killzone: a review
- Thread starter kinigitt
- 6 comments
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- 2,461
played
sorry. okay, here goes.
I was very excited about this game too; the trailers were super cool and the art style looked awesome. I always wanted to see a realistic futuristic shooter on consoles. So I was stoked.
The hype from game news sites, forums and sony press releases had all pretty much guaranteed a great game. So I bought mine. And Jesus t-f christ, it was not.
The controls were simply horrible. Seriously awful feeling controls ruined the great art style and cool setting. Immediately.
After getting to grips with the awkward, mushy feeling camera control, the first battle started to dissapoint me. The enemies were complete morons that would follow each other in a beeline towards my face as I shot round after round of inaccurate, wierdly-targeting (but nonetheless badass) futuristic weaponry. The A.I. is seriously the worst I've seen since Syphon filter. They are pretty much scripted to either:
A) run right at you, while clumsily hitting into everything and everyone in it's way while clipping and blurring it's own textures into simplified, ps1-looking low res "placeholder" graphics.
B)run until they get to their designated "cover spot" and stay there, stupidly looking at you and firing inconstistently.
C)staying put and basically waiting for you to show up close to them, unknowing that you are withing spitting distance.
Which brings me to one of killzone's awesomest aspects: the weapons. The weapons in killzone are just freaking awesome. The first-person animations are the most slick I have ever seen in a shooter (pull out the pistol and you'll know what I mean.) and the way you can lower your weapon and sprint was a cool touch as well. Their concepts, their sounds, and their 3d models were cool... but they did not feel like they should. That's where the awesomeness ends. The weapons feel slow and actually have a rather long delay until they hit their targets. It feels like you are shooting them in slow motion as you wait for the crude particle effects (since apparently all rounds in the future are bright orange tracer rounds) reach their targets.
The targets are the Helgast troops, which brings me to another awesome feature in killzone: the enemy character designs and story arc are cool. The models look like they are straight out of "Jin Roh: the wolf brigade", an anime featuring soldiers with heavy, inhuman-looking armour characterised by glowing red eyes (infrared vision). Very cool and sinister looking stuff. They are stupid though, as mentioned above. Very stupid.
I also commend the art team highly, as the ruined cityscapes feel like gritty sci-fi levels, and their use of filters and shading techniques give the game a truly unique, washed-out look. The textures, if they ever load up, are a mixted bag of "how did they do that on a ps2?!" and "holy nuts this looks like syphon filter!blech!" though.
Sound is a very strong point in this game, but it isn't an all-out contender. The score is amazing, the weapons all sound great, the range of sound effects littering the game are captured very well, the explosions and intenisty were impressive, but the voice acting just takes all of that and ****s on it. You'll want to turn your sound down after hearing the helgast yell "attaaaaaaaaack" 3 times in a row, identically, after running away while being shot. It's that bad.
Sooo... so far, we have clunky, awkward ****-sandwich controls; a glitchy, inconsistent graphics engine (that also stutters a lot ); nagging, idiotic voice-overs, and in the other corner: great art style, cool context and setting, and a very good premise for a very cool set of bad guys. Since this is a game, and games are supposed to be played to be enjoyed, this game fails to validate it's existence.
The multiplayer and checkpoint systems are so bad I'll just leave it at that (to be kind).
I'm sorry to dissapoint some fans who have been waiting for this game, but don't buy it unless you want to collect it or use it as a coaster. Well, if you're masochistic, you might like to give this game a try.
score:5 out of 10
I hope the artists from Guerrilla are snatched up by a team with better engineers and programmers. They would be a competitor to the best of the fps creators.
T100
sorry. okay, here goes.
I was very excited about this game too; the trailers were super cool and the art style looked awesome. I always wanted to see a realistic futuristic shooter on consoles. So I was stoked.
The hype from game news sites, forums and sony press releases had all pretty much guaranteed a great game. So I bought mine. And Jesus t-f christ, it was not.
The controls were simply horrible. Seriously awful feeling controls ruined the great art style and cool setting. Immediately.
After getting to grips with the awkward, mushy feeling camera control, the first battle started to dissapoint me. The enemies were complete morons that would follow each other in a beeline towards my face as I shot round after round of inaccurate, wierdly-targeting (but nonetheless badass) futuristic weaponry. The A.I. is seriously the worst I've seen since Syphon filter. They are pretty much scripted to either:
A) run right at you, while clumsily hitting into everything and everyone in it's way while clipping and blurring it's own textures into simplified, ps1-looking low res "placeholder" graphics.
B)run until they get to their designated "cover spot" and stay there, stupidly looking at you and firing inconstistently.
C)staying put and basically waiting for you to show up close to them, unknowing that you are withing spitting distance.
Which brings me to one of killzone's awesomest aspects: the weapons. The weapons in killzone are just freaking awesome. The first-person animations are the most slick I have ever seen in a shooter (pull out the pistol and you'll know what I mean.) and the way you can lower your weapon and sprint was a cool touch as well. Their concepts, their sounds, and their 3d models were cool... but they did not feel like they should. That's where the awesomeness ends. The weapons feel slow and actually have a rather long delay until they hit their targets. It feels like you are shooting them in slow motion as you wait for the crude particle effects (since apparently all rounds in the future are bright orange tracer rounds) reach their targets.
The targets are the Helgast troops, which brings me to another awesome feature in killzone: the enemy character designs and story arc are cool. The models look like they are straight out of "Jin Roh: the wolf brigade", an anime featuring soldiers with heavy, inhuman-looking armour characterised by glowing red eyes (infrared vision). Very cool and sinister looking stuff. They are stupid though, as mentioned above. Very stupid.
I also commend the art team highly, as the ruined cityscapes feel like gritty sci-fi levels, and their use of filters and shading techniques give the game a truly unique, washed-out look. The textures, if they ever load up, are a mixted bag of "how did they do that on a ps2?!" and "holy nuts this looks like syphon filter!blech!" though.
Sound is a very strong point in this game, but it isn't an all-out contender. The score is amazing, the weapons all sound great, the range of sound effects littering the game are captured very well, the explosions and intenisty were impressive, but the voice acting just takes all of that and ****s on it. You'll want to turn your sound down after hearing the helgast yell "attaaaaaaaaack" 3 times in a row, identically, after running away while being shot. It's that bad.
Sooo... so far, we have clunky, awkward ****-sandwich controls; a glitchy, inconsistent graphics engine (that also stutters a lot ); nagging, idiotic voice-overs, and in the other corner: great art style, cool context and setting, and a very good premise for a very cool set of bad guys. Since this is a game, and games are supposed to be played to be enjoyed, this game fails to validate it's existence.
The multiplayer and checkpoint systems are so bad I'll just leave it at that (to be kind).
I'm sorry to dissapoint some fans who have been waiting for this game, but don't buy it unless you want to collect it or use it as a coaster. Well, if you're masochistic, you might like to give this game a try.
score:5 out of 10
I hope the artists from Guerrilla are snatched up by a team with better engineers and programmers. They would be a competitor to the best of the fps creators.
- 8,191
- Southern Louisiana
- GTP_Kent
Well...
I may seem biased thanks to my informal reviews in the ps2 forum (found here), but I still feel like it would be alright to point out that the critical 5 out of 10 came from a member with a halo avatar.
So, from this player's p.o.v.
Killzone is good.
All of the things said in kinigitt's replies were "mostly true."
The reason I say "mostly" is because of the...
A) Controls:
The controls fell right into place for me, plain and simple. They have adjustability for sensitivity as well as advanced settings like inverted aim... I felt like the controls were easily setup for me and worked well.
B) Multiplayer:
I have no experience with the online setup, so I will not contest anything regarding the online game play. However, there is a single player-multi player mode. This mode is not as bad (IMO) as it sounded based on the above reviews.
AI bots can range in number from 1 to 14. There are atleast 5 good levels with nice layouts, some are quite large as well. Plus, the combat really can be fun... Difficult as well if you wanna take on a bunch of hard bots in a small place (even though right now I have enough fun with normal bots
).
Now, besides those points, I feel that kinigitt's review was pretty damn good.
There are a couple of things I would still like to restate in my own way...
From my stance (only owning 2 other shooters: socom & MOH) this game has good graphics.
However, the sound can be buggy (the sound on my gun has gone out during caimpaign mode).
Also, I want to stress that with the multiplayer-single player mode this game contains great replay value (especially compared to the shooters like MOH & SOCOM).
I just want to mention 1 more thing about the game that has not been mentioned...
This would be the sprint function. 👍
I have rarely seen this in FPSs before, but in this game there is a button that will make you pull your weapon up to your chest (which is visible) and then start sprinting faster than you can run in normal movement.
This feature has proven very fun to me because of all the options that open up with regard to charging a position (maybe even after cooking a gernade
).
So to give this game my _ out of 10 mark...
8.5 out of 10
That may seem high compared to the standards of some xbox guys, but for this halo-virgin... MOH front line makes this game look like a 10. 👍
& remember, we can always disagree.
I may seem biased thanks to my informal reviews in the ps2 forum (found here), but I still feel like it would be alright to point out that the critical 5 out of 10 came from a member with a halo avatar.
So, from this player's p.o.v.
Killzone is good.
All of the things said in kinigitt's replies were "mostly true."
The reason I say "mostly" is because of the...
A) Controls:
The controls fell right into place for me, plain and simple. They have adjustability for sensitivity as well as advanced settings like inverted aim... I felt like the controls were easily setup for me and worked well.
B) Multiplayer:
I have no experience with the online setup, so I will not contest anything regarding the online game play. However, there is a single player-multi player mode. This mode is not as bad (IMO) as it sounded based on the above reviews.
AI bots can range in number from 1 to 14. There are atleast 5 good levels with nice layouts, some are quite large as well. Plus, the combat really can be fun... Difficult as well if you wanna take on a bunch of hard bots in a small place (even though right now I have enough fun with normal bots
).Now, besides those points, I feel that kinigitt's review was pretty damn good.
There are a couple of things I would still like to restate in my own way...
From my stance (only owning 2 other shooters: socom & MOH) this game has good graphics.
However, the sound can be buggy (the sound on my gun has gone out during caimpaign mode).
Also, I want to stress that with the multiplayer-single player mode this game contains great replay value (especially compared to the shooters like MOH & SOCOM).
I just want to mention 1 more thing about the game that has not been mentioned...
This would be the sprint function. 👍
I have rarely seen this in FPSs before, but in this game there is a button that will make you pull your weapon up to your chest (which is visible) and then start sprinting faster than you can run in normal movement.
This feature has proven very fun to me because of all the options that open up with regard to charging a position (maybe even after cooking a gernade
).So to give this game my _ out of 10 mark...
8.5 out of 10
That may seem high compared to the standards of some xbox guys, but for this halo-virgin... MOH front line makes this game look like a 10. 👍
& remember, we can always disagree.
- 2,461
GoKentsWell...
I may seem biased thanks to my informal reviews in the ps2 forum (found here), but I still feel like it would be alright to point out that the critical 5 out of 10 came from a member with a halo avatar.
So, from this player's p.o.v.
Killzone is good.
All of the things said in kinigitt's replies were "mostly true."
The reason I say "mostly" is because of the...
A) Controls:
The controls fell right into place for me, plain and simple. They have adjustability for sensitivity as well as advanced settings like inverted aim... I felt like the controls were easily setup for me and worked well.
B) Multiplayer:
I have no experience with the online setup, so I will not contest anything regarding the online game play. However, there is a single player-multi player mode. This mode is not as bad (IMO) as it sounded based on the above reviews.
AI bots can range in number from 1 to 14. There are atleast 5 good levels with nice layouts, some are quite large as well. Plus, the combat really can be fun... Difficult as well if you wanna take on a bunch of hard bots in a small place (even though right now I have enough fun with normal bots
Now, besides those points, I feel that kinigitt's review was pretty damn good.
There are a couple of things I would still like to restate in my own way...
From my stance (only owning 2 other shooters: socom & MOH) this game has good graphics.
However, the sound can be buggy (the sound on my gun has gone out during caimpaign mode).
Also, I want to stress that with the multiplayer-single player mode this game contains great replay value (especially compared to the shooters like MOH & SOCOM).
I just want to mention 1 more thing about the game that has not been mentioned...
This would be the sprint function. 👍
I have rarely seen this in FPSs before, but in this game there is a button that will make you pull your weapon up to your chest (which is visible) and then start sprinting faster than you can run in normal movement.
This feature has proven very fun to me because of all the options that open up with regard to charging a position (maybe even after cooking a gernade
So to give this game my _ out of 10 mark...
8.5 out of 10
That may seem high compared to the standards of some xbox guys, but for this halo-virgin... MOH front line makes this game look like a 10. 👍
& remember, we can always disagree.
good stuff.
But let's be more fair, this game isn't really like halo so I wouldn't compare them. This is a more narrow, specific type of game, along the lines of MOH. You follow your narrow path through well-designed backdrops, sometimes accompanied by pals, and shoot at pop-up targets while the scripted sequences and incredible music try to make you feel immersed in the world. It succeeds for bried periods of time, but it's just not solid enough to warrant a better score.
A more decent FPS for ps2, regardless of dated graphics, is Red faction. Or, better go play Goldeneye or Perfect dark on the n64. Those were good console shooters. Timesplitters 2 can be good, but it's little more than a reworked goldeneye, as far as multiplayer. The single player experience in all 3 of those also eclipsed killzone's empty battlefields.
And don't write off my review because of my avatar. I could have one of the helghast troops as an avatar (because they look cool) and still find the game mediocre.
I just happen to really, really like halo. So hearing all this "halo-killer" talk had me assured that this would have to be a great game to even stack up to halo, IMO.
And I mentioned the sprint before. 👍
- 8,191
- Southern Louisiana
- GTP_Kent
All good. 👍
I wouldn't use halo-killer either.
And I do still play perfect dark on N64.
However, I've just gotta mention that if you put 14 of those AI bots into a multiplayer game the battlefield is anything but empty.
But yeah,
I guess the two of us (kinigitt) have created a great little review now.
Not because we are good writers or anything.
Rather, it is because our views differ slightly and it makes for a balanced review of the game with more than one perspective.
I think it would be just fine to leave your review score where you left it.
I just put a higher score in.
Still though,
Ever seen "judgment day" on G4/tech tv?
Tommy and _______ always go back and forth like you and I and they never give a game the same review.
So...
My grade stands, but so does yours.
Catch you around.
I wouldn't use halo-killer either.
And I do still play perfect dark on N64.
However, I've just gotta mention that if you put 14 of those AI bots into a multiplayer game the battlefield is anything but empty.
But yeah,
I guess the two of us (kinigitt) have created a great little review now.
Not because we are good writers or anything.
Rather, it is because our views differ slightly and it makes for a balanced review of the game with more than one perspective.
I think it would be just fine to leave your review score where you left it.
I just put a higher score in.
Still though,
Ever seen "judgment day" on G4/tech tv?
Tommy and _______ always go back and forth like you and I and they never give a game the same review.
So...
My grade stands, but so does yours.
Catch you around.
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