Killzone 2

By Kristan Reed Published 29 August, 2008

Hands-on with the multiplayer.

Heavy Rain may have been the cover star of the Games Convention, with LittleBigPlanet jumping around in the background, but Killzone 2 was there as well, hidden away, much as it was at E3, with Guerrilla's Eric Boltjes and others keen to talk to the press about the multiplayer ahead of the game's increasingly close February 2009 release.

For this latest airing of the multiplayer, Boltjes wants to get across how accessible the game will be. "For us it meant that everybody, regardless of whether they're a new player to the FPS genre or if they're an experienced online player should be able to go online, join games and start playing the game as quickly as possible," he says. But getting seamlessly into the action isn't the only concern. It's how to keep people there once they're in, and get them used to the game's features without overwhelming them.

"We really want to introduce new features gradually, so as you play, as you score points you unlock new things," he adds. "You get new features and then still have enough scope left for the more advanced features for our hardcore audience to still be interested over the longer term."

To help get players used to all this, Killzone 2 will include computer-controlled enemy bots in both offline and online multiplayer - firstly as a means of giving players an offline safe haven to learn the ropes, and secondly to give the option of fleshing out matches where you might want a few more players and can't be bothered to wait around for the lobbies to fill up. Boltjes says the bots "mimic human behaviour" (hopefully not singing inanely) and will "pretty much do anything that a player can do online as well, including play all the missions, use all the abilities and use all the weapons", although we're not given the chance to see them in action.

Continuing with the 'everyone can play' mantra, Boltjes adds that this emphasis on accessibility runs throughout every design decision. "We want to make sure that players aren't just thrown into the deep end, so almost every feature in Killzone 2 multiplayer unlocks as you score points and as you join games. This system allows for a very natural learning curve throughout because the player is introduced more slowly to every feature, one by one."

'Killzone 2' Screenshot 1

I want Relocation, Relocation to set an episode here.

As we noted at length in our huge Killzone 2 multiplayer preview last month, Killzone 2's online feature list is absolutely exhaustive. There's five game types (assassinations, body-count, capture and hold, search and destroy, and CTF variant search and retrieve) and eight maps, with each map capable of supporting every game type. Some of the maps will be better suited for 2-16 players, while others support up to 32 players. That said, if you want to cram 32 players into a smaller map, you can do just that.

Cunningly, players will also be able to create a session that allows them to play through each game type on the same map - with a massive amount of customisation possible. "We want you to play the game just the way you like it - you can create any type of game and change almost every aspect of it," says Boltjes. So, if the host so desires, they can specify the exact weapon types present, bomb defusal times, revival time, the skill level of players that can join the game, and even password the session if you really want to keep the great unwashed out.

Game progression is a big deal, too, with Guerrilla keen to make it "as transparent as possible". "At the end of every game, you see how many points you've scored," Boltjes points out, although we probably guessed that one. "You can see if you've ranked up, you see what you've unlocked, how you can use it and how it benefits you. The game features 12 military ranks, each unlocking new features. In addition we have 46 different medals which you earn by doing special things in the game, such as doing ten headshots or reviving ten people.

"Each of these weapons and medals also give you more features to play online, and to top it all off, there are more than 100 different player statistics that we track [via Killzone.com], so you can track your own progression as well, such as number of kills, time spent online, or even how many health packs you've picked up," he continues. "As you play the game, you learn more about it, and you learn more about how you want to experience and play the game itself. Some people like sniping, some people like playing in a team, some people like playing with big weapons. We've really tried to support specific player preferences." You can even set up your own clan homepage. Mercy be.

As previously revealed, players can also look forward a class-based "badge" system where you can mix-and-match abilities (such as medic and a scout), and numerous incentives to get involved with clan-based activities, such as a "unique Valour betting system" that encourages clans to duke it out for valour points in various tournaments to climb a leaderboard. Squad options will also feature, and will allow players to create squads in-game, with the ability to switch between voice channels as you play. It's all in the name of "inspiring team play".

With so much information to digest, we aren't perhaps the ideal candidates to be facing off against the designers of the game, but they let us loose anyway, giving us our first opportunity to sample some of this mayhem first-hand. First impressions, sadly, are fleeting, giving us little more than a chance to take in the general look and feel of the environments and a few of the in-game weaponry from both the Helghast perspective as well as the ISA soldiers.

Regarding the former, the session kicks off by spawning us into one of the maps designed for smaller parties. It's a classic symmetrical deathmatch arena - a deserted factory complex, with tight, multi-tiered narrow metal gantries crisscrossing a stark grey building and concrete staircases descending into a gloomy basement. Visually it's very much in-keeping with the crumbling concrete hell that features so prominently in the main game, with cracked walls, filthy floors and a colour palette out of Trainspotting. It's dusty, oppressive, atmospheric and dangerous, and makes Silent Hill look like a Mr. Sheen advert.

'Killzone 2' Screenshot 2

These deployable sentry guys have no manners.

Armed with standard assault rifle and pistol, it's a straightforward close-quarters battle. Aiming feels a little spongy at first, but with good use of the claustrophobic zoom view, it proves quite rewarding to look down the sights of the gun and pick enemies off with measured accuracy.

In a second, somewhat bigger map, we also get to experience fighting against big scary robotic airborne sentry drones and turrets that hover and blast you on sight. We're told that players will be able to deploy sentries at strategic locations, but not exactly how we'll go about doing that. Battlefield-style, possibly. Apparently some will depend on the type of terrain: for example, calling in air cover will require line-of-sight, which is only possible in the more expansive outdoor maps.

As we discover, taking on this AI threat adds an extra distraction, so taking them out quickly and efficiently is paramount. Peeking out from behind cover and doing so with a sniper rifle initially proves effective, but also a little risky given the number of times we get shot in the back trying to be sneaky and clever. But that's partly because our opponents actually made the game and doubtlessly second-guessed our intentions, and also because we aren't really paying much attention to the mini-map in the top left of the screen, which offers a vital visual cue as to what was about to blast us to bits.

In summary, your bumbling correspondent is absolutely hopeless, but then so is everyone else who had a go in Leipzig. The most important thing is that Guerrilla clearly wants accessibility and depth; a double-act to rival Halo, in other words, and has an extensive feature-set, a promising engine and a monster website to tie it all together. With the release of the game potentially just six months away, expect some movement on the multiplayer beta in the very near future - along with more expansive impressions of both single-player and multiplayer here on Eurogamer.

Killzone 2 is due for release on PlayStation 3 in February 2009. A public multiplayer beta is scheduled prior to release, and additional multiplayer maps will be made available for download post-launch. Check out our separate Killzone 2 single-player hands-on preview for more on that.

Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (120) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • dr_faulk #1 4 years ago

    Very little opinion on this. Mainly fact.

    Good reporting!

  • johnnybrn #2 4 years ago

    I'm keen for this to be good

    They are also addressing one of the problems of the first game - accessibility.

  • Dizzy #3 4 years ago

    I prefer opinion.

  • agparrot #4 4 years ago

    Sounds great so far, and would be the sort of thing to finally drag me PS3-wards if it lives up to the expectations now placed on it.

  • Widge #5 4 years ago

    Generally good words, been reading feedback from some other forum members who have been playing it at Leipzig and was all good.

    Certainly Killzone doesn't look like a revelation in first person perspective things (unlike the approach of Mirrors Edge) but it seems to be aiming to do what we know well and do it bloody good.

  • BobsUncle #6 4 years ago

    I hope they get the unlock balance right. I.e. you start with a pistol but people who've been playing for a while have machine guns and grenades, that would be shit. CoD got it right in that the weapons you start with are just as good as the others you unlock later (M16 = awesome).

    And 32 player maps eh? What a shame the PSN is too shit to handle it. ;-)

  • mikeck #7 4 years ago

    PSN too shit to handle it...not from my experience!

  • Widge #8 4 years ago

    Is it going to be dedicated servers, player servers or a mixture?

  • ps3owner #9 4 years ago

    PSN won't collapse
    game sounds ok, but a lot of similarities to COD4? unless I've missunderstood some of it...

    maybe it does it better.

    with regard to the BOTS... don't like bots... they are usually unbeatable or pointless.

  • BobsUncle #10 4 years ago

    "PSN wont fall over as it's free."

    What has being free got to do with not breaking?

  • Davey #11 4 years ago

    and similarities with COD4 is a bad thing?!

  • BobsUncle #12 4 years ago

    Anyway, I'll never forgive Killzone for the 'In-game footage' bullshit released waaaaay back.

    And also for the complete pile of shit that was Killzone 1.

  • ps3owner #13 4 years ago

    @Davey.

    no it's not, but why should I purchase Killzone 2 then if I can carry on playin COD4 ?

  • smernicki #14 4 years ago

    and similarities with COD4 is a bad thing?!

    not at all but it's funny how he explains these features as if they are totally new and unique

  • DrDamn #15 4 years ago

    Similarities to CoD4 are a very good thing. One of the possible reasons this is coming in 2009 and not this year is the CoD4 factor. Every FPS with an online element needs to take a good long look at CoD4 and see what makes it so good and still topping the XBoxLive charts nearly a year on.

  • dr_faulk #16 4 years ago

    For all the jyp it got, I really liked the first Killzone. There's a hefty sense of realism about the mechanics of shooting, reloading, and taking cover.

  • kangarootoo #17 4 years ago

    @hedbog

    At least learn to spell christmas you tit.

  • menage #18 4 years ago

    @smernicki

    That's been my main irritation with the whole Killzone dev talks.

    "Ooh shit, we can blow up oildrums and gascans, looks at that, isn't that cool. We want the whole game to be first person, to totally get you in the game (uh duhhhh)"

    Quit selling old shit as new.

    Also. I think the whole accesible thing is good. But aren't most players who would want to play this hardcore anyway.

  • Doctor_What #19 4 years ago

    Re: PSN - seems fine to me, I've never had any trouble playing Resistance or Burnout online. What more do people want?

    Re: Killzone - the first one frustrated me with incredibly poorly placed checkpoints and major difficulty spikes. The script on the single-player mode was terrible too, which really didn't inspire me to keep replaying it. This one... Well, the visual style is incredibly similar to every other dirty-future game. The gameplay looks reasonable if the video is anything to judge by. It could be good, but I'm a bit over saturated with dirty post-apocalyptic worlds so this would have to be something amazing for me to want to buy it at release.

    To put it another way: how different will this be from everything else that's come before? If it's not very different I'll probably just keep playing the old games.

  • VandelayIndustries #20 4 years ago

    Looks like its shaping up well!

    As for the comment about the PSN not being able to cope with it, well if it were some multi-format title i'd agree, but since its a Sony game they'll probably support it with dedicated servers just like Warhawk and Resistance.

  • Chufty #21 4 years ago

    I love the way that these features on a console make serious headlines. Nothing here wasn't a staple feature of PC games like Unreal Tournament 10 years ago.

  • menage #22 4 years ago

    @evilfoxhound

    Pffff, what the hell do you know, I own both. If that's trolling you obviously have a very short fanboy leesh. Just watch some interviews with the man.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 13:47

  • ps3owner #23 4 years ago

    "Looks like its shaping up well! "

    the game or the thread ? ;)

  • yupyup #24 4 years ago

    lolzone

  • dsmx #25 4 years ago

    Still got to laugh at the xbox 360 fanboys calling killzone 2 generic when every shooter released in the last 5 years has been generic. Generic doesn't mean bad COD4 was generic, it did nothing new, it just did everything incredibly well.

  • BobsUncle #26 4 years ago

    @EvilFoxHound

    I was waiting for you to turn up and go through my profile. I bet you was upset to see I own a PS3 too, so couldn't aim your standard "^ Has xbox live gamertag" response at me. Does it upset you to think of a PS3 and a 360 sitting on the same shelf in my TV unit? Although you probably didn't bother looking at my games list otherwise you'd have noticed I don't own Ao2, it's actually in my 'Games I've Played' list.

    And my crappy internet connection works perfectly fine on Xbox live.

    So why don't you just piss off because everyone seems to hate you.

  • groovychainsaw #27 4 years ago

    I thought killzone 1 was pretty rubbish kinda felt like playing halo after 8 tequilas, blurry and difficult to aim - and they don't seem to be chnging much for the sequel. The PS pad was never really designed for FPS games. the sticks are too soft/spongy. Still without much else for me to buy on the PS3, if its better than haze and has split screen co-op (??) it might be worth a look...
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 14:09

  • menage #28 4 years ago

    @Bobs uncle.

    Yeah, it's nice to see that some people think they can know just what others own or don't , all based on one post.

    If he's looking at my gamercard he's looking at another menage though. Cause I sure as hell wouldn't touch some of the games that menage guy played through:p. I would try and fix it, but seeing as I'm not into crap like that, meh.

  • knightmt #29 4 years ago

    I enjoyed Killzone. Though does seem a decade ago.

  • Widge #30 4 years ago

    Do like the fact that those who have actually been getting hands on have been saying good things. Plus the attention to detail coming to the stats/multiplayer side of things sounds great.

    I didn't like Killzone 1 but didn't really give it a chance. Had Halo 1/2 and that was the job for me.

  • ps3owner #31 4 years ago

    whoa, hedbog is going for GOLD

  • mingster #32 4 years ago

    This has 8/10 written all over it

  • andywilkie35 #33 4 years ago

    As a PS3 owner I'm praying that this will be a game that will justify the ridiculous price I paid for it, considering the only decent game i've found so far is MGS4, but not getting my hopes up after reading this on another site:

    "Beautiful graphics and fairly decent multiplayer level design mean nothing in an FPS which during our hands-on took up to a week to respond to control inputs and masked the action with a layer of post-processed vaseline at every opportunity. Sluggish, terrible to control, and seemingly on a steadfast mission to confuse the player."

  • menage #34 4 years ago

    @andy

    Never played Uncharted? And GTA4, CoD4, Oblivion, Soul Calibur, to name a few. Or are we talking exclusives again.

  • Widge #35 4 years ago

    Well CVG apparently reported that the single player was tight control wise, not so with multiplayer. Which is strange, I mean why is just the singleplayer fine?

    Someone on the forum I go on had a go, had this to say:

    "I was pretty impressed with it when I played it and have no complaints of the gameplay or controls. The game certainly looked impressive to me and I will be buying it."

    The game sounds scripted ala COD4, now thats good or bad depending on how you felt about COD4's singleplayer. It was nice to see that they haven't just bolted on multiplayer, that they are really going for it with the game.

    As I said, not a revolution in FPS, but what it appears to be doing is taking all we like about FPS and doing it bloody well.

  • Kenshin001 #36 4 years ago

    @BobsUncle

    "And 32 player maps eh? What a shame the PSN is too shit to handle it. ;-)"

    Eh? I play 32 player Warhawk games almost every night no problems. Same when I used to play Resistance which had 40 players. Resistance 2 will have 60 players. As far as I know pretty much all 360 games only do half those numbers.

  • Zander #37 4 years ago

    I think farticus and evilfoxhound should battle it out in hand to hand combat. Which ever "fanboi" wins can claim that their console is king. Then we can all get on with our lives and carry on playing these "Generic characterless FPS-by-numbers" that we all love to hate.

    Honestly though, gears has iconic characters???

    Killzone 1 was pants, but we might as well hold our judgment on a game until it actually comes out!

  • Vanmunt #38 4 years ago

    I liked Heavenly Sword..

  • BobsUncle #39 4 years ago

    @Kenshin

    I was just trying to wind up the PS3 fanbois, seems to have worked a treat. :-)

  • Vanmunt #40 4 years ago

    +1000 Evilfox..

  • Zander #41 4 years ago

    @BobsUncle,

    You're cruising for a chomlette!

    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 14:55

  • menage #42 4 years ago

    @evilfoxhound

    If only you would have read my post properly instead of accusing me of baiting. I was discussing the dev talk, not the game. You just see everything as an attack.

    Oh and preferring a machine does not make you a fanboy. Hell, I even prefer my PS3 at the moment and bought GTA and SC4 on it because I want to spread my games out equally on both platforms. Going nuts on a PS3 related thread because someone dares to give some negative feedback is screaming fanboy all over though. What's wrong with some discussion and critique? I really don't get why people are so fucking attached to a piece of fucking hardware.

  • Apologie #43 4 years ago

    Great game... maybe these is the one that can keep me away from COD4, i hope they have an hardcore mode just like COD, if they do, i'm in heaven... see ya all in the battlefield.

  • Zander #44 4 years ago

    "I really don't get why people are so fucking attached to a piece of fucking hardware." - So true!

    I guess we need something to bicker over. Its like the gamers equivalent of supporting football teams. Both cost a fortune too!

    Seriously you two should get a room!
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 15:01

  • BobsUncle #45 4 years ago

    @Zander

    You're pending for a bending

  • groovychainsaw #46 4 years ago

    I don't think its so much PS3 hate as apathy - as a PS3 owner myself, it does get a bit boring waiting several months for a half-decent title to arrive and then it turns out to not be very good. I know there's been a few this year, but there's been a lot more to play elsewhere. I'm worried that sony are putting all their eggs in one game basket again, but this time its a game with no pedigree or apparent innovation.

  • JediMasterMalik #47 4 years ago

    This has gone well. Good job Farticus.

  • BobsUncle #48 4 years ago

    @Zander

    Only girls play football

  • DrDamn #49 4 years ago

    @Kenshin001
    Frontlines on the 360 does 50 players.

    As for KZ2. Looks nice and smooth and I like the visual style - which is one up on KZ1 as a good start. I'm not a huge fan of the CoD scripted single player so will have to see how that pans out, it needs a good single player game as whilst the multiplayer feature set looks very good it's not going to be good enough by itself unless the controls are spot on.

    One area I still have more concerns about is AI. We've not seen enough of that as most vids are from show floors and there the game tends to be set on easy. The mention of bots in multiplayer does indicate they should have some decent resource behind it, but again will have to wait and see.

  • Zander #50 4 years ago

    @Bobsuncle

    As opposed to rolling around on the floor with a bunch of dudes??

    Oh and hedbog i meant farticus and evilfox should get a room they need to "thrash" out their differences :-)

    But whatever floats you boat mate :-)
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 15:08

  • mikeck #51 4 years ago

    Widge I would second this comment - "I was pretty impressed with it when I played it and have no complaints of the gameplay or controls. The game certainly looked impressive to me and I will be buying it."

  • BobsUncle #52 4 years ago

    @Zander

    Rolling around on the floor is all I ever see footballers doing anyway, generally when they're near the opposition area. Oh, and they love to kiss eachother when they score.

    GAY

  • Beek4257 #53 4 years ago

    @DrDamn

    You, Sir, have a gamertag. Which is bad.


    I'M KIDDING!! Honest

  • Moonprince #54 4 years ago

    "See Halo3 and Gears of War."

    Both fantastic games with Iconic characters

    -- Halo perhaps, Gears is fking shit and some.

  • BobsUncle #55 4 years ago

    Halo - Iconic characters, shit game.
    Gears - Iconic game. shit characters.

    But then again, like EvilFoxHound says I have played Army of Two, so what do I know eh?

  • Beek4257 #56 4 years ago

    or seriously taken.

  • mikeck #57 4 years ago

    "Both fantastic games with Iconic characters"

    Iconic, or just noticeable?

    Master Chief is just a dude in a green suit, and Gears just features muscles in suits - hardly iconic in my view. I enjoy the games, before anybody bitches, but they're hardly setting the world alight in terms of characterisation. I enjoyed the campaigns, but only on co-op (not fun single player for me), and for Halo it's more about the multiplayer anyway.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 15:31

  • BobsUncle #58 4 years ago

    @Headbog

    They're all in the closet

  • Beek4257 #59 4 years ago

    @BobsUncle

    Halo, shit? Really?

    Halo 2 & 3: bit shit, maybe. But Halo?

    /boggled

  • Zander #60 4 years ago

    Don't listen to Bobsuncle - he is basically a turd in a pair of trainers!

  • menage #61 4 years ago

    I thought Pokemon games weren't that bad, if you're 12 of course.

  • Zander #62 4 years ago

    Gears is not shite, but how gay for it are you farticus?
    "STILL the best graphics of ANY console game" Yeah when they actually loaded in! Also, Biocock anyone?
    "much-copied-but-not-equalled cover system" I think at least GRAW did cover before GoW and i found that i hard a few bugs in it.

    Yeah it sold well but then so does a lot of games i might think are shite. Still i'll be buying gears 2 when it come out.
    Oh and "There is NOTHING memorable about killzone 1 or 2", killzone 2 isn't even out!!! Yet you seem to think Marcus is going to be brilliant in gears 2, which again isn't out! Two different assumptions on games that aren't out, one just happens to favor you argument point hmmm....

    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 15:49

  • BobsUncle #63 4 years ago

    Halo 1 was just a series of copy and paste levels and had the worlds 2nd worst ending level.
    Halo 2 was much better actually, my favourite of the series. Except for the bit's with the Arbiter.
    Halo 3 was overhyped and a real let down, and had the worlds 1st worst ending level because they'd just copied the shit from the first one. Multiplayer was shit and the co-op campaign was also shit.

    And all 3 games were infected with the most boring enemy ever devised in the Flood.

    But that's just the opinion of a turd in trainers.

    Halo is not as bad as Drakes Fortune though, don't get me started on that repetitive pile of buggy shite....

  • kangarootoo #64 4 years ago

    Christ allive. Grow up you pack of bloody kids.


    @Arbiter
    That previous poor report came from here.
    [link url=http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?p=14346646
    ]http://fo rums.gametrailers.com/showthrea...[/link]
    It was just some random poster's opinion, which hardly makes it a reliable source of any info.


    On a tangent, can everyone just ignore farticus. I didn't stick him on my ignore list to have everyone else fill my view with responses to him. I used to avoid ignoring anyone, but I tell you, once you break the seal on that ignore list for a few special cases it just makes the air all clean again. Altogether now...

  • ronuds #65 4 years ago

    lol @ farticus! You love a good fight and it's always fun reading any comments section you're apart of.

    If you don't like "fanboy" comments then ignore them, peoplez! You only make it worse by arguing. Anyway, don't complain about "xbots" being in PS3 threads because it certainly goes both ways. Just look at any Gears or Halo comments section for cryin' out loud. So blame your PS3 fanboy brethren before jumping all over guys like farticus.

    Anyway, Sony is to blame for any xboxers trashing this game. This is the "Halo killer" no? Of course it's going to have a lot of eyes on it. To me, it's looking good, but nothing revolutionary as we would have expected given the distinction of "Halo killer" Sony placed on it. What the game is bringing is a bit late to the party because it's all been done already. For a high-profile exclusive like this, it should have some stuff we haven't seen or at least some features that are "almost" new. If those comments offend anyone, I'm sorry, but it's my honest opinion.

    Certainly isn't looking bad, though.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 15:54

  • chris_ace #66 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • DrDamn #67 4 years ago

    Halo will always *seem* generic to an extent because it defines much of the genre - not really it's problem. Regardless - what set's Halo aside is the gunplay and that is fantastic. The balance in the game is the best there is.

    Gears I've always had a love hate relationship with. I love the game and the game mechanics. Hate the characters.

    Farticus has a serious point in that KZ2 doesn't have a character to relate to - but then you could argue it doesn't need one. Who was the main character in CoD4? What did he look like? With that sort of approach you can perhaps get more connection with the game by being able to more easily slot yourself in there. Then again you can still have an iconic main character which you can relate to in this way by never showing his face ... which brings us back to Master Chief :).

  • Tenaflyviper #68 4 years ago

    I quite liked Killzone 1 as far as I can remmeber.

    This, along with Resistance 2 will make me get a PS3 I think

  • miiiguel #69 4 years ago

    ^ it doesn't realy matter, does it? you do have a gamertag...

  • JediMasterMalik #70 4 years ago

    @ronuds - "Anyway, Sony is to blame for any xboxers trashing this game. This is the "Halo killer" no? "

    Considering Sony have NEVER relaed the game to Halo, and it's always been 3rd parties doing it, it's not Sony's fault at all.

  • mikeck #71 4 years ago

    "I know you all hate Halo as this is a PS3 thread. However, whether you like it or not, Master chief is as famous as Sonic or Mario in the games world. Yes, he is truly an Iconic character."

    Check my profile, yes that's an xbox gamertag. What's that, I own both consoles...wow, do people actually own both? Yes, there's lots of us out there, who don't perscribe to the fanboy thing.

    Did you even read all my post, I like Halo, I just don't think Master Chief's necessarily iconic, but as you point out he's a famous character, so to some degree you're right. I'm just challenging the symantics more than anything.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 16:33

  • ps3owner #72 4 years ago

    I don't need a person to Identify with... I need victims... lots of them! UT3 anyone? while we are at it... UT3 with mouse and keyboard anyone ;)... I haven't even finished COD4 single player mode, pisses me off. I like the online play, that's all :)

  • mkreku #73 4 years ago

    I still don't understand the flak Killzone got. It was a too big game crammed into an ageing console. Otherwise it was fine. I would even dare to say that some of the levels I played were really good. It was too difficult for me so I never finished it but I had a blast for as long as I managed my puny FPS-skills-with-a-controller.

  • Zander #74 4 years ago

    @farticusmaximus

    Yes it does show the popularity of a game when they want to turn it into a movie but i won't be expecting too much from this. Doom the movie (which had no substantial characters, they just made shit up) , Mario the movie (hahahahaha) and the likes all point to a disappointing end, but you never know - and thats why i would not rule out killzone 2. With a bit of spit and a lot of polish anything is possible! My misquote was laziness on my part but i was trying to show how you seemed to write off one game without playing it but seem to praise another that has yet to be released.

    I am currently going through Gears again and yes it still looks lovely (and at the time set the bar) but there are many amazing looking games out there now.

  • Widge #75 4 years ago

    ok, you've got an opinion of the last game and have watched some videos... but how about the reports of people who have actually played this and have said "actually, this is quite good". I've seen positive feedback from the public, the ign previews get repeatedly more and more glowing.

    Question about Gears? Surely it looks about as good as Unreal Tournament 3?
    There is no dig in this statement, just wondered if someone who has played both can actually say yay or nay.

    I wish this game was multiplatform... then there wouldn't be thread after thread about how awful it will be, and conclusive proof of how bad the unfinished unreleased game is.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 16:35

  • Zander #76 4 years ago

    Careful Widge, you are close to starting the "All Unreal engine games look the same" rant.

    But yeah they look the same :-)

  • zuljin #77 4 years ago

    @farticusmaximus
    "It's easy to forget details. I recently started replaying Gears and the stupendous detail and lighting effects still stand out. Bioshock looks real good, but Gears still looks slightly better - in my opinion. It's certainly more detailed, but the art direction is a matter of preference."

    I was replaying it too and even though it was quite nice, I always get the feel that it is incredibly restrictive. Many sections just containing small rooms, corridors... I personally prefer Battlefield Bad Company graphics wise, more of a blend of open spaces at a tiny hit graphics wise.

    Anyways - to get the thread back on track, was waiting for this preview since it was mentioned you guys played this at Leipzig. Been seeing a few good comments come back from people who have played it, and I'm slightly more inclined to take their view than some people in this thread which slate it because they didn't like the first or some other stupid reason.

    To summarise, looking forward to some more previews so I can make up my mind whether to buy it, and I'll make up my mind whether its good after I've played it.

  • mikeck #78 4 years ago

    From my time with the game so far, I can say I'm really enjoying the multiplayer action. I haven't had so much multiplayer fun since COD4 (I can't get too invloved with Halo 3 multiplayer, as it seems more throwaway and less realistic - well duh it is a sci-fi shooter - but I prefer them gritty and realistic which KZ2 certainly is so far). Fears regarding graphics should be disregarded, as so far it's looking pretty nice. Sure it's dark, but that's war sonny-jim!

  • Widge #79 4 years ago

    MGS was wonderful I though, I just loved it. People seem to have a big old moan about the cutscenes in it... I've been playing through Mass Effect and after the initial section, you get one of the biggest talkfest sections I've seen of a game ever. The Citadel. Now I'm not moaning at the game at all, I thought it was alright, but while I was wandering from person to person, nattering away in this section over several days (I played at lunch, so only had an hour max)... I thought to myself "if MGS is considered too cutscene heavy, would this be too?" or is that ok because it comes under the general category of action RPG so cannot be judged so. Or is it because you have to run between people to trigger these events. Ok you can skip these bits entirely, but what is the point, that would be like skipping the MGS cutscenes.

  • Widge #80 4 years ago

    There is a pattern for sure, single platform games get slated in the threads, by both sets of people, usually some key characters. Heavy Rain is already an interactive QTE movie, Gears 2 a generic meathead shooter, Killzone 2 is already the next Haze, LBP has no levels or challenges and the user content is crap.

  • mikeck #81 4 years ago

    "There is a pattern for sure, single platform games get slated in the threads, by both sets of people, usually some key characters. Heavy Rain is already an interactive QTE movie, Gears 2 a generic meathead shooter, Killzone 2 is already the next Haze, LBP has no levels or challenges and the user content is crap."

    Also games are shit, you're shit, I'm shit, the world is shit, and the internet is shit!!

  • ronuds #82 4 years ago

    @ Jedi

    Well, whomever made the claim, it wasn't necessary. I'm sure it wasn't an xbox fanboy who did, so whomever it was gave the game a bad name and tagged it to be forever ridculed.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 16:50

  • DrDamn #83 4 years ago

    @Widge
    Ah bugger it - we all need a new hobby then? :)

  • JediMasterMalik #84 4 years ago

    @ronuds - Undoubtedly, it was hyped by fans and the press as Sonys "halo killer" and fell short. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as some make out though.

  • Moonprince #85 4 years ago

    farticusmaximus -

    Iconic characters retard, Iconic characters...

  • Zander #86 4 years ago

    Burn the heretic!

  • miiiguel #87 4 years ago

    "If gears 2 is to be the only game to raise that bar (and arguably it hasnt judging by the screenshots), then where does that leave XBOX 360 games for the next 2 years after that?"
    imo, it doesn't work like that. Quality doesn't have a metric scale, or is it supposed to be measured by counting pixels ?
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 17:00

  • Widge #88 4 years ago

    Stick comment threads on a DVD/Bluray, make it into a game, give them cross platform play, instant million seller!

    "your PSN network is making this comment thread game the rubbish"
    "you lie! it is your RROD!"
    "you are only playing this because you have no other games"
    "at least I'm not paying 0.03p per day to argue with you"

  • ParanoidZombie #89 4 years ago

    I hope Killzone2 wil be delayed to 2010, because I love those killzone preview comments threads. Everybody from both "sides" knows this will be a generic, 6 to 8/10 FPS, and yet we keep on talking about it with a passion, even everyone knows that resistance 2 will be 10 times better.
    Edited by 2 at 29/08/08 @ 17:14

  • BobsUncle #90 4 years ago

    "and arguably it hasnt judging by the screenshots"

    Yes, it has. On those comparison screens they showed here a while back you could see Gears 2 was much nicer looking.

  • Apologie #91 4 years ago

    I think Killzone 2 is the most impressive game I've seen so far, the game's look is the most stunning thing about it, great animation, shaders, textures, i mean, everything is outstanding and very, i mean veryyyy close to the 2005 CGI... (It's as impressive as Crysis from both a technical and artistic point of view, and yes i have Crysis, played it from the begging to the end with everything Max, excepy antialising at 1900x1200 resolution) now with all the features and multiplayer set up, these can pretty much be one of the best, if not the best shooter of these generation.

    Oh and by the way, Gears dont have convincing physics, everything, from the grass to the trees are static in the screen, nothing moves, if you fire at a crate, it will blow the same way every time, you canīt jump, swim etc... the animation is fluid but pretty much the same every time, your player falls the same way, take cover the same way etc... despised of the sutuation.
    You dont see any kind of loosing balance present "for example" in Uncharted animations, where he can slip, bump etc... if they dont improve these, the game will be more of the same with a different color pallet.

    And yes mate, physics and graphics are 2 of the most important things in modern games, that's what make them modern in the first place (as well as the gameplay scheme but we all know that already).
    Edited by 2 at 29/08/08 @ 18:26

  • Apologie #92 4 years ago

    farticusmaximus

    man, your blindness towards the Xbox is ridiculouss... i'm speachless, Gears 2 is very pretty, yes, i really like that game too, i have the first for the PC and Xbox360 "i even play that game in my Pc with everything max, 16x antialising at 1080P and love it", but in my opinion even Uncharted looks better, not to mention Killzone 2.

    you can prefer the art direction and gameplay, but please, stop deniyng the fact that the Ps3 can boost very impressive visuals, even better then Gears.

    Oh and by the way, Gears dont have convincing physics, everything, from the grass to the trees are static in the screen, nothing moves, if you fire at a crate, it will blow the same way every time, you canīt jump, swim etc... the animation is fluid but pretty much the same every time, your player falls the same way, take cover the same way etc... despised of the sutuation.
    You dont see any kind of loosing balance present "for example" in Uncharted animations, where he can slip, bump etc... if they dont improve these, the game will be more of the same with a different color pallet.

    And yes mate, physics and graphics are 2 of the most important things in modern games, that's what make them modern in the first place (as well as the gameplay scheme but we all know that already).
    Edited by 5 at 29/08/08 @ 18:27

  • dsmx #93 4 years ago

    The game you should be comparing killzone 2 to is COD4, gears is a terrible game to compare it too. I don't see people comparing burnout paradise to GTA4 so why are you comparing gears to killzone 2.

  • Godhather08 #94 4 years ago

    farticusmaximus continues to be the same arrogant prick he always was. Is your life so sad that you need to let out some steam in the PS3 threads?

    Edited by 1 at 29/08/08 @ 18:28

  • ronuds #95 4 years ago

    Apologie accusing someone else of being blind towards a console right before spewing a bunch of pro-PS3 nonsense. lol

    Claiming the PS3 can output better visualls than the 360 is so outdated at this point. Where have you been for the last year? It's been proven time and time and time and time and time again that it's simply not the case.

    I've seen plenty of Uncharted and I don't think it looks any better than Gears or any of the other top-looking games. C'mon already!!! Nobody's buying your bullshit!!

    If that's your opinion, that's fine, but to present it as fact is a bit presumptuous...especially considering that many who aren't partial to either console would disagree.

  • Apologie #96 4 years ago

    ronuds

    . but you do agree that the animation and physics engine in Uncharted is better right??? i mean, you played tha game from the beginning to the end, right??? (graphics apart, i'm not even discussing them now)
    Edited by 2 at 29/08/08 @ 18:46

  • ronuds #97 4 years ago

    @ Apologie

    No, I did not play the game from beginning to end. It's been a while since I've seen Uncharted in action, but I'll take your word for it on this one! ;)

  • BobsUncle #98 4 years ago

    @ Apologie

    I've not finished Uncharted either, I'll tell you why.

    1) Screen tearing is awful.
    2) Buggy - I've died because he's fallen 2 feet but landed where he shouldn't so hovers for a while then dies.
    3) I can't stand it when the camera zooms out for 'better perspective' and you can't see fuck all or where you want to go.
    4) The fights are simply, "Spawn 5 men, let them die, spawn 5 more from the other end, repeat"
    5) The puzzles are so shit they barley rate as puzzles.
    6) The trophy patch renders your current save unusable.
    7) Texture pop-in (but not too bad)

    I did have more but I've forgotten them now.

    And whoop-de-fucking-do he does some shitty scripted slip and stumble animations, so do Lara, the prince guy from PoP and Altair in Assassins Creed. If you're gonna moan that Gears doesn't do somthing that some other game does, at least choose a better example than a stumble animation.

    You can't cut people up with a chainsaw in Uncharted, but you can in Gears. Who's better now?

    And I don't remember any amazing physics in Uncharted, examples? Grass moving doesn't count though, it's just animation.

    Graphics in Uncharted were probably better than Gears granted, but I finished Gears at least 3 times and can't even be arsed to carry on with Uncharted anymore. I'd rather go back to my 4th playthrough of Mass Effect, or my 2nd of MGS than carry on with the Uncharted tedium.

  • #99 4 years ago

    Jesus Christ...

    Same old shit from the same retards everytime a Ps3 thread comes up. Time to grow up.

  • QotSAfan #100 4 years ago

    Farticus, your such a fanboy. Your rubbishing a game that has a bland look and art direction whilst citing Gears of War as an iconic looking game. A game which doesnt share any qualities whatsoever with the first Killzone. No ultra fascist government types or dreary brown/greys in that game, at all. Hmmm...Oh wait!

  • polar #101 4 years ago

    Is it just me or does this article list a load of features that are standard for multipplayer FPS games these days? Pick which weapons and which gametypes are on a map, scoreboard at the end etc etc.

  • Widge #102 4 years ago

    To be fair, both Killzone 2 and Gears 2 look good. I'm going to check Gears 1 on m'laptop based on the video posted of #2 here. Its nice effectively having a mobile xbox!

    If only I could have one of these....
    http://ww w.itechnews.net/wp-content/uplo...

    Gears seems to be rocking the big monsters setplays/scrips as Resistance 2 is going for. Killzone 2 seems to be a bit more of a 'realistic' troop warfare setting (so again cod4 comparisons valid). Something for all.
    Edited by 1 at 30/08/08 @ 14:25

  • #103 4 years ago

    yeah I cant wait for Gears 2. I dont care if its no improvement over 1, it was fun to play and im a gamer so I win. Pity other folk on this forum cant just leave it at that.

    its win /win for those who own both consoles imo with the quality of the games coming this year and next.

  • Widge #104 4 years ago

    Master Chief is a bit of an unlikey icon, certainly well known now, but is still basically a big green spaceman with a Solid Snake-esque voice.

    Drake was quite a cool lead in a climate of marines.

  • Widge #105 4 years ago

    He's been rather heavily marketed though. I'm sure people do know who he is, even if it is "that green computergame man".

  • Dizzy #106 4 years ago

    "Uhm, no, they dont. They show a SLIGHT improvement that is only noticeable in a direct 1:1 comparison of both games.
    2 years and DoF with a bit more colour is all they can squeaze out of the Unreal engine? "

    I think you better leave comparisons to the pros m8.

    There is more to engine upgrades than what you mentioned. The amount of stuff on screen has seriously been upped in Gears2, as have a lot of effects and physics. The fact that Gears1 looked so good was already an amazing feat at the time that has barely been matched by games that came out a few years later. There is only a limited amount of polygons/textures/geometry these consoles can pull and the focus now should be on new gameplay, more levels, better streaming, more online features and new tricks.

    Besides... don't expect exponential upgrades to the HD consoles. Basically these guys are hardware from 4 years ago... you can't expect them to follow the PC curve. Yeah I know some of you (less sharp tools) believe there is incredible untapped power... but sadly that is almost certainly marketing bullshit. The theoretical performance of the HD consoles has been known for quite a while now.

    "The average joe isnt going to recognise him aside from he's in a shoot-em up. He's no Lara Croft. "

    Yeah the unknown Chief. Strangely I have seen him on BBC News, in numerous cosplay events, as collectible models, on covers of non-gaming magazines, on the side of Coke bottles and as giant statue in shops. Seems very unknown and non-iconic to me.

    "Seeing as the player never actually sees Master Cheif except for in cut scenes, he's not even that iconic"

    Judge Dredd.. case closed. Nuff said.
    Edited by 4 at 30/08/08 @ 19:31

  • Yaster #107 4 years ago

    looks like a great game :D

  • JHuxley #108 4 years ago

    "Yeah I know some of you (less sharp tools) believe there is incredible untapped power... but sadly that is almost certainly marketing bullshit. The theoretical performance of the HD consoles has been known for quite a while now. "

    Uhh...I'm not so sure why you're suggesting people are dumb just because they expect a discernible improvement in the quality of graphics over the course of a console's lifespan. To me that sounds quite reasonable considering the evidence from past generations, even if the improvement is achieved through means other than 'untapped power' (not that it makes a blind bit of difference).

    Of course each console reaches a plateau eventually, and in the case of the 360 that might well be GOW. I don't know. What I do know is that from looking at the screens and videos available to me, the sequel looks slightly better. But to be honest I think a lot of that is the nice Uncharted-esque sunset they've got in those screenshots there. Looks much more inviting.

    OT...KZ2 is looking pretty good. I haven't played the original so I've not got a great frame of reference here, but it does sound an awful lot more tempting than it did a year or two back.

  • Dizzy #109 4 years ago

    "To me that sounds quite reasonable considering the evidence from past generations, even if the improvement is achieved through means other than 'untapped power' (not that it makes a blind bit of difference). "

    Hmmm.. maybe I should have gotten a bit more into this.

    I do not think a lot of people who do not design or write software (and/or games) quite understand where this performance boost comes from. A lot of it comes from optimizations of the engine and not of some new hardware tricks (although yes... optimizations can come from new ways of using the hardware). Usually after a software project is complete you have some time to think about it and in 100% of the cases people in your team will find new creative ways of improving some parts. (remember that in the case of Unreal Engine a lot of iterations of this process have happened on PC already, making the engine a lot more resistant against big leaps).

    The second performance boost actually comes from "cheating" :) I remember when I wrote my first 3D engine I was confident it would be easy. I had spend years studying math and was very familiar with the (rather easy TBH) math behind 3D visualization. Strangely my engine was VERY slow :) It took a lot of reading and a lot of talking to games programmers to get that engine up to speed. Why? I wrote it "by the book" and games always cheat and rarely use the pure math behind everything. (lookup tables being one of those cheats for example).

    The last performance boost is usually clever and better art. What was 4 polygons in the first game often gets replaced by just 1 polygon with a better texture :) Ofc in todays world of shaders and stuff there are plenty of tricks to solve this in different ways.

    Anyway... this is getting seriously off topic here. Lemme just end with one last "trick". One of my friends is doing very high level studies on what information in pictures is automatically generated by the brain. Turns out you can actually remove certain things (like some shadows) from a scene without your brain noticing. The trick ofc is do build that into a 3D graphics engine (BTW has not been done in a gaming engine as far as I know... but expect this to happen in the next gen).

    For people who think Gears2 is just Gears 1. Here is a gigantic read with all the new stuff. Technical BTW.

    http://ww w.gamasutra.com/view/feature/37...

  • Dizzy #110 4 years ago

    "So, to prove your point, you've done absolutely nothing but describe how a team of programmers squeazed a little bit more out of an engine through "optimisation" without proving that the game actually looks significantly better? "

    You don't get it... my reply wasn't even addressed at you any more. Bye.

  • BonzoBanana #111 4 years ago

    I'm another freak who believes Killzone 1 was great. Really enjoyed it. As much as I love Halo there was some really crap bland repetitive levels in the middle of the game to bulk it out so to speak. I don't remember Killzone every being as boring as those levels. At the end of the day different people like different things about games. I've always hated Metal Gear Solid games but some people love them. Thats just the way it is. However Killzone 2 is a big game for me as I enjoyed the first one sooo much.

  • JHuxley #112 4 years ago

    @Dizzy

    Fair enough, that was a good explanation. But what you just described would still appear as though it were 'untapped power' to Joe public, as the end result is still an improvement in graphical quality. Kind of like the difference between Burnout and Burnout 3, which is likely the culmination of all those things you mentioned. But to the average gamer, it was the PS2's hidden potential.

    Anyway, not much else to discuss here since we're just arguing semantics :p

    EDIT: and you can actually see them using some of those techniques in GOW2. If you look closely, it looks as though they've added some extra layers of vegetation to give it that overgrown look, but they've actually just moved some of the stuff that was growing on top of the building and dangled it down the sides to make it more prominent. Throw in some matching textures, a pretty sunset and and hey presto...it's not really pushing the engine any harder, it's just a very smart use of assets IMO. I'm not arguing that they haven't made any improvements to the game, just my take on those screenshots.
    Edited by 1 at 31/08/08 @ 12:25

  • Prodigy_BE #113 4 years ago

    I'm with BozoBanana.
    Killzone 1 was great. No boring levels like the "Library" levels in Halo 1, 15 hours long (I finished Halo 2, which was released in the same month, in 8), different paths with the different characters. The game just got mowed down by IGN and Gamespot, because it just couldn't be that a Sony game could be as good as Halo 2. But frankly,everyone who followed IGN and the lot those days, was just wrong. Killzone 1 wasn't perfect, but neither was Halo 2 (remember the very sucky final boss).

    I had fun with both of them, but to all of you who didn't, or only very briefly played Killzone 1, mob mentality is a silly thing.

    Looking forward to Killzone 2... but even more so to Resistance 2, which story is even better.

  • Les #114 4 years ago

    "@Dizzy

    Why link to an article with a senior producer, someone who's business it is to hype his project up to the press, and has no real knowlege of the engine improvements?"

    Fanboys clutch at each and every straw...

    /goes back to playing games from the era when gameplay was considered more important by people who call themselves gamers than lots of pretty pixels...

  • mazzl #115 3 years ago

    nice comments here all over the place.
    i donīt own a ps3, i have player KZ1 i dinīt like it. but that doesnīt matter.
    itīs good news for ps3 owners to get some good FPS games besides COD.
    resistance2 and KZ2 will push gaming further and will be good for FPS to come later. beceause they will need to be better that these games

  • RandomTerrain #116 3 years ago

    Christ allive. Grow up you pack of bloody kids.


    On a tangent, can everyone just ignore farticus. I didn't stick him on my ignore list to have everyone else fill my view with responses to him. I used to avoid ignoring anyone, but I tell you, once you break the seal on that ignore list for a few special cases it just makes the air all clean again. Altogether now...

    +1

    Come on people, learn to ignore the trolls. Don't take the bait.
    No doubt an intelligent conversation on this thread is impossible at this stage.
    Just a bunch of kids having temper tantrums, sigh.

    I didn't play the first Killzone, but the multi-player on this does look quite exciting. I look forward to seeing it in action. :o)

  • juuken #117 3 years ago

    What the fuck is up with the hate for Uncharted? It's easily one of the best games on the PS3. I'm having loads of fun with the puzzles and the crazy shootouts so I don't see the reason for the bashing. And this has nothing to do with Killzone 2 for that matter.

    For the people bashing Killzone 2, just keep in mind that you are underestimating the game. It has potential to be a great shooter and you're just hating on it for the sake of hating. But of course, I should expect it from hateful mongrels who bash the PS3 night and day.

  • Les #118 3 years ago

    "Killzone 1 was great. No boring levels like the "Library" levels in Halo 1, 15 hours long (I finished Halo 2, which was released in the same month, in 8), different paths with the different characters. The game just got mowed down by IGN and Gamespot, because it just couldn't be that a Sony game could be as good as Halo 2."

    Killzone 1 was good, not great. The engine struggled to keep up with the game and that was a serious problem (though somehow it didn't affect the gameplay too much). In stills Killzone 1 looked much better than Halo 2's plasticky shiny world but when things started moving it got into problems.

    As for the alledged AI problems, I didn't encounter them on my playthrough. But what really sunk Killzone versus Halo 2 were the multiplayer options: the best loved features of the hardcore gamer = reviewer. The rest of the world doesn't care (except of course for the xbox niche) which makes these features have way too much impact on review scores.

    "Looking forward to Killzone 2... but even more so to Resistance 2, which story is even better."

    I'm looking forward more to Killzone. I like its Art direction and play style (if that keeps the less arcadey pace of the original) better. But Resistance has a great story, will definitely play that as well. But first I still have to finish around 5 Atlus PS2 RPGs and all of the PS3 games I got last year...

  • TonyAlmeida[CTU] #119 3 years ago

    @fartiblah

    What kind of stupideous mind would judge a game like KZ2 before release based on the first KZ game. The team has increased in size 10 times as big in personal, same for the the budget of 40 million, and Sony is supplying programmers and tech from their firstparty inhouse devs. The game has been postponed numerous times to polish. Sony needs this to be a AAA game, and they won't release until that's the case.

    Guerilla isn't even close to being the same devteam compared to their PS2-era. This is all no guarantee for a KZ2-successtory, but any shit coming from your mouth in this thread so far is stupedeous and beyond cuz it's based on KZ history.

    That's like having an opinion on a child's personality without knowing the person, based on the knowing his/her dad. Only dumb people's minds work so generic and primitive.
    Edited by 1 at 08/09/08 @ 01:30

  • waffl #120 3 years ago

    Cant wait for the class & badge system

    over 3 months to go :(