Killzone 2

[Giancarlo]

So i got this code in my e-mail today...

Same here, it should be here tomorrow. Damn super saver shipping

Don't feel so glum, i think the $8 savings (including sales tax that you don't pay on Amazon) is worth the wait. I've had a boatload of couse work these past two weeks anyway. My spring break is coming up i'll have plenty of time to play.

 

[FoolKiller]

Check it out: Helghast invaded the offices of different media outlets in San Francisco and assaulted them with...cupcakes?

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/03/04/helghast-invade-san-francisco/

Helghast Invade San Francisco
Posted by Alex Armour // Manager, Public Relations

Friday, Feb. 27th, 2009…to us it marked the official launch of our exclusive first-person shooter Killzone 2, and the date the Helghast invaded many living rooms across the country. For some others, it marked the date Killzone 2 literally invaded, with a personal visit from a Helghast soldier to some of the gaming media in San Francisco.

Cameras picked up a rare peace offering trip where the Helghast put aside their differences with the human race and dropped off cupcakes with their likeness emblazoned on each treat. Of course, the Helghast couldn’t pass up the opportunity to scare a few folks at IGN’s offices, but good times were had by all.

Check out the video below to see the sensitive side of our Helghast friend before he’s back to his old ways of shooting people down.

(Follow the above link to see the video. Stupid Viddler)

And he takes a small jab at Solid Snake too.

 

[Giancarlo]

Haha wow, that's an awesome costume. And no issues walking down the sidewalk? Really?

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

I was looking at my SP stat- 35% into the game and it has so far taken me close to 10 hrs. My excuse is that I'm spending half the time looking at the environments. After being impressed by the demo, I'm floored by the details in the game's graphics. I managed to capture some screenshots from the game:

Sweet shots, are you playing it on 720p or 1080I? I have played around with both, and to Me personally, the cinematics/cut-scenes look MUCH better in 720p than in 1080i(i can notice lots of jaggies/fuzz around player outlines), but to me, the scale and look appears better on my t.v. in 1080i compared to 720p (game play not cinematics).

Has anyone else messed around and have a preference?

-Robert.

[edit]-Just watched that Video, That is an AWESOME costume. And watching him scare those people was great, especially the group of 3 guys...hahahaha

 

[NLxAROSA]

Is it just me or is voice chat messed up in about every game I get into? I connected the headset today but it was not possible to have a decent conversation so I turned it off again.

 

[Moglet]

Check it out: Helghast invaded the offices of different media outlets in San Francisco and assaulted them with...cupcakes?

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/03/04/helghast-invade-san-francisco/

And he takes a small jab at Solid Snake too.

That costume is amazing! I'm surprised they didn't cause any trouble walking round dressed like that with a massive gun

 

[myke6699]

@myke6699: those look even better than I've seen, what TV/capture card do you have?

That first shot is just

I finished the single player campaign in 7hr 23m, on regular difficulty. Going to be doing it at least a few more times though

Actually I used my digital camera (Lumix DMC-FX150) and snap shots off my 32" Sharp Aquos. It's a 1080p TV but I run the game at 720p. While you can run the game upscaled at 1080p (by forcing the PS3- go to display and use custom setup and choose only 1080p), the game looks much sharper at 720p.
Of course to get the colour right I also calibrate the White Balance of the camera to the screen. The I upload onto my Macbook Pro and run Photoshop, apply the WB calibration (I took the photo RAW) and resize the image and the upload to Flickr and voila. I think this presents a more subjective view of what I see on the screen.
Witk KZ2, you need to do more than just set the gamma correctly. I find a little of fiddling with the brightness/contrast helps bring out some of the details. If your Tv is capable of other finetuning (Hue,Saturation, Color Temperature), play with it to get the most out of the game.

Sweet shots, are you playing it on 720p or 1080I? I have played around with both, and to Me personally, the cinematics/cut-scenes look MUCH better in 720p than in 1080i(i can notice lots of jaggies/fuzz around player outlines), but to me, the scale and look appears better on my t.v. in 1080i compared to 720p (game play not cinematics).

I run the game at 720p. At 1080p, the image isn't as sharp. I usually avoid 1080i and if you TV is capable of 720p, run it at the native resolution.

 

[Scaff]

Managed a couple of matches earlier tonight and had a wonderful moment in one that I just have to share.

I'm playing on the Helgast side and its just started an assassination round with the counter running down to select the ISA target for assassination.

As its counting down I'm working my way down a street and I spot a member of the ISA team sneak out of building ahead of me, he's looking to my right and hasn't seen me. So I stop and click into aim mode and draw a bead on him.

Just as I start to fire the assassination counter hits zero and guess who gets picked, that's right the poor bugger I've just started to open fire on. The entire assassination round from selection to him expiring on the floor lasted seconds.

Made my match and I'm sure he didn't feel the same.

Moral of the story is when the countdown starts for assassination and you could be the target, get you ass in cover.


Regards

Scaff

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I have had 3 epic battles so far tonight. They have been the most fierce battles I have seen so far. Completely mental

 

[paskowitz]

Just some motivation for those that do not have the Scout badge yet. It is freakin awesome! Consider it God mode. Spot and mark = awesome vision (all enemies on the screen get a permanent big blue X on their torso. This can be done every ~5 seconds!). Cloak = 100% invisible (better than the predator). I went 40k 1d one match. Ok... thats all you need to to know.

 

[Giancarlo]

I've had a few good games, earned some 10-kill and good conduct ribbons, but still haven't unlocked anything even though i'm now level 3. What gives?

 

[McLaren]

Put a couple more hours into it. Some tough parts, but still easy to push through. I've arrived at the point where I had to get on the train with Rico. Wonder how much further I've got left to go.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I made it all the way to Colonel and should have General by tomorrow.

The second stage of Saboteur is awesome. Nothing like pretending to be the enemy just long enough to make into their home base only to drop them all with a well-placed grenade. 👍

As fun as Colonel is, I don't think it matches General. To be able to disappear and snipe from a distance really, really appeals to me.

 

[NLxAROSA]

Moral of the story is when the countdown starts for assassination and you could be the target, get you ass in cover.

Having been the target a few times myself: the defending party (including the target) will know who's the target 30 seconds before the opposing party does, giving them the opportunity to get into a defensive position. The game is actually shouting at you if you are the target: "YOU ARE THE TARGET, I REPEAT, YOU ARE THE TARGET!". Very hard to miss that one.

So there is no could be the target. Either you are, or you are not. The game makes it perfectly clear.

Had a couple of nice games with a few fellow GTPers yesterday. I turned off the headset though, all that came across was stutter.

@Solid Lifters: I invited you in my team and I saw you joined, but for some reason it failed to complete. Turned out I had to push another button to complete it, sorry for being a noob.

 

[Stavingo]

Somethings been going through my head. My friend says that KZ2 graphics are better than GT5 Prologues, now we both have 1080p TV's with HDMI cables in both our ps3, his is sony and mine panasonic. My TV is newer.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Having been the target a few times myself: the defending party (including the target) will know who's the target 30 seconds before the opposing party does, giving them the opportunity to get into a defensive position. The game is actually shouting at you if you are the target: "YOU ARE THE TARGET, I REPEAT, YOU ARE THE TARGET!". Very hard to miss that one.

So there is no could be the target. Either you are, or you are not. The game makes it perfectly clear.

Had a couple of nice games with a few fellow GTPers yesterday. I turned off the headset though, all that came across was stutter.

@Solid Lifters: I invited you in my team and I saw you joined, but for some reason it failed to complete. Turned out I had to push another button to complete it, sorry for being a noob.

That's OK; I wouldn't know what to do on your team, anyway.

I think I can respawn on you while playing. I only got use that when I learned I could make a new respawn area with my new Tactician Badge. Pretty neat feature that really helps out the game. Plus, getting all the necessary "Spawn Point Specialist" Ribbons to get the "Spawn Authority" Medal was quite easy since just about everybody will use your new respawn location (five people up to 8 games is needed to earn it.) The SA Medal will open up your 'second stage' Tactician abilities.

I gotta read up on more of the Ribbons and Medals. I have a feeling I'm missing out on a lot of neat stuff. I also notice that some players have their rank with a red Ribbon behind it. I have no idea what that means.

 

[NLxAROSA]

That's OK; I wouldn't know what to do on your team, anyway.

Indeed, you get an extra respawn point, and the ability to communicate directly with team members regardless of location. And you can see the status of team members onscreen.

I also notice that some players have their rank with a red Ribbon behind it. I have no idea what that means.

You get a colored ribbon if you are in the top x % of players in a given week.

 

[Moglet]

I really need to start playing this multiplayer. Anyone up for some games tonight? About 6pm GMT?

 

[Scaff]

Having been the target a few times myself: the defending party (including the target) will know who's the target 30 seconds before the opposing party does, giving them the opportunity to get into a defensive position. The game is actually shouting at you if you are the target: "YOU ARE THE TARGET, I REPEAT, YOU ARE THE TARGET!". Very hard to miss that one.

So there is no could be the target. Either you are, or you are not. The game makes it perfectly clear.

Had a couple of nice games with a few fellow GTPers yesterday. I turned off the headset though, all that came across was stutter.

I forgot about that, in which case I now have no sympathy for him at all, standing out in plain sight when you know the entire other team will end up gunning for you.



Scaff

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

Actually I used my digital camera (Lumix DMC-FX150) and snap shots off my 32" Sharp Aquos. It's a 1080p TV but I run the game at 720p. While you can run the game upscaled at 1080p (by forcing the PS3- go to display and use custom setup and choose only 1080p), the game looks much sharper at 720p.
Of course to get the colour right I also calibrate the White Balance of the camera to the screen. The I upload onto my Macbook Pro and run Photoshop, apply the WB calibration (I took the photo RAW) and resize the image and the upload to Flickr and voila. I think this presents a more subjective view of what I see on the screen.
Witk KZ2, you need to do more than just set the gamma correctly. I find a little of fiddling with the brightness/contrast helps bring out some of the details. If your Tv is capable of other finetuning (Hue,Saturation, Color Temperature), play with it to get the most out of the game.



I run the game at 720p. At 1080p, the image isn't as sharp. I usually avoid 1080i and if you TV is capable of 720p, run it at the native resolution.

My t.v. supports 720p, 1080i, and 1080p (it's a full 1080p samsung 32") Well i set to the game to 1080i, since the back of the box shows supported resolution 720p, 1080i (1080p isn't listed). So last night i set it back to 720p, the colors are definately more vibrant. Also i was sitting about 3.5-4' away from my samsung 32", so i set it back to 720p and sat about 7-8ft away and the game does appear to look better. I guess i was sitting too close, so i was more able to notice the imperfections/jaggies. I will have to say the lighting effects are what make the games graphics so great. Especially in Dark areas with lighting in sections like alleys, hall-ways etc. Definately a good looking game. 👍

I need to jump into the online a bit more to get some experience. Although my aiming adjustments are coming along. I guess it's the different countries and time-zones but i haven't seen anyone online yet, through the GTP clan anyways.

 

[mr_VOLCANO]

Im on the way home from store buying killzone Those pictures look way better then the demo i tried! Is full game way better looking or is your 32" very good?

Tried full game now and it looks so much better then demo Long time since I have bin so impessed with ps graphic!! 720p looked bad as all my games, even though i have a cheap phillips 37" 720p , if I set PS to 1080p it ALWAYS looks better...

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

I've got a quick question, in the options Menu, for Display settings to adjust the GAMMA, it says to Adjust it so the Helghast symbol is barely visible, On my T.V. no matter how bright/dark i make it, all i see is a "Black Box", no symbol. Does anyone know what i might have to tinker with? Upon some quick browsing i think it might be the HDMI Black level i may need to adjust. Can anyone confirm?

-Robert.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I'm really getting pissed-off at all these freeze-ups online. I had a 10 kill shooting spree going with the sniper rifle and half way to finish the match and the game freezes on me. Third time this happened, too. Twice while I was on a hot shooting spree.

Anybody else getting these annoying freeze-ups?

Oh, finally made General.

 

[Giancarlo]

I've got a quick question, in the options Menu, for Display settings to adjust the GAMMA, it says to Adjust it so the Helghast symbol is barely visible, On my T.V. no matter how bright/dark i make it, all i see is a "Black Box", no symbol. Does anyone know what i might have to tinker with? Upon some quick browsing i think it might be the HDMI Black level i may need to adjust. Can anyone confirm?

It's probably that, if not your TV's actual settings.

I'm really getting pissed-off at all these freeze-ups online. I had a 10 kill shooting spree going with the sniper rifle and half way to finish the match and the game freezes on me. Third time this happened, too. Twice while I was on a hot shooting spree.

Anybody else getting these annoying freeze-ups?

I haven't had any freezing, but i usually do quick joins instead of looking up a server.

 

[myke6699]

I've got a quick question, in the options Menu, for Display settings to adjust the GAMMA, it says to Adjust it so the Helghast symbol is barely visible, On my T.V. no matter how bright/dark i make it, all i see is a "Black Box", no symbol. Does anyone know what i might have to tinker with? Upon some quick browsing i think it might be the HDMI Black level i may need to adjust. Can anyone confirm?

-Robert.

You might want to decrease the contrast a bit and increase the brightness on your screen. You might want to start off with the gamma bar (in Killzone Display Option) set to 3/4 and then adjust the brightness/contrast setting on your TV.


I've finally finished the Campaign Mode. Most of the battle were compelling and memorable- and unlike Resistance 2 where the pace seems to wayward, in KZ2, from the start to the very end, you're challenged and there were a few that I thought i would never be able to get through. Before moving onto the MP, I tried the Skirmish mode and again the map in the game is just incredibly detailed and in term of graphics there seems no compromise between the SP mode and the MP mode.

A few more screenshots from the SP campaign:

Gears of War, eat your heart out!

 

[magburner]

^^ Awesome pictures BTW! 👍

Sorry I took so long to get back to you. I couldn't manage to take a picture of how I hold the pad, because I live alone, and my girls are a little young, and too mischievous to use my camera phone for me! So instead, I've shot a little video, that gets the point across nicely.

As I have said, not everyone uses their thumbs for gaming, it is a bout time games developers realised that! 👍

 

[NLxAROSA]

1.20 patch is out: http://www.gamersdigest.net/1865/killzone-2-server-and-game-updates/

 

[vr6wantsr20det]

You might want to decrease the contrast a bit and increase the brightness on your screen. You might want to start off with the gamma bar (in Killzone Display Option) set to 3/4 and then adjust the brightness/contrast setting on your TV.


I've finally finished the Campaign Mode. Most of the battle were compelling and memorable- and unlike Resistance 2 where the pace seems to wayward, in KZ2, from the start to the very end, you're challenged and there were a few that I thought i would never be able to get through. Before moving onto the MP, I tried the Skirmish mode and again the map in the game is just incredibly detailed and in term of graphics there seems no compromise between the SP mode and the MP mode.

It was my T.V. I actually did a few things last night that made a DRAMATIC difference. First on the PS3 settings, i changed the RGB range to FULL (previous had it on limited). Right off the bat i noticed a BIG difference in the color, it was brighter and more defined. (I emailed Samsung tech support to see if my ln32a550 set suppored limited or full, they claimed it does both?) So i tried it. Now the Biggest difference was the "brightness" It was defaulted at 55, So i went into the Gamma correction options, and the Helghast symbol finally showed itself at Brightness of 70+, so i set it to 75. and WOW now i can finally agree that it is a great looking game.

So much so that i re-started the campaign mode (instead of normal, next difficulty up which is veteran?). With the new T.V. settings i am finally enjoying the Full KZ2 experience. The lighting/color and effects are really good. And i'm also playing it in 1080 (on my ps3 i unchecked 720p, only have 1080i and 1080p checked). To me the game "scale" of the objects and everything and also the COLOR appeal to my personal liking in 1080 rather than the native 720p. Definately a great looking game and i can't wait to get more time online to get more involved. 👍

 

[Jeremy Ricci]

Patch definitely changed the controls, I'm having to relearn the game. It plays more "traditional" now than it did before.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Patch definitely changed the controls, I'm having to relearn the game. It plays more "traditional" now than it did before.

I wonder if this is why I had a more successful night online last night (post patch) than previously. Perhaps. It was certainly more enjoyable.