Killzone 2

[.star.]

does anyone feel theres a very slight hesitation when u turn (right stick). it really throws me off

 

[Omnis]

Yeah, it starts slow and gradually gets faster. It's variable.

But, anyway, I just had the most fun I've had with a game in a long time. Run through the demo with only your knife while listening to Puncture Wound Massacre by Cannibal Corpse. It's the perfect song for running down Helghans, and man it's a rush.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Meh... It's a typical FPS. Beautifully done FPS, though.

Great graphics and animations. Controls are good, but I need to get use to them. However, the controls aren't great no matter how much I get use to them.

I'll rent it, but that's it.

 

[Obli]

True - it is a typical FPS... I think I've played too many. KZ2 is a polished package, and it is fun but I feel like I've seen it all before (except for 1st person cover).

For me, the magic of the early FPS games like Doom and Quake will never be replicated (perhaps unless we go 3D).

I'll still be buying it, mainly because of the MP.

 

[Noah]

Demo's amazing. A little too short but amazing... Anyone know if the demo will be available in the US or just UK?

 

[Giancarlo]

Demo's amazing. A little too short but amazing... Anyone know if the demo will be available in the US or just UK?

Just make an EU account, it takes two seconds.

 

[Noah]

Just make an EU account, it takes two seconds.

I already did. I was just wondering if it was going to be released on the US store. That way I can delete my UK account.

 

[Obli]

Yes Noah, but I think not until a day or two before the full game release...

 

[Giancarlo]

I already did. I was just wondering if it was going to be released on the US store. That way I can delete my UK account.

Why? Unless you're counting kilobytes on your HDD, there's really no point to delete it. Might come in handy again some day, or if you ever feel like checking out a different version of Home.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I already did. I was just wondering if it was going to be released on the US store. That way I can delete my UK account.

You can get a code from gamestop to unlock the US demo if you put down a reserve for the game. Did that last night.👍

 

[rpgcyco]

I enjoyed the demo and will definitely purchase the full game.

It will take my a while to get used to the weighty controls and I'm not used to holding down a button to stay in cover. I do prefer it though, makes it easier to pull away when I need to.

 

[CodeRedR51]

It will take my a while to get used to the weighty controls and I'm not used to holding down a button to stay in cover. I do prefer it though, makes it easier to pull away when I need to.

Totally agree on every point there. First time I fired it up, I died in about one minute. I immediately thought, , then played it again and loved it. Will just take some getting used to.

 

[myke6699]

After getting used to the control and how much more demanding it is compared to the other FPS, I'm sold. The last FPS I played was Resistance 2 which didn't impress me at all. COD4 on the other hand is to me, a yardstick to what a good FPS should be. And KZ2 is closer to COD4 than it is to R2. But goiing back to COD4, it feels very much like going back to Need For Speed (or better still GRID) after spending sometime learning the rope and being completely immersed in sims like GTR2 or GT.

 

[magburner]

I downloaded the game, and TBH, I don't know what to make of it! Yeah, I know I waited an age for this game, but there are some things that are different with this FPS, compared with what I am used to.

Control settings: Argh! Is all I can say. Have Guerilla intentionally gone for all the awkward variations intentionally? I couldn't find one that I liked at all (COD4 had it right!). I can understand that they want to differentiate their game from COD4, but why not have the option? FIFA and PRO EVO have identical button mappings, why can't Killzone? At least give me the option for a custom configuration!

Reloading: You can't reload whilst you are zoomed. This seems a little silly if you ask me. Again, I can see the understanding behind this, but it makes the game a little less fluid. Besides, in COD4, I assume it is implied that you will unzoom your gun to reload, in Killzone it is not.

Edit: Upon further investigation you can reload whilst zoomed, but ONLY if you choose to have zoom toggled, ie, press it once to stay zoomed. If you have zoom untoggled, and your holding zoom (ala COD4), you cannot reload. This seems a little odd to me.

Guns: This is really annoying. Why can't I have two powerful guns at the same time? For instance, a rocket launcher and an assault rifle? It was frustrating to pick up a rocket launcher and walk around firing it, only to run out of ammo and be left with only a pistol (which then resulted in me running around to find a replacement assault rifle).

Running: I like it, and I don't like it. It is good that Guerilla had decided to make running a little more challenging that on COD4, but sometimes it is down right annoying when you are running down narrow paths and find yourself heading for a wall - there is very little room for manoeuvre.

Headshots: This was my biggest bugbear. Any shot to the head should be one shot, one kill period. I don't know how easy it is with a sniper, but I hope to god it is one shot one kill!

Graphics: They look superb, and you can clearly see that Guerilla have gone to town in that department. I can't really fault them in the slightest. There are a couple of times where there are momentary switches from pre-scripted movements to actual gameplay (the part where the guy give you a leg up is a good example), but they are not too bad. The blood splattering on the screen when you get shot is also superb, but I have not noticed if there is some form of indication to where you are getting shot from (ala COD4).

Dualshock: If this game has dualshock then it is very passive. I have played the game, a couple of times now, and TBH, I can't even remember if it works with the game or not! COD5, for all its faults, has the best dualshock feature I have ever experienced in an FPS. Each gun had a very distinctive feel, but with Killzone, it is very forgettable. I will have to play again, and pay more attention!

AI: I like the AI, it is tough, but not too tough to be unrealistic. I also like how the bad guys use tactics to defeat you. I noticed that they like to sneak around a bit too, not necessarily going straight for the kill, but instead getting themselves into a good firing position.

Ragdoll phyisics: This has to be one of my favourite parts of the game. Its great seeing the bad guys reacting to being shot. There is also a lot more feel for your shooting accuracy in Killzone than in COD4. I also like the way that bodies fly around when a frag blows up near them!

Rails/Scripted gameplay: This is something that I disliked about COD4, the fact that you were limited to where you could go. This demo had a very narrow corridor that you had to follow, only opening up once you got to the warehouse section. I didn't like that. The other part I didn't like was that when the guy was hacking the door, he only completed it once you had killed all the Helghast. Seems a little silly to me.

In conclusion, I am impressed with this game, I would have to play the full game, and experience online multi-player, to give it a fair review, but from what I've seen so far, I like. I also think that I am going to have to 'unlearn' COD4, to get the best out of this game, because both games seem incompatible both in play and intuitively. Roll on launch day! 👍

 

[Obli]

Great summary magburner, I agree entirely.

Control settings: Argh! Is all I can say. Have Guerilla intentionally gone for all the awkward variations intentionally? I couldn't find one that I liked at all (COD4 had it right!). I can understand that they want to differentiate their game from COD4, but why not have the option? FIFA and PRO EVO have identical button mappings, why can't Killzone? At least give me the option for a custom configuration!

Yes, the game needs custom control mappings.

Reloading: You can't reload whilst you are zoomed. This seems a little silly if you ask me. Again, I can see the understanding behind this, but it makes the game a little less fluid. Besides, in COD4, I assume it is implied that you will unzoom your gun to reload, in Killzone it is not.

Edit: Upon further investigation you can reload whilst zoomed, but ONLY if you choose to have zoom toggled, ie, press it once to stay zoomed. If you have zoom untoggled, and your holding zoom (ala COD4), you cannot reload. This seems a little odd to me.

As I use hold to zoom, I also noticed that reload doesn't work. The fact that it does with the toggle zoom must mean that it is a bug. It is as if it doesn't register the reload button being pressed when another button is held (not tried this with holding another button apart from zoom). I think this needs fixing as I agree, it ruins fluidity.

I didn't notice the headshots although if a single-shot headshot doesn't kill, that is pretty pointless.

I must say I like the running as it is. The player feels like he has real weight by not being able to turn corners sharply. I guess we (as players) will have to decide when to use it.

I'm not a COD4 player (although I have played it). I think the COD4 guys need to erase COD4 from the mind when playing this (easier said than done, I'm sure!)

I also noticed some glitching when you are in cover, and peak to the side and zoom simultaneously. I've had it a number of times where the view flickers between iron sights (zoom) and normal gun view, as if it cannot make its mind up which one to display (even though I have zoom held). Perhaps a bug again of the hold to zoom?

 

[.star.]

playing the game some more, i found my biggest gripe.

IMO the guns dont have any feel to them. As in, i dont feel the power or kick from it. not in terms of Dualshock or anything, more so it feels like im shooting some laser gun with no recoil, the crosshair just gets wider.

In short really what i'm trying to say is, the gun does NOT feel lethal to me. any of them.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I played through it last night. A very visceral experience compared to the driving games I've been playing recently!! And my first ever console FPS... So my main frame of reference is Half-Life 2.

I had figured that the sticks would be divided into moving and aiming, which was fine. Also, moving the left stick right and left causes the player to sidestep, which very much works for me. I always configure the controls on keyboards to be forwards-backwards-step left-step right. I did find aiming quite hard initially, but it got easier as I played through. I was also a bit confused about the orders, not having played a "as part of a team" FPS before. With Half-Life you're very much on your own, even when you're leading a team. The "leg-up" soldier seemed to be pretty slow to react to my getting near to him.

As I was playing through, I thought "this is all very clever, but I'm not enjoying it", which I have to say was disappointing. The graphics are superb, and the sound is incredible (remember, this is my first FPS using my good home cinema system).

But now, I just want to play it again! I'll definitely buy it after the early-adopter tax is lifted.

 

[TheCracker]

I downloaded the demo for this last night after reading some good things about it here. Although i haven't had chance to play it yet, i'm not sure how i'll take to it after spending the past month hammering CoD4. I've also recently downloaded the demos to MGS4 online and Resident Evil 5, but hardly played them at all with the control methods being quite different to Call of Duty.

 

[magburner]

I must say I like the running as it is. The player feels like he has real weight by not being able to turn corners sharply. I guess we (as players) will have to decide when to use it.

The running is growing on me slowly. I do like how it is very restrictive in that you can't do much else, but it is still not completely intuitive enough for me. One thing I haven't tried to figure out is how the run ends. That is, how easy it is to ready a weapon after you have finished your sprint. On COD4, you can ready up pretty quickly, I will have to have another fiddle with Killzone.

Edit: Yep, you can ready up pretty damn quick once you finish your run! 👍

I forgot to mention this too:

Prone: THERE IS NO PRONE!? I had to shout that, because I think its ridiculous for a game of this calibre not to have a prone stance. I don't know why they decided not to include a prone stance, but it seems like a bit of a bad oversight if you ask me.

One feature they have included, which is a must, is that shooting accuracy should increase if you are crouched, and it does - I always look for this in an FPS. Simply crouching and watching the cross-hair, you will notice that it grows smaller (this is comparable to when you use L2 for cover).

One little bugbear I have noticed is that you can't crouch and use cover at the same time, UNLESS the object you are using is low to the ground. For instance, it is not possible to use the cover of a door, and crouch at the same time. It doesn't help that crouch uses the same button as the cover system.

Climbing onto objects also seems a little comical if you ask me. My guy must have been a Basketballer before he joined the ISA, because he can seemingly jump onto any object from the ground, without using his hands to aid himself!

Cool things I've noticed.

After that guy, who gave me a leg up, I was messing around with the knife, and I accidentally thew a frag. I had to hot foot it from the lift, and found myself back on the floor below the lift. One of my squad mates managed to dodge the frag and stay up on the lift platform. He then graciously outstretched his had to pull me back up (muttering something about his dieting habits!). Nice feature. 👍

The little red gas bottles are neat too. If you shoot them, you can hear them hissing, and depending on where they are, and how you hit them, the will spin around wildly before blowing up a very nice feature! 👍

The frag count down (highlighted on the side of the frag), is a nice feature, that will help with cooking them. I can see much better use for the frags with the ability to actually see when it will explode. I haven't noticed if you can see the count down strip on a thrown frag yet though.

Using up on the D-pad is also a nice feature that should help if you find yourself lost, or unsure of the current objective. 👍

Edit: I've just figured out the rest of the D-pad logic, and its awesome! Selecting right will equip the knife, selecting down will equip frags, whilst left has no function in the demo. To requip your rifle, just mirror your last D-pad press. Very nice! 👍

playing the game some more, i found my biggest gripe.

IMO the guns dont have any feel to them. As in, i dont feel the power or kick from it. not in terms of Dualshock or anything, more so it feels like im shooting some laser gun with no recoil, the crosshair just gets wider.

In short really what i'm trying to say is, the gun does NOT feel lethal to me. any of them.

Of the three guns I sampled, I found the M82 to be exactly like you said, but the Helghast weapons are totally different. The StA52 and the StA14 both have good feel to them, though the dual shock effect is very poor with all three guns.

 

[FoolKiller]

I played this over the weekend and I must say that I was amazed. This is looking to be a fun game. I have nearly given up on any space marine FPS games, but this looks to actually be grabbing my attention. I cannot wait to see the full game now.

Controls are good, but I need to get use to them. However, the controls aren't great no matter how much I get use to them.

I just want to be sure you checked the settings for controls. They had numerous options.

And the thing is that having Bioshock be the only FPS I have played since Resistance I was not used to these controls, but once I got used to them they came to me very naturally.

At least give me the option for a custom configuration!

Thsi can be said of nearly every game in my opinion.

Guns: This is really annoying. Why can't I have two powerful guns at the same time? For instance, a rocket launcher and an assault rifle? It was frustrating to pick up a rocket launcher and walk around firing it, only to run out of ammo and be left with only a pistol (which then resulted in me running around to find a replacement assault rifle).

I agree completely. Can someone from the beta confirm the ability to carry more than a pistol+gun?

Headshots: This was my biggest bugbear. Any shot to the head should be one shot, one kill period. I don't know how easy it is with a sniper, but I hope to god it is one shot one kill!

I did notice that if they had a helmet many times the helmet would come off, and if they took cover again their helmet would be back on when they came back out, thus resetting my headshot ability.

That said, I did notice that not every headshot, sans helmet, seemed to be a one hit kill.

AI: I like the AI, it is tough, but not too tough to be unrealistic. I also like how the bad guys use tactics to defeat you. I noticed that they like to sneak around a bit too, not necessarily going straight for the kill, but instead getting themselves into a good firing position.

Agreed, and I hope that they become even more intelligent in harder difficulties.

After that guy, who gave me a leg up, I was messing around with the knife, and I accidentally thew a frag. I had to hot foot it from the lift, and found myself back on the floor below the lift. One of my squad mates managed to dodge the frag and stay up on the lift platform. He then graciously outstretched his had to pull me back up (muttering something about his dieting habits!). Nice feature. 👍

I really liked the comments they make, like, "Don't drop me this time" and yelling "Teammate!" or "Shoot them not me!" if you accidentally shoot them.




I think one thing to remember is that this is a demo, and unfortunately demos are poor judges. I wish developers would make a demo off of their final version of games so that we can make a full judgment. That said, this was a rare case of a demo making me want the full game.

 

[Scaff]

I agree completely. Can someone from the beta confirm the ability to carry more than a pistol+gun?

I can confirm that in the MP (form both beta's) that its strictly pistol and gun.

To be honest from a good few months on the beta I never had an issue with it at all, as the rocket launcher and grenade launcher both have quite hefty splash damage and as such it does help balance to weapons out a lot.

I did notice that if they had a helmet many times the helmet would come off, and if they took cover again their helmet would be back on when they came back out, thus resetting my headshot ability.

That said, I did notice that not every headshot, sans helmet, seemed to be a one hit kill.

Its also to a degree range dependent (again from the beta as well), the closer you are the more likely it is to be a one shot kill from a headshot.

Apart from the sniper rifles, they are just about a certain one-shot kill if you hit any major part of the body.

Agreed, and I hope that they become even more intelligent in harder difficulties.

The developers Q&A seem to indicate that AI does ramp up as difficulty increases.



One thing I would add in regard to the feeling of weight and movement in KZ2, the world the game is set on is supposed to be greater than 1G, and as such the characters should find it more difficult to move around than normal.


Regards

Scaff

 

[FoolKiller]

I can confirm that in the MP (form both beta's) that its strictly pistol and gun.

To be honest from a good few months on the beta I never had an issue with it at all, as the rocket launcher and grenade launcher both have quite hefty splash damage and as such it does help balance to weapons out a lot.

I just wish they could assume that a rifle would have a shoulder strap. I could understand dropping the rocket launcher the moment you re-equip the rifle, but dropping an assault rifle to pick up a rocket launcher just seems like a recipe for disaster when things get busy.

Its also to a degree range dependent (again from the beta as well), the closer you are the more likely it is to be a one shot kill from a headshot.

I assumed this was the case, although sans helmet I think a headshot should be a kill as long as you are within an effective range.

The developers Q&A seem to indicate that AI does ramp up as difficulty increases.

I was afraid it would just be more AI, instead of more difficult AI.

One thing I would add in regard to the feeling of weight and movement in KZ2, the world the game is set on is supposed to be greater than 1G, and as such the characters should find it more difficult to move around than normal.

While I fully understand the concept behind this and actually find it cool that they included this effect, good luck expecting Joe Gamer to understand that fact.


And as I just saw this, I felt I should share:

Rise, My Faithful Servant

 

[Flerbizky]

Simply put no other shooter I have played has had me looking forward to its release as much.


Regards

Scaff

Snipped as much as I could from Scaffs review as I could, And I couldn't have said it better myself...

This is THE first definitive MUST BUY for me (Bar the GT series of course)..

Hope to see some of you GTP'ers online once this gets out !...

 

[Formula1Driver]

After playing the demo a few times, I am glad to see that this is a game that will live up to the hype, you guys have already said it pretty well, great graphics and gameplay etc... I am really excited for this game and am really glad i pre-ordered it.

I think those of you who are having trouble with the controls and prefer the COD4 scheme, may want to try the Alternate 2 button layout, it seems to be working with me along with enabling the hold for zoom setting. With those settings, it seems like a pretty easy conversion from CoD4 to KZ2.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Second and third plays were much better for me. This is definitely a "buy" game for me now. But I'll hold for the big price reductions.

 

[Scaff]

Second and third plays were much better for me. This is definitely a "buy" game for me now. But I'll hold for the big price reductions.

If your interested Giles, Play.com are already down to £30 for it on pre-order, which for a new title is a bargain.


Regards


Scaff

 

[GilesGuthrie]

If your interested Giles, Play.com are already down to £30 for it on pre-order, which for a new title is a bargain.


Regards


Scaff

Yes, I saw that. I was thinking more of when they drop to £18, which they generally do. But I'll probably pre-order it in some form of drunken stupor of baby head-wetting in the next few days!

I know myself so well it's depressing.

G

 

[Glacius]

You guys should rent it first in my opinion. Personally I think it´s a great game, but it has some flaws that earned the game some bad scores.

The main problem is its framerate, which sometimes it´s pretty low. But the game is pretty much what this video shows, only with less action going on and PS2 graphics.

what you talking about there is NO framerate issues with Killzone2 , you need to get your story straight all the reporters reviewing the game and playing it never said anything about the frame rate, its dead perfect no drops at all wich is why the game is so hyped.

I tried the demo and it thought it looked stunning, but the demo they gave us is from last years E3 , so the final game is alot better and smoother . just you wait and see


glac

 

[Hereward]

The demo is that old....ok this is going to be stupendous....is that a word?.....well It fits so I'm using it LOL
I did notice not frame rate issues but a slight "loading" hangup, in the coridor after the lift if you run to the stairs you'll see it with the loading text apear for a split second, saying this though this is the demo and running off the HDD entirely plus it's an old build.

 

[Glacius]

The demo is that old....ok this is going to be stupendous....is that a word?.....well It fits so I'm using it LOL
I did notice not frame rate issues but a slight "loading" hangup, in the coridor after the lift if you run to the stairs you'll see it with the loading text apear for a split second, saying this though this is the demo and running off the HDD entirely plus it's an old build.

Yes the demo is old, same with the RE5 Demo they released .

I listen to 1up podcast and they said the final build of killzone had noe lag what so ever, and that the demo of both of them is the same build they used in E3 last year, why would they even spend time of workin on them when they have a game to finish now the game is finished andi talked to mates of mine in gaming company and they tried it and said no lag nor framerate drop whatsoever , i my self work in gaming industry but i have yet to get hold of this game yet . i preorderd the special edition cant wait for that will arrive the 27th ihope, but its so far away, so i know what i will expect and the demo cant justify for the real game thats what i heard =)

glac