Killzone 2

by Sony

• Assume the first-person perspective of special forces soldier Sev in the assault on Helghan
• Take on an inhospitable planet along with enemies backed by impressive AI
• Experience cinematic effects, smooth animations, and detailed environments full of realistic lighting
• Stay immersed with music and effects rendered in 7.1 surround sound
• Master 11 levels on your own or engage in online play with 2-32 players

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000FQBF1M
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: February 27, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (471 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,274 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #26 in Video Games > PlayStation 3 > Games > Action > Shooter

Product Description

Amazon.com

Get ready to take on the full strength of the Helghast war machine from a dramatic first-person perspective with Killzone 2 for PS3. From Guerilla Games, this much anticipated follow-up to Killzone for PS2 and Killzone: Liberation for PSP drops you right into the boots of battle hardened special forces soldier Sev. Set two years after the aborted Helghast assault on Vekta, the action opens with your ISA Legion squad deployed behind enemy lines on the Helghan's unforgiving home turf.

Motion blurs and studio-grade special effects bring battle to life. View larger.

First-person viewpoints and 7.1 surround sound keep you immersed. View larger.

Realistic lighting and detailed environments add a cinematic quality. View larger.

Smooth animation and improved AI give the Helghans a terrifying, realistic presence. View larger.

Combat Lifelike AI and Inhospitable Terrain
Despite the smooth character animations and swift-thinking AI behind each individual Helghan, their planet itself may be the most deceptive opponent that you face. Unlike other game environments that serve as nothing more than a visual backdrop, the devastating Helghan climate takes a notable toll. And, worst of all, the Helghans know exactly how to use the planet against you.

The in-your-face perspective comes to life as you take aim with exotic new weapons and mainstays from the previous games, including the M82-G assault rifle. And you can now drive an array of rugged, sometimes strange, vehicles that expand the gruesome possibilities of war.

Guerilla Technology in a Terrifying, Realistic World
Guerrilla's unique visuals and deferred rendering technology ensure that even the ugliest situations on Helghan are beautifully lit. Ambient occlusion and accurate shadow casting from a variety of light sources combine with gritty textures, detailed environments, and studio-grade special effects to help complete the realistic, Hollywood experience of this first-person shooter.

Real-time cutscenes, full-screen anti-aliasing, motion blurs, and internal lens reflections all bring you into the fold and work to maximize the hardware capabilities of the PS3. And the audio experience is no less impressive. 7.1 surround sound capability lend a truly dynamic sound element to your experience, while audio occlusion with wave tracing means that you can hear the difference between indoor and outdoor firefights.

Chaotic Multiplayer Drama Online
While single-player mode lets you take on the unique challenges of 11 fully developed levels, online play lets you engage with up to 32 players at a time, bringing the gritty, realistic chaos of war to a whole new level.

Other multi-player friendly enhancements in Killzone 2 include in-game clan management, a match wagering system, and the ability to integrate new information and track friends and enemies with the community at Killzone.com.

Product Description

Killzone 2 PS3

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 111 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising the bar - online review - UPDATE March 2, 2009

By Jared Burdick

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I play a lot of Resistance 2 and COD4 & COD:WAW. Resistance for its massive battles & COD for the great graphics and super tight play. Killzone 2 is a great blend of each.

There are a lot of complaints about the controls, but none from me. The guns are weighted and recoil as you would expect. The characters move like heavily armored soldiers carrying heavy artillary might. I could see it as an issue if it wasn't equal, but everyone is playing at the same speed and after a very short amount of time, I can say without fail that I am pretty quick with the M82 and plenty of online players that are far superior to me will light you up as quick as any game of Halo or COD.

As far as the graphics, online there is no dropoff compared to the single player. This is the best looking game I can remember playing. I had a difficult time going back to Resistance because it looked terrible after KZ2.

The single player game is ...about like every other signle player FPS that I can remember. Follow a line shoot guys, etc. I only played for a couple of hours to get familiar with the controls before playing online so I can't really speak as an authority on the single player.

The online game has all of the usual suspects as far as game modes go. The new exception is being able to string any of the five together that plays as single game. If you have a squad that you enjoy playing with, this is great. If you jump into a 25 minute game and get stuck with a team of half-tards, prepare to be frustrated that you have to wait 25 minutes to get credited with your experience. It's also worth noting that KZ2 has a similiar level up / xp system that unlocks various items like COD 4. It's about what you'd expect....The battles are awesome and where KZ2 really takes the cake for me is the whole package with 30 people at a time. My biggest complaint with COD4 is 12 player battles on medium sized maps. It is too easy for people to camp and the middle of the screen remain empty for extended periods - especially in hardcore modes where you are playing 1 shot kills.

Killzone 2 doesn't reinvent the wheel and doesn't really offer anything new in terms of gameplay. A similiar thing has happened with the fighter genre. You can only "play guns" in so many different ways, so the next logical step is perfecting the genre, and right now, Killzone 2 is at the top of the heap.

UPDATED:
I purchased the downloadable map packs, Titanium & Steel. One takes place on a moving train, the other in the cruiser shown at the opening of the game. The train is a sight to behold and a snipers dream come true as the action funnels to visible choke points and the map is very narrow. The Vekta cruiser is multi-leveled and circular in shape. It's a stark contrast to the rest of Killzone with bright lighting and vibrant colors. The pack cost $6.00 and both are fun to play. The only problem is not many people appear to have purchased. It is common to find lobbies with the new map pack OR the originals. They're great to see in motion, espcially the train, but not a mandatory purchase at all.

I have such a problem with connection, that I've found myself going back to COD4 & WAW despite preferring Killzone 2's gameplay. Not only am I frequently disconnected, but it logs the PS3 offline and occassionaly locks up the system and requires a hard restart. I've even found myself having to restart my router becuase it locks everything up and I have to reboot my connection. It is exceptionally frustrating to play partial matches and get kicked (especially the longer games) and pop in COD or Resistance and have no issues.

Finally - Clan battles. Ugh. Oddly enough, COD felt like you had to be in a clan to enjoy the game. In fact, it's almost mandatory (log into a match with just a bunch of guys versus a party and get ready to die...a lot, no level balancing). KZ seems to be the opposite. Clan battles have rampant cheating and cheapness you just don't see in the big open matches. I played in a couple clan matches and virtually every negative I'd heard about them was evident(not respawning in deathmatch, hiding the the radio in your base, etc.). I've had a much better time just going from game to game until I find a group that is competitive on both sides. The good rooms are typically set to automatically balance, so a room with a few good players on both sides can be as much fun as any clan battle. Read more ›

42 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth all the Hype. Amazing!!! February 27, 2009

By paper tiger

Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Pros
+Amazing Graphics. Probably the best to date.
+Very smooth running game. Always looks and runs great.
+Fun factor is very high. Up there with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year.
+The Perfect DTS sound will blow you away.
+Solid level design keeps you aching to see what lurks around the next corner.

Cons
-The Controls are slightly cumbersome at first. But I've seen much much worse. Sometimes doing "actions" takes a second to line up. Like jumping or climbing over something/through a window. But after you get use to it, shouldn't be too much of a problem at all. Just like any game, the controls may take a while to get use to.

For starters, this is by far the smoothest running game I have ever played. The game just flows. Everything from loading a level to switching from an in-game-movie to game-play are seamless. I was amazed by the graphics. The lighting and the texture detail left me speechless. Everything from the control to the menu style was very well thought out.

The crisp DTS sound shakes the house and really puts you in the action. It sounds great on my Onkyo 7.1 system. Character dialog is also well done. Not cheesy at all.

The in-game-movies run great and look amazing. Facial features and expressions are really cool.

The characters really have fun personalities. This is NOT one of those flat feeling games which try to give each character life but fail. This game pulls it off perfectly. I think the AI is great. Probably the best I've ever seen in a game.

The level design is pretty good. Very solid and keeps you wanting to know what is around the next corner.... It is the type of game that you have to make yourself stop playing. I'm a huge fan of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year and this game ranks pretty close to it.

The fun factor is high. I love playing this game. There is a perfect balance of action, story, and just plain fun game-play. If you own a PS3, do yourself a favor and at least check this out. You won't be sorry.

P.S. Just a suggestion from gamer to gamer, those RealTriggers for your PS3 controller are well worth the $4.99. For a fast paced action game like this, they really come in handy. Read more ›

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Killzone is back, and better then ever. February 27, 2009

By Hazy

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Does this live up to the hype? Yes. Does this game deliver on all fronts? Yes. Is it fun? Oh hell yes.

Killzone 2 tells the story of Alpha squad, who are tasked with taking down Visari, who is a Helghast leader. The game opens up with a speech of him and clips of war-time chaos. The intro is simply perfect, what else can I say? You play as a soldier named Sev, who is part of Alpha squad. You hit the Planet Helgan in a beach invasion, and the game begins.

The first thing you will notice is the Graphics. They are STUNNING. This shows amazing textures, lighting, and animations, all with a little to no lag. Who knew war could look so beautiful?

The sound design is another strong point. Men are dying around you, bullets are hitting your cover, the Helghast and screaming orders to each other. Its simply a treat for the ears.

Cover plays a huge roll in Killzone. If you are up in the middle of combat, you will most likely die. When you press and hold L2, you stick to the surface of your choice. From there, you can lean to pop out and take shots, and then duck back in. It works extremely well.

The Helghast soldiers are simply remarkable. They are a force to be feared. Their attire reminds me of a 1940's Nazi uniform, and they are smart to boot. They take cover, flank, and throw grenades quite frequently.

My only gripe can be adjusted in a few seconds. Do yourself a favor and go into the options and adjust the X and Y axis sensitivity. A grenade indicator would have been nice, but it's perfectly fine without it. But one thing just puzzles me. Why would a game built so firmly around Squad combat not have coop? You usually always have a friendly NPC with you, so this just makes no sense.... But like I said, the game is perfectly fine without it.

But where the fatal flaw of Six-axis usually falls into play, Killzone skips right past it in favor of what it was intended for in the first place. Killzone realizes that you don't risk the playability of a game on a gimic, let alone one that might not work, and the game has been created with this thinking in mind. For example, when you would usually press a button to turn a valve, Killzone has you holding the L1 and R1 Trigger (Much like your left and right hands if you will) and continually cranking the controller in a circular motion, all the while letting go to do it again. This is not only very realistic, it doesen't jeapordize gameplay in the slightest, and works so well that it's just plain fun. Other cool features like arming explosives (With the right hand, R1 Button) have you tilting the controller to the left and right. One of my favorites is the sniping, which has you actually holding the controller steady to line up that perfect kill. It works, and I can't really see anybody wanting to turn it off.

The online is frantic fun. It's just simply indescribeable how much time I have spent playing the online portion of Killzone.. and this is the launch day! The gametype is called Warzone, which has every great multiplayer mode you can think of, crammed into one. One minute you will be capturing points, and the next the Helghast (Or ISA) will be calling in an assassination attempt on one of your team mates. It really does keep you moving and constantly alert, but it also makes adjusting to the different game types fast and easy.

If you own a PS3, Killzone should be a part of your collection. Pick this one up, and dive into the chaos. Read more ›