Killzone 2 Review

A well balanced campaign and entertaining multiplayer component makes Killzone 2 one of the better shooters of 2009.

Posted by Ben Thomas on December 15, 2009 - 5:18am EST

The Multiplayer side proves enjoyable from the very start with a ranking system and a variety of modes. Best described as combination of Battlefield and Team Fortress the action is heavy and the netcode is great. You can even choose a region to filter servers, unfortunately there aren’t a lot of players still playing so depending on your region it may prove helpful. The maps also seem well designed although they feature the same wasteland type structures they are easy to learn and provide good flow.

Multiplayer proves very worthy with smooth gameplay.

There are a few game modes, the deathmatch mode seemed very popular but it holds much more strategy than your standard DM game. You can set up squads and spawn in with your squad leader to assault the enemy base. You can also get remote spawn points although these are often camped for easy kills. The game creates action where players are having mini battles of supremacy over parts of the maps due to these spawn points and chokepoints. The netcode is very good considering the geographical difference with only some slight delays when two people kill each other with gun fire. There are robots sentries that provide protection of your base and some that can be called in from the sky to rein fire down below. Good news is neither seemed too powerful but all were useful deterrents or obstacles to hold back enemies.

Killzone 2 is definitely a good first person shooter and it’s a game you should try out on PS3 if you haven’t already. It’s certainly one of the better shooters for 2009 regardless of platform. The balance is good and the multiplayer is very worthy. You’ll still be able to find a game online and the single player will keep you busy for a little while. Another great mode included is skirmishes with bots in the multiplayer. Although the mp bots aren’t very intelligent it’s a nice option to have available and can be good for new players to test out before going online.

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Our ratings for Killzone 2 on PlayStation 3 out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)

Presentation

Good desolate landscapes with smoke and wind effects, nice animation system. Aggressive LOD system and some poor lip syncing. FOV is restricting.

Gameplay

Basic first person shooting elements with some cover implementations, good weapon feel and solid enemy AI that pushes forward and retreats to cover.

Single Player

Standard missions and very few likeable characters, pretty good balance of co-op and solo segments and good pacing. Approximately 6 hours long on normal

Multiplayer

Pretty fun even on the basic deathmatch modes, good one-on-one combat. Nice features like region filtering and skirmishes against bots. Has a ranking system and very good netcode.

Performance

Some very long pauses when it loads or saves games. Friendly AI sometimes gets bugged and gets stuck behind.

Overall

Killzone 2 offers a good package with some fine graphics on the PS3. Multiplayer is surprisingly fun and engaging even at low player levels. Single Player is basic and struggles with likeable characters but rarely slips up.

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