a clever assembly of complementary elements. The palette, sound and claustrophobic design give it intensity, while impressive use of depth-of-field, motion blurring, particles and other hazy effects contribute importantly. When you reload your gun, it's pulled right up in your face, but it's blurred through lack of concentration, while beyond the cartridge swap-over the battleground is crystal clear. Physics aren't over-played - the demo man stops to shoot a few tins, planks and a loud-speaker at one point, but mainly to illustrate that it's there. Killzone 2 clearly takes the view that "doing gravity properly" is important, but not defining.

All of this is superbly underpinned by subtle lighting and Killzone 2's most distinctive visual design decision: the sparing use of reflection. Put into the context of an Unreal Engine 3 game - inevitable, obviously, thanks to the marvellous Gears of War - Killzone 2's textures initially appear to be of a lower resolution. But in a sense it's deceptive; they are enormously varied, and are more textile than Teflon sheen, absorbing more light than they reject. With the lighting reduced and variety cut away, it might just have been a PS2 game with an epic draw distance, but instead it's a bravely conscious alternative to the wall-to-wall glare of an Unreal Engine. In the stormy world of the Helghast there are still nifty self-shadows, changing light sources and colours, but light is sucked away rather than paraded. Another use of colour is the way that the screen changes shade to a brighter grey as you take damage - upon which note, the health system doesn't seem to rely on a bar but rather the ability to evade damage long enough to recover.

As our demo player - Guerrilla's game director - advances through countless Helghast positions, it's almost relentless. Cover positions disintegrate as he reloads - the concrete stripped to the steel reinforcement within. There are pauses in corridors that help mediate the pace. Cut-scenes, like the one that introduced the demo level, will be seamless and in-game, Hulst explains (he says the point of the original trailer was to emphasise this - sort of worked, chap), but the closest we get is a silent ride in an elevator, the eyes of our squad-mate cast down. There's no bravado here. There's more fear than anything. You're never alone, either. Allied troops climb a mesh fence and vault the top to join you as you move over rooftops toward your objective: a Helghast cannon. The draw distance is eye-catching, but it's more that what you see within it is such a confusing environment of patchwork metal buildings and bridges, with electrical cables swaying in the wind and rubbish everywhere, like a Shanghai slum made out of broken guns. Full-scene anti-aliasing helps pull all the detail out without slashing your eyes to spill the rapidly clotting disbelief, happily suspended by the consistency on display.

'Killzone 2' Screenshot 2

It doesn't get to this, from the E3 2005 trailer, but the differences are welcome. Animations are consistent in places - they're certainly good.

As the demo gets close to climax, we infer that the cannon took out the other barge. Hulst suggests it collects lightning and then fires it back into the sky - in tune with Sony's comments in USA Today to the effect that the Helghast harness weather systems to disrupt your assault. "You don't just have to deal with the Helghast military threat," Hulst confirms. "You also have to take on the brutal environment." In this case it's quite simple - hit a switch to expose the core of the weapon and then blast it. As soon as that's done though, a mean-looking flying vehicle zips over the roof with a mechanical snarl. Fade to black. "Killzone 2: Mission Accomplished," the black informs us. It's a fairly low key ending next to the blockbuster Gears' coronation at Microsoft's E3 showcase last year, and perhaps captures the tone: astonishingly violent, conservatively assembled.

Many factors will ultimately decide whether the overall game ends up a goodun - at the moment, beneath whatever I thought it was doing right, it's about seeking cover and finding angles to take out your enemies without over-exposing, while other things, like AI, still clearly need work, and there's no way to tell how it will be paced, whether we'll empathise with our charge, to what degree it will offer the combat variety missed in the original (although a "heavy gunner" mini-boss points to some), and how important the Helghan environment can actually prove. Likewise, we don't know what it will offer to complement Resistance: Fall of Man's multiplayer in the PS3 FPS genre, although we're told it will be 16-player and "extensive", linking into Killzone.com as well as PlayStation Home.

'Killzone 2' Screenshot 3

Hopefully we'll have some proper E3 assets soon. Then we'll swap these out. Which makes me a transient caption. Love me while you can.

More relevant to now is to say that it's not the game we thought we saw in 2005, but that the principles aren't too far removed, and it looks undeniably good. Hulst says Guerrilla sought to create a relentlessly hostile environment, and they have. Next to the original trailer it's comparably cinematic, resolutely frantic and capably imagined, with touches that other FPS games wouldn't reject if they'd thought of them. See what you make of the trailer they're releasing on PlayStation Network over E3, but I'm more interested now than I was, and quite happy to give it the benefit of the doubt for a bit until the pad's in our hands for the first time. And I'll tell you what - it looks a f*** of a lot better than that rubbish screenshot.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (103) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rayn #1 5 years ago

    Just saw the HD trailer. I'm well impressed.

    Edit: The in-game one
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 11:22

  • LeD #2 5 years ago

    "More relevant to now is to say that it's not the game we thought we saw in 2005, but that the principles aren't too far removed, and it looks undeniably good."

    Thanks for that. I thought I was going mad or blind, what with the forum collectively creaming themselves over the new trailer. I thought it looked good, but not headline-grabbing good.

  • scaramanga10 #3 5 years ago

    Wow, the trailer actually delivers. . .

    http://www.g amevideos.com/video/id/12998

  • dahsif #4 5 years ago

    If The E3 2005 trailer got a 9.5/10, this one gets a solid 8/10.

  • Dizzy #5 5 years ago

    It looks good... like almost any other FPS nowadays but nothing really special (but the bar has really been raised by quite a lot of games). The real test will be the gameplay.

    I do like the color choices... and maybe the story will be worth it.

    If this wasn't "Killzone 2" but a new EA game.. everybody would just say "meh". Looks like a lot of people are excited because they were afraid it would look like crap :)
    Edited by 2 at 11/07/07 @ 11:32

  • El_MUERkO #6 5 years ago

    my tinfoil hat protected me from the first screenshot

  • Eighthours #7 5 years ago

    It looks very good indeed. Just a shame that Sony had "that" trailer beforehand as it reduces the impact somewhat - despite what Harrison says, it's still nowhere near that (though as I said, looks very good!)

    When's this out anyway? 2008?

  • Azazel #8 5 years ago

    /dons tinfoil hat

    "Yer, yer no gonnae read ma mind. Yer no gonnae read ma mind!"

  • Moz #9 5 years ago

    Looks like it might deliver :)

  • kangarootoo #10 5 years ago

    @Rayn

    Where can I see an HD version of the trailer?

  • ChrisOTR #11 5 years ago

    Hopefully we'll have some proper E3 assets soon. Then we'll swap these out. Which makes me a transient caption. Love me while you can.

    No! I won't be loved and left!

  • DUFFKING #12 5 years ago

    Decent enough, bit of a standard shooter, nice and atmospheric though.

    Begs the question: WTF did they release THAT screenshot :/

  • Scurrminator #13 5 years ago

    HD version is over at gamespot.

  • LeD #14 5 years ago

    "Best use of restraint with lighting for a long while."

    Amen to that. I'm sick of having all these games baked in glare, bloom effects and whatnot.

  • kangarootoo #15 5 years ago

    @Scurrminator

    Ta

  • old_skool #16 5 years ago

    do you hear that sound ?

    *ker-ching!*

  • Beano #17 5 years ago

    "If The E3 2005 trailer got a 9.5/10, this one gets a solid 8/10."

    So basicly... "as good as Halo then" ;)

  • lemon #18 5 years ago

    It's Hermen Hulst.

    Not Herman Hurst.

  • RandolphScott #19 5 years ago

    Yeah it does like a bit of a standard shooter.

    They should have put more car racing in and puzzles and sudoku and stuff.

  • Ihya #20 5 years ago

    Looks very solid.

  • The-Bodybuilder #21 5 years ago

    So is it the real next gen or what?

  • Steroyd #22 5 years ago

    shot in the neck, a Helghast trooper gropes his throat theatrically before trying to return his hands to his gun and taking more bullets in the chest and hips, twisting as each impact shatters his capacity to respond.

    :o

    Omg this is something i desperately wanted in Metal Gear Solid 4 in MGS2/3 it was hella fun taking out the enemies legs or arms, but if you hit all four limbs they'd just die and disappear which kinda sucked. :/

    Taking out kidneys, chest, crotch etc etc it's like a FPS dream come true.

    I think there's a tear in my eye. :')

  • #23 5 years ago

    Yeah!

    Enter next-gen shooters!

    Looks awsome.

  • The-Bodybuilder #24 5 years ago

    >"Taking out kidneys, chest, crotch etc etc it's like a FPS dream come true."

    Welcome to goldeneye on the n64.

  • Halo.Jones #25 5 years ago

    @ Kangarootoo

    Check the PlayStation Store tomorrow, the video will be there.

  • tjs #26 5 years ago

    Embargo timing gold!

  • space_ace #27 5 years ago

    hmm the gorillaz game proves quite a departure from their style.. :)

  • Dr.Gash #28 5 years ago

    Awesome-O.

  • Steroyd #29 5 years ago

    Welcome to goldeneye on the n64.

    MGS2 & 3 touched up on this but not enough points on the body that makes every shot feel unique.

    Hopefully the fact that the Helghast reacted to his throat being shot and body reacting to each individual bullet, is an indication to how much detail in this area there is.

    There are a few stuff in the FPS's genre I want looked at, this is just one tick in the right box.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 12:20

  • menage #30 5 years ago

    Great graphics, generic shooter.

    Meh, I got bored with Gears in 3 days, this doesn't do shit for me.

    Bioshock!!

  • king_skins #31 5 years ago

    "Taking out kidneys, chest, crotch etc etc it's like a FPS dream come true."

    Welcome to goldeneye on the n64.

    lol, was thinking the same thing.

  • SBfistfun #32 5 years ago

    Mehzone

  • Dizzy #33 5 years ago

    >uses Audio Occlusion for great effect I believe.

    Halo 3 as well.

  • JediMasterMalik #34 5 years ago

    I told you it wouldn't look that bad. Guerilla know graphics.

  • Darren #35 5 years ago

    I love the way people are saying that Killzone on the PS3 is not yet a Halo 3 killer. How do they know that, have they seen or played any of Halo 3's single player game then? For all we know, Halo 3 could be awful and more of a disappointment than Halo 2! ;)

  • lambtron #36 5 years ago

    ""Taking out kidneys, chest, crotch etc etc it's like a FPS dream come true."

    Welcome to goldeneye on the n64.

    lol, was thinking the same thing."

    Yep, me too.

  • Ihya #37 5 years ago

    High res version. Wow.


    [link url=http://game trailers.com/player/21504.html
    ]http://game trailers.com/player/21504.html
    [/link]

  • crazyhorse174 #38 5 years ago

    /dons tinfoil hat

    "Yer, yer no gonnae read ma mind. Yer no gonnae read ma mind!"

    lol @ Azazel

    Roll on CV3!

  • polar #39 5 years ago

    That opening trailer looks undeniably good, but Guerrilla still have a long, long, *long* way to go to match the E3 05 footage. The first shot of the guys face through the clouds highlights that right from the off.

  • Dark_Stranger #40 5 years ago

    the music on the trailer is so "Aliens"

  • monkie_king #41 5 years ago

    ""Taking out kidneys, chest, crotch etc etc it's like a FPS dream come true."

    Welcome to goldeneye on the n64."

    Ah, but can you comically shoot the Helghast in the arse? I used to to love hanging around in the toilets on level 2, then approaching soldiers from behind and, erm ...

    /stops talking now

  • Machiavellian #42 5 years ago

    The trailer looked great but then again it did not make me say wow. The short burst of combat looked pretty much standard so no biggie there.

    One thing about in game movies are that they still do not tell the whole story. After seeing COD4 and the feel of that game, KZ2 looks like another Solid shooter.

    I believe Sony miss their mark with KZ2 because if it doesn't make it out this year then it might be up against even better looking games come 2008.

  • kangarootoo #43 5 years ago

    @Halo Jones

    I downloaded the HD version, but I'm going to grab the PS Store version tomorrow too, as watching on a TV is just shinier :)

  • groovychainsaw #44 5 years ago

    Less shiny sounds great to me. Let's see if they include some gameplay this time around...

  • kangarootoo #45 5 years ago

    I tell you what everyone. I couldn't give a rats ass in a high wind whether the final game matches up to the original mock-up trailer. I simply don't care. it doesn't matter. IT DOESN'T!

    I think we have two choices here (presented in my usual cynical stfu style).

    1. Take it all very personally, like a bunch of whining kids, and if the game doesn't look exactly like the original trailer act like Sony shagged our mum and then crapped in the bath.

    2. Take the game on its merits, and if it turns out to look great and be fun to play, be pleased about that because we all like good games, right?

  • mazzl #46 5 years ago

    @Machiavellian
    i think you are correct, this game should be out this fall, just before the holliday season. if it comes out in 2008, it will be a useless game. but we'll see

  • kangarootoo #47 5 years ago

    @groovychainsaw

    I mean shiny in the general "its a good thing" sense, like Rachel Leigh Cook make me feel all shiny inside, for example :)

    On the graphical style in question, I totally agree. Gritty > shiny.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 13:13

  • MJ #48 5 years ago

    "... act like Sony shagged our mum and then crapped in the bath. "

    Sounds like my dad.

  • LeD #49 5 years ago

    Re: Halo 3 trailer

    I have to say it does nothing for me, although I'm massively looking forward to the game.

  • SBfistfun #50 5 years ago

    "I tell you what everyone. I couldn't give a rats ass in a high wind whether the final game matches up to the original mock-up trailer. I simply don't care. it doesn't matter. IT DOESN'T! "

    "The game is now looking better than the trailer" is what Baldy liar said

    No it doesn't Mr baldy liar.

    So it does matter.

  • Machiavellian #51 5 years ago

    What I liked about the Halo3 Video is that it appears you will be in the open in some very epic battles.

    KZ2 looks the opposite. Looks like you will be more enclosed like Gears of War with smaller tighter battles. Right now, I prefer the open epic battle approach and thus I am not all that worried about Halo3 not being the complete graphic whore dream.

    Do not get me wrong, I also like the KZ2 approach if it is done well and so far it looks good but I have played a lot of corridor shooters already so this approach doesn't thrill me.

  • old_skool #52 5 years ago

    SBfistfun, get over it already.

  • Arwin #53 5 years ago

    I don't think you have to worry too much about the scale of Killzone's battles. It'll be 16 player online, and in some of the screenshots you see yourself and 7-8 of your allies together on screen. I'm sure we'll have sufficiently large battles, if maybe not of Resistance's scale (but for that we have Resistance already).

  • SBfistfun #54 5 years ago

    @old skool

    If you're happy with bald lies then that's cool

  • zuljin #55 5 years ago

    Uh oh SBfistfun, looks like you then fall into Kangas 1st category.

    PS: "It was important to demonstrate clearly that we have a real-time playable game that exceeds the expectations that we set for it."
    Exceed ppls expectations - not exceed the trailer.
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 14:01

  • old_skool #56 5 years ago

    @old skool

    If you're happy with bald lies then that's cool

    I'm happy it LOOKS freakin awesome. Now it must just play awesome too.

  • Machiavellian #57 5 years ago

    I wasn't talking about Multiplayer

  • onyxbox #58 5 years ago

    this and halo 3 look f'ing awsome!

    can't wait!

  • Hughes. #59 5 years ago

    I'm pleased to hear they've eschewed Next Gen Slime and Shine™

    I was beginning to think this gen would be cursed with it for the duration.

    The vid I've seen wasn't great quality, so I'll reserve judgement until I've seen it as intended.

  • eurisko2k #60 5 years ago

    wow it looks pretty but well I found the first killzone horrible and well I'm not expecting it to be anything more in the second, it might look nice but well that doesn't make the game

  • Machiavellian #61 5 years ago

    This is just general musing but I wonder if Sony spent so much time and effort trying to get KZ2 to appear like the target render for E32005 that they may have forgotten to work on the most important aspect of the game which is gameplay. From the Video you really do not feel like the gameplay is nothing special even though the visual aspect are on the Mark.

  • Nithron #62 5 years ago

    "Best use of restraint with lighting for a long while."

    ..It's kinda crappy that *not* using a feature so much is actually a compliment these days.

    That's not to say i'm criticising Killzone, more like the rest of the games industry for going "omg! new graphics feature!" and just spamming it to the point where there's so much bloom/HDR lighting, bump mapping dynamically cast shadows that you can't actually see what's going on any more.

  • The-Bodybuilder #63 5 years ago

    Killzone has never been a game that had problems with gfx.
    It's guerilla's gameplay and level design (more corridors than halo?) that's the issue.

    GG put so much effort into the first 1-2 levels of K1. The game quickly declined after that.
    I fear the first few levels will be great, then decline afterwards.

    And to those comparing this with Halo, it's more comparable to GOW (gritty, small corridors, cover, except FPS).

  • YourMessageHere #64 5 years ago

    You know, It'd be my pleasure to play this, it looks great.

  • Kenshin001 #65 5 years ago

    Game looks absolutely fantastic. Intense too.

  • old_skool #66 5 years ago

    I think we all should reserve our opinions on how the game will play when it's released.

  • Lacero #67 5 years ago

    "That's not to say i'm criticising Killzone, more like the rest of the games industry for going "omg! new graphics feature!" and just spamming it to the point where there's so much bloom/HDR lighting, bump mapping dynamically cast shadows that you can't actually see what's going on any more."

    If I've learned anything from games it's that in the grim world of the future there will be a thin layer of grease covering everything.

  • kangarootoo #68 5 years ago

    @SBfistfun

    ""The game is now looking better than the trailer" is what Baldy liar said

    No it doesn't Mr baldy liar.

    So it does matter."


    But then I would suggest that it only matters if you "Take it all very personally, like a bunch of whining kids", wouldn't I.

  • SBfistfun #69 5 years ago

    "But then I would suggest that it only matters if you "Take it all very personally, like a bunch of whining kids", wouldn't I."

    Yes, you're right, I am a bunch of whining kids.

    I have two for each leg, one for each arm, and a toddler for a head.

    And I can still point out when somebody is talking bollocks

  • Rash' #70 5 years ago

    The trailer obviously doesn't give too much away other than a sample of the look and feel of the game. It has a much grittier look to it than other FPS games coming out. The combination of the lighting and the colour palette certainly give it a cinematic menace. Keen to see how it plays, but that's what playable demos are for. So far so good. Lets hope Guerilla can deliver on the gameplay.

  • Instinct #71 5 years ago

    Hold onto your seats guys, we have damage control kicking in!

  • zuljin #72 5 years ago

    @as702ecs
    Dude... What? If you want to save the trailer, right click on your link and do "save target as"!!!

    EDIT: If you're on ie ofcourse, I'm sure most browsers have that though!
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 15:55

  • JediMasterMalik #73 5 years ago

    Stop bitching aboput Phils comments, he said some ASPECTS of the game look better than the trailer, which I agree with. The bullet effects look better which is ap[parent from just watching it the first time. They're very gears like, which I like.

  • Calgon #74 5 years ago

    The graphics are good but theres already better looking games out, like gears, it appears theyve toned all the taxing effects down(which Tom tried to spin as positively as possible) and detail in some cases(like the colour palet and textures) so they should be able have alot on screen *edit: Oh and its good to see it has FSAA but that could have been another reason for the direction taken*(seems like there's alot of smoke and debris flying around, with the destructable environment, looks pretty atmospheric). Good graphics but not great, Im not hearing much innovation(told you they were soft on Sony) which they'd be saying if it were anyone else. Still early to say whether it will be good or not, but so far theres games far more worthy of attention based off what we've seen so far, including a few appearing on PS3(Haze for example).
    Edited by 2 at 11/07/07 @ 16:12

  • JediMasterMalik #75 5 years ago

    If no one's noticed the heavily desctructible environments... erm notice them. :D

  • old_skool #76 5 years ago

    wow Calgon, it almost sounded like you were balanced in your opinion.

  • dahsif #77 5 years ago

    *Goes back to playing Pac Man online*

  • old_skool #78 5 years ago

    I had no problems downloading it

  • kangarootoo #79 5 years ago

    @SBfistfun

    My point was always, in a nutshell "but does it really feckin' matter?".

    You seem to be getting very wound up about something that for many is just not even worth the breath it takes to describe it.

    Now maybe whether or not Phil Harrison "lied"* or not is the most important issue for you in all of this, but seriously you are a rapidly shrinking minority. THANKFULLY everyone else seems to be slowly drifting toward sanity and is becoming more interested in whether the actual game itself will be good or not.

    Like I said, we can either compare the game and the movie, as if the valididy of a comparison actually really matters AT ALL to anyone. Or we can just GET OVER IT and look forward to a game that appears to be shaping up very well (or at the very least discuss the bloody game if we don't think it is shaping up very well).


    * I constantly dispair at the way some gamers use the word "lie" to refer to everything even slightly connected with any form of disppointment or change, like some kid mourning the loss of a pet dog because they have not yet come to terms with the concept of death "You said fluffy would like forever and we would always be happy together. LIARS! sob sob sob."

  • mash the x button #80 5 years ago

    What kangarootoo said.
    It's only a game ffs.
    And anyone who claims that it doesn't look graphically impressive is either biased or a fool :-)

  • SeesThroughAll #81 5 years ago

    The game looks great. It also looks like they're trying to make a make it a tactical shooter (obvious influence from Gears there).

    And the model detail and animation are great. A shame about there being a lot of low-res textures in the environment, but when you restrain lighting, it doesn't bother so much.

    Again, the gameplay sounds promising, if they got it tactical a la Liberation, that's a buy from me.

  • SBfistfun #82 5 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    lol

    Why are people so easy to wind up on here?

    For the record, I actually think it looks pretty good visually. I thought Killzone was reasonably enjoyable (and looked good) but quickly grew tiresome.

    The point is people spout so much bollocks about how something is going to look/play, and then it comes along and doesn't.

    He lied!
    /sits with hands over ears
    Edited by 1 at 11/07/07 @ 17:21

  • Scimarad #83 5 years ago

    I was expecting this to be a big pile of of old shite but it actually looks pretty impressive!

  • kangarootoo #84 5 years ago

    @SBfistfun

    "Why are people so easy to wind up on here? "

    Because its full of crazy people? ;)

    "He lied!
    /sits with hands over ears"

    Hehe, touche.


    @SeesThroughAll

    Re some low res tectures in the environments, I think most games tend to have a bit of that. When you look at some of the environments in HL2 for example, some areas are very high poly with awesome textures, and some looklike something out of Quake 2. It all depends on how busy the area is, how important the particular item in question is, etc. Its all just a matter of performance balancing and every game has to do it.

    I think the real feather in GEoW's hat was that the Unreal engine can do texture streaming on the fly. This means that their only real limitation in that area is how many textures they show you at any given time (rather than how many are in the level as a whole). I don't know exactly how they are applying the system; there is probably some good info ont he web.

    Its also worth bearing in mind that GEoW was structured in a way that allowed them to take good advantage of a texture streaming system. I.e. isolated areas connected by bottlenecks. A game that has sprawling battlefields (as I assume Killzone 2 will have, given the nature of the same of the environs in KZ1) can't so easily control the player's line of sight. And if your line of sight is very open, you can't just be dropping textures out of memory in the hope the player won't turn around or stand on a bucket for a better view.

    I think it fair to say the KZ engine is looking rather cool. Under close scrutiny I am sure we can detect some rough edges (as you always can in any game). But when you are arse deep in the battle, my main concern is the overall gameplay experience.

    I'm starting to sound uncharacteristically evengelical about KZ2 (I just have high hopes for this) so I'll zip it now :)

  • SeesThroughAll #85 5 years ago

    for all the bashing Sony's received I say let ps3 owners enjoy this. i think they've earned it.

    600 euros! We earned it the moment we bought the damn thing :p

  • captainrentboy #86 5 years ago

    Just downloaded the trailer......Colour me very impressed :)
    Depending on the reviews next year, this looks like it could very well be the game that entices me to get a PS3.
    That pic released yesterday certainly did more harm than good didn't it? I'm glad I resisted the urge to take the piss :)
    I just really liked the general mood in this new trailer, the awesome looking lightning storms helped some what.
    But PS3 lovers don't get tooooo carried away, look closely and there are some terrible textures dotted around, and texture pop in too, and those fire effects really need working on. But hey, it's pre-pre Alpha right?

  • thinred #87 5 years ago

    Textures this, edges that... Couldnt' care less. If the final game delivers this kind of graphics coupled with the gameplay suggested by this trailer, it's going to be freaking awesome.

  • Monkey-Wizard-Ken #88 5 years ago

    I hope they deliver. But it’s Sony and they frequency don’t.
    However, I am interested in seeing a direct feed of the game. The trailer is a bit dark and blurry.

  • The-Bodybuilder #89 5 years ago

    I honestly fail to see how anyone couldn't have been impressed (graphically) by the trailer.

    And I'm not a KZ fan.

  • Vic #90 5 years ago

    "I honestly fail to see how anyone couldn't have been impressed (graphically) by the trailer".

    Yeah but Xbots like Calgon will never admit that it looks better than Gears (even at this pre-alpha stage). As for Halo, it barely looked any better than the beta, what a big disappointment. Killzone and COD 4 walked all over it.

  • Waldo #91 5 years ago

    Why is the top of the drop ship so exposed like that? One good gust of wind and you're over the side. ;)

  • Monkey-Wizard-Ken #92 5 years ago

    @Vic
    'Killzone and COD 4 walked all over it?'
    I wouldn't go quite that far, much of the killzone trailer was cut scenes, there wasn't much in-game footage.
    Resistance looked like a great game until I played it for myself.
    You can't judge a game by a short movie and a few screenshots.

  • Vic #93 5 years ago

    True, but IGN had a 15-minute walkthrough and they considered it to to be an awesome demonstration.

    They stopped short of saying it, but it was obvious that it made Halo 3 its bitch, if only superficially.

  • Monkey-Wizard-Ken #94 5 years ago

    @vic

    ign are a bunch of monkeys, have you seen them trying to play games?

    have you read 1up's preview?
    [link url=http:// www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3160994
    ]http://ww w.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=31...[/link]
    Its a little more grounded.

  • Vic #95 5 years ago

    They've got a lot more to go on than we do.

  • The-Bodybuilder #96 5 years ago

    >"Yeah but Xbots like Calgon will never admit that it looks better than Gears (even at this pre-alpha stage). "

    I definately wouldn't call it "pre-alpha". Heck, the game is out early next year.
    As for H3, yes it does look (graphically) dissapointing.

    However, we don't know KZ's game mechanics. Are they spending equal time with the AI? What about level design? Is it like the first one? (where you simply go from A to B, switching on/off buttons, e.t.c.).

  • Monkey-Wizard-Ken #97 5 years ago

    @ Vic

    Sony likes to control content and they will do anything for good PR.
    I haven't seen a single bad screenshot of resistance, and yet much of the game looks horrid.
    That said I hope KZ2 is great.

  • The-Bodybuilder #98 5 years ago

    The ign preview is just them getting away with themselves (like they always do with hyped shooters).
    Equally, 1up preview clearly shows thier "hidden" disdain for killzone.

  • sonsonate #99 5 years ago

    Hmm, loads of the color grey...

    Oh wait, grey's not a color... Reminds me of Doom3, even in the Hi-Res trailer. Lawl. Color me underwhelmed at many games, including this... And, seriously, who decided to not give those folks helmets? Couldn't the devs spare some polygons to give those "heroes" helmets? Lawd-have-mercy!

  • Steroyd #100 5 years ago

    Isn't it more technically demanding to have hair. :)

    KZ had open battlefields but their were too few stuff going on and inhtially the details of the game doesn't matter just what it looks like will do for now, we'll probably get gameplay details later at E3 or through Sony's blog or even the Killzone website.

    Anyway I'm glad the shoe is on the other foot as far as hyped FPS games go and may it get 9/10 reviews to piss you all off.

  • smoothn00dle #101 5 years ago

    Halo3 play demo didn't show on M$ press conference. Between they are ashame of Killzone2, may be not even as good as Gear of War.. hahahah

  • theweaze #102 5 years ago

    And I'll tell you what - it looks a f*** of a lot better than that rubbish screenshot.

    is this eurogamer trying desperatley to defend themselves on the whole " real next gen" thing. this article reads to me as if they are saying "see look it does look good, it is the real next gen" please just admit there isnt much of a difference between the 2 systems - stop trying to defend a false statement you made. and just admit you were wrong.

    at the moment there appears less of a difference between the ps3 and the 360 than the ps2 and original xbox.

  • Apologie #103 4 years ago

    these will be the best game ever... simply amazing.