Released on 27/02/2009

• Killzone 2 Review

  Welcome to Helghan...

  Considering the current gaming vogue for co-op play, the first thing that strikes you with Killzone 2 is the lack of any such mode. It's a rather odd oversight for a shooter which, in every other way, proves to be the PS3's answer to Gears of War.

  If that sounds like a rather negative start, then bear in mind that Gears 2 was by far our favourite shooter of 2008. The fact that Killzone 2 holds its own against such stiff competition bodes well for PS3 owners. Co-op or not, this is one helluva game.

  Remarkable

  The original Killzone didn't fare quite so well. Hyped as a 'Halo killer' by the PS2 press pre-release, the final game delivered an atmospheric, but on-the-whole average shooter experience that failed to knock the Xbox off its FPS perch. And then there was the whole E3 2005 debacle, where Sony showed a pre-rendered Killzone 2 video – instead of, y'know, actual in-game footage.

  Never has being a single grunt within a full-tilt warfield felt more harrowingly real than in Killzone 2.

  Carrying such a chip on its shoulder, it's remarkable how well PS3 Killzone 2 delivers. Not only does it represent a new standard for in-game graphics, but it also presents gameplay to match, with gritty, hell-for-leather gunplay up there with any top-tier shooter of recent years.

  In fact, 'gritty' doesn't do it justice. The planet Helghan is a desolate place, ravaged by extreme weather and electrical storms. Its capital city Pyrrhus is a tattered, crumbling concrete jungle that makes Blackpool look like the Bahamas. Dropped right into this nightmare, you're soon in the thick of things. Low to the ground, sluggish of foot and boasting a far narrower field of vision than most typical FPSs, your steely soldier Sev is soon pinned down by Helghast shrapnel. Blood spews across the screen; vision darkens; gunfire and radio chatter litter the air; and a close-knit claustrophobia makes you cling to cover. Never has being a single grunt within a full-tilt warfield felt more harrowingly real.

  Nerve-jangling

  In the great pantheon of videogame shooters, Killzone 2 sits somewhere between Gears and Call of Duty. It's sci-fi space marines meets slow-paced first-person shooting, where inching into enemy territory takes precedence over gung-ho assaults, and taking the time to line up headshots down your gunsight gets better results than spraying bullets with the haphazard free aim. It's a shame the controls aren't fully customisable, but Killzone 2's six selections should proffer solutions for Resistance, CoD and Halo players alike.

  Killzone 2's Nazi-like, orange-eyed Helghast are as iconic and devious an enemy as any on PS3. They flank, blindfire, take cover and flee just like you'd expect, and level design makes the most of it. While Killzone 2's D-Day Landings-style opening may have a slight feel of a shooting gallery, later areas are more freeform and visually diverse, offering open-plan desert battlegrounds and a dank industrial refinery packed with vantage points – plus vehicle sections adding variety to the already nerve-jangling action.

  Sci-fi space marines meets slow-paced first-person shooting, where inching into enemy territory takes precedence over gung-ho assaults.

  Which just makes Killzone 2's decision to give you one real weapon at a time all the more frustrating. Your fallback, a pistol, is nigh-on useless, and the melee attack, while satisfyingly meaty, is only ever a last resort. So you end up moving from one weapons cache to the next, taking your pick from whatever's there; always feeling like you're being guided by the level designer instead of having the opportunity to experiment.

  Killzone 2's weapons also don't offer as much variety as other big-name shooters, featuring lots of automatics that appear to do just about the same thing. There is one gun though which shoots what can only be described as Force Lightning; which is as awesome as it is ridiculous.
  

  Sadly, your fellow members of Alpha Squad aren't a whole lot of help. Oddly, you can revive them with a short electric zap, but they can't do the same for you. They also add little character to Killzone 2; their expletive-laden language is about as mature as your typical teenager, and in general they feel like a poor imitation of Gears' Delta Squad – all of the profane machismo; little of the charm.

  Must-have

  Killzone 2's multiplayer mode however would give Gears and anything else on Xbox Live a run for its money. Named Warzone, it pits human ISA armies against Helghast forces in up to 32 player battles, where objectives switch every five minutes. Pleasingly, there's an in-depth levelling system akin to Call of Duty 4, and matches can last anywhere up to half an hour. If it takes off, Killzone 2 could be the PS3's standout online title.

  There are times when Killzone 2 feels like the most tightly designed, tense, atmospheric FPS in existence. There are others where it feels rather derivative. In truth, it's just a very good shooter which is proud to be a shooter. And that brings us back to the opening line. Because Killzone 2's high points will repeatedly remind you how it could have been even better with a friend at your side. Still, for all its flaws, there's no denying the quality of Killzone 2. It's another bona fide must-have in the PS3's ever-growing arsenal of triple-A titles.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Incredibly atmospheric: the most techically accomplished game around.
  • Gritty, intense war-torn gunplay with super-smart enemies.
  • Warzone could make Killzone 2 the PS3's best online game yet.

  

  • Co-op is a massive omission - Killzone 2 seems designed for it, yet it's not there.
    
  • The weapon quota feels a little unbalanced.
  • Slightly derivative of other big-name shooters.

  Review by: Mark 'Scolar' Scott
  Version Tested: PS3
  Review Published: 03.02.09

  Published: 03/02/2009

• New Killzone 3 details emerge

  New Killzone 3 details emerge

  It was only formally announced this week, but Sony's already spilling the beans on what we can expect to see in Killzone 3.

  According to the next issue of GamePro magazine - thanks Eurogamer - Guerrilla Games' latest sees a cluster of surviving ISA troopers - including Sev and Rico from previous games - struggling against a regrouped Helghast army. "It's the story of David battling Goliath, but this time you are David. That's the big shift in going from Killzone 2 to Killzone 3," Guerrilla MD Hermen Hulst said.

  Players can level the playing field somewhat with a new jetpack with a mounted machinegun, and a new weapon, the Wasp, which fires multiple rockets in quick succession.

  There will be a huge ice level where you duke it out amidst oilrigs and tankers frozen into glaciers, and a 3D mode, which is optional and requires glasses, but should work on traditional televisions.

  As this is Guerrilla, you can count on Killzone 3 to push graphical boundaries. The developer has already stated that it's taking the PS3 hardware as far as it can go. No release date has yet been announced, but the smart money is on Killzone 3 touching down early in 2011.

• Sony announces Killzone 3

  Sony announces Killzone 3

  Along with Gears of War 3, this has been one of the worst-kept secrets in gaming's recent history, but the news is still extremely welcome: Sony has formally lifted the lid on the PS3 shooter Killzone 3.

  The latest instalment in the best-selling franchise that chart's humanity's struggle against the depraved Helghast, Killzone 3 players can expect to enjoy jetpacks, ice levels, and some 3D modes - previews will be hitting later today, which should hopefully give us a better idea of what this entails.

  Sony's press release also offers a hint of the story direction, with the game kicking off directly where Killzone 2 ended, with a nuclear bomb having wiped out all but a few of the ISA forces - that's the good guys.

  Eurogamer's reporting that levels will be ten times bigger, and at least some of the game will be set in space.

  Killzone 2 remains one of the best-looking games of this generation, with stunning environments, punchy weapons, and excellent multiplayer content. With series creators Guerrilla Games at the helm once more, there's every reason to expect a sci fi treat for any blasting fans out there.

  No firm date has yet been announced for the game's release.

• Killzone 3 to hit stores in February 2011

  Killzone 3 to hit stores in February 2011

  February, eh? A rainy month. A stay-indoors month. A month by which time you're sure to have finished the campaign of Halo: Reach and you'll probably be wanting something new to chew on.

  Well PlayStation 3 owners can rejoice. Sony has just announced that the staggeringly beautiful sci-fi shooter Killzone 3 will be hitting shelves in the US on February 22nd - and while there's no firm date for the UK yet, it's sure to be close behind.

  Featuring a solid campaign and plentiful multiplayer options, Killzone 3 continues the story of mankind's fight against the villainous Helghast. The second instalment saw the goodies closing in to finish of the Helghast at their home planet. Not to spoil anything, but the sequel tells a very different story, with a small collection of human survivors massively outnumbered by the enemy.

  Luckily, they'll have new weapons and new environments to fight through, and you'll also be able to mess around in jetpacks. Does it get any better than that?

  Killzone 3 is a PlayStation 3 exclusive.
  

• Killzone 3 dated

  Killzone 3 dated

  Bam. The incredibly beautiful PlayStation 3-exclusive Killzone 3 just got a launch date. According to the US PlayStation Blog, the brilliant FPS will be touching down on UK store shelves on 25th February. This, as Eurogamer notes, means it will go head-to-head with Epic Games' crazy Bulletstorm FPS, which is aimed at the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. There's going to be plenty of shooting going on at the start of spring, then.

  Guerrilla Games' latest picks up the Killzone story after the shock twist at the end of the last game. We're not going to spoil too much, but let's just say things don't look good for our heroes, and they start off finding themselves massively outmanned and outgunned on a hostile alien world.

  Besides looking astonishingly good, Killzone 3 supports natty stereoscopic 3D, and can be played - and played rather well by the looks of it - with the Move controller. Besides that, it's got split-screen co-op, plenty of fast-paced multiplayer options to get stuck into, and jetpacks to mess around in.

  Bulletstorm, meanwhile, takes itself a little less seriously, as you blast around an alien world blowing things up with crazy weaponry and nursing your hi-scores.

• First Killzone NGP details emerge

  We're all excited about the next wave of PlayStation Portable - currently codenamed the NGP - and one of the biggest games revealed for the system so far is a new handheld instalment of Sony's blistering FPS series Killzone. Now we're starting to hear a few things about the game - and the first thing is who's developing it.

  While Guerrilla Games created the Killzone franchise, the NGP version is being developed by Sony Cambridge. This is one of Sony's most experienced teams, and they've got the likes of TV Superstars, LittleBigPlanet PSP, 24: The Game and MedEvil: Resurrection on their CVs already. Not bad.

  Guerrilla certainly seems impressed with the studio, with senior producer Stephen Ter Heide telling Gamerzines that the franchise is in ood hands". (Thanks for the heads up, Eurogamer.)

  "Our sister studio in Cambridge is doing [Killzone NGP]," said Ter Heide. "We've been working with them very closely for a couple of years now. They've been helping us develop actual Killzone content for all the games. We feel like the game is in good hands. We'll still oversee it because the universe is something we've built up, we know the war and the rules that have been established, but they're driving the development."

  Killzone 3, meanwhile, has been developed by Guerrilla. The PS3 exclusive is out on 25th February. WANT!

• PlayStation 3 - The Essential Games

  
  

  So, you've got yourself a shiny new PlayStation 3. You know all about its fantastic online features, like PlayStation Network, BBC iPlayer, 4OD and more. You know about its awesome graphics and Blu-Ray player. What you really need to know is - what games should I get?

  Well, help is here! We've taken on the hard work and come up with our PS3 Essentials List - the 'hot half-dozen' you really need to get your game collection going.

  

  Action/Adventure

  SONY's flagship console needs SONY's flagship title - the Uncharted series. Since 2007 we've seen three adventures for Nathan Drake, the everyman hero whose treasure hunting escapades take him all over the world - and into all kinds of trouble. Featuring visually stunning locations and traditional action adventure gameplay like running, shooting and jumping, the Uncharted games are ideal for just getting stuck in and having fun while playing. Grab Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in a special double pack, or jump straight into the latest instalment Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

  

  Shooter

  Killzone 3 is the latest chapter in PlayStation's signature shooter series. Putting a sci-fi twist on the traditional first-person shooter, Killzone 3 takes place across a range of locations from alien jungles, to nuclear wastelands, to outer space, marking a strong visual change to the usual combat zones found in FPS games. There's the usual single-player campaign and a host of multiplayer maps and mission-types to keep things interesting. Plus there's a choice of classes to play as and the use of things like jet-packs which put a new slant on the genre. And if you really want to, you can grab the first two chapters too!

  

  Sport

  Sports on the PS3 are taken to the extreme in SSX. A revival of the classic snowboarding series that helped launch the PS2, SSX presents players with an assortment of mountain slopes to conquer, and whole heap of tricks, moves and skills to learn, and playing modes that reward speed, skill and survival. While the single-player mode is fun enough, the online multiplayer works in such a way that you don't actually have to be playing at the same time to challenge your friends, with a league-like system that makes every race very competitive. If you're looking for a new sporting challenge, SSX is the game to beat!

  

  Sci-Fi/Fantasy

  The Resistance series was a bit of old-school sci-fi, an alternative history where alien race the Chimera had invaded and overrun the planet, thanks to a virus that turns humans into, well, more Chimera. Your job is to stop the Chimera take over Europe (in the first game) and North America (in the second and third), using a combination of contemporary and futuristic weapons. The alt-history setting makes for an interesting storyline with some fun 'what-if' scenarios, while the multiplayer options expand not only the world of the game, but also the fun you can have within it. Grab the first two games in a Platinum Double Pack and start fighting those aliens!

  

  Party

  If you really want to get the party going, you want to get the party singing, and what better way to do that than the SingStar series. The gameplay is simple - two people competing to out-sing the other... or at least trying to score higher than the other while singing, as actual singing ability is far from required to make this game enjoyable! With a range of games and songs to suit almost any age and taste, SingStar has proven to be one of the most inclusive and easy to play franchises to hit any console. For the ultimate in friendly competition, SingStar is the winning choice.

  

  Racing

  The Gran Turismo series has been a stalwart of the PlayStation brand for more than a decade, and Gran Turismo 5 continues the fine tradition of ultra-realistic driving simulation that leaves other racers in the dust. Like the earlier games in the series, GT5 is a showcase of the PS3's lifelike graphics and gameplay physics, this time incorporating realistic damage to your car as you compete. There's an enviable range of locations (26), tracks (71) and cars (over 1000!), and combined with the gameplay choices of career mode, arcade mode and online multiplayer, Gran Turismo 5 is the racing game that puts you on the right track.

  Of course, this list is far from definitive, but it does showcase some top games in each of the major categories of modern gaming. If you think you have a better champion for any category, or can think of a key title we've missed, please feel free to share your advice below!

  Published: 10/04/2012

• Killzone Trilogy headed to PlayStation 3

  
  

  Killzone, Sony's dark and forboding first-person shooter saga, will be the latest PlayStation series to get the compilation treatment, developer Guerilla Games has confirmed.

  "I'm very pleased to share with you news that I hope will bring some excitement to those readers with a predilection for all things Helghast and ISA and those who perhaps could well have in the very near future," said Michiel van der Leeuw, the studio's technical director, in a post on the official PlayStation Europe blog.

  The series tells the story of a war between the ruthless Helghast Empire and the forces of the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance. The tone is bleak, the visuals heavily influenced by Soviet and Nazi architecture, and the combat is fierce and oppressive. Not many giggles then, but a darkly refreshing change of pace from the glossy Hollywood bombast of other shooter titles. The series has attracted top notch voice talent as well, with the likes of Brian Cox, Steven Berkoff, Ray Winstone and Malcolm McDowell all taking major roles.

  As the title suggests, the package will contain all three games in the Killzone series, including the original Killzone for PlayStation 2 in glossy HD with full Trophy support. Both Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 will include all the additional multiplayer maps released as downloadable content at no extra charge. Killzone 3 is also compatible with PlayStation Move and can even be played in 3D on 3D supporting TV's.
  

  Published: 07/09/2012

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