Killzone

[MarkRyan]

It's not often that a game as technically flawed as Killzone turns out to actually be worth a damn. By means of an amazing feat in design and artistic brilliance, Killzone manages to not only overcome its shortcomings, but happily stomps them into a realm of insignificance.

In true argumentative form, it's best to start with concession of losses: In many ways, Killzone is a technical mess. From the very start of the game, Killzone shows odd visual bugs, most of which stem from the rather weak implementation of a level-of-detail (LOD) system. In theory, an LOD system makes a game look better by reducing the graphical detail of objects in the distance (freeing hardware resources for closer objects), but in practice Killzone simply looks odd. The LOD system rarely seems to trigger at an appropriate time, resulting in strange transformations that occur at the very front of the screen. Bushes and other environmental items constantly warp into high-detail models way too late and occasionally the animations of up-close enemies consist of fewer than three repeated frames. Killzone also struggles to keep a decent framerate, and even when things are steady the game still feels somewhat choppy. Normally, these shortcomings would cripple a game's visuals. But in fact, Killzone looks awesome.

What saves Killzone from its problems is an outstanding artistic style that permeates every inch of ground and drenches every sky with poignant hues. Killzone's level designers spared no detail in decorating their creations with impressive building and structure designs and consistently touching color palettes that give the game a very distinct and unique look and feel. Once the consuming atmosphere of Killzone's world Vekta takes hold, it's easy to forget the technical problems even exist. The framerate hiccups and polygonal seams almost add to the gritty ambiance that makes the game so arresting--not to excuse the problems entirely, but Killzone's technical mishaps are very forgivable in the face of such compelling style.

Killzone persists with a convincing atmosphere even beyond the artistic visuals with usually awesome audio design that further draws out the depth of Vekta. Enemies chatter amongst themselves in raw, raspy voices while audible winds blow through canyons and footsteps crunch fallen leaves in the midst of jarring firefights underscored by crude crackling gunshots and deafening explosions. And while Killzone may not do anything technically beyond the norm (truth be told, it often struggles with audio technicalities), the harsh design of the audio cleverly masks the game's flaws and virtuously highlights the atmospheric strengths.

Of course, atmosphere alone, no matter how compelling, doesn't make a game worth playing. Underlying Killzone's convictive exterior is solid game design, the core of which reminisces classic PlayStation era Medal of Honor. Tactical positioning and patience win battlefield skirmishes over twitchy aiming and quick movements, which makes Killzone methodical and almost mechanical in contrast to other games in the same genre, such as Halo and DOOM. The slower pace of Killzone encourages simple strategy, like ducking for cover at the onslaught of an ambush, popping up for a few shots and then crouching back down to reload and reassess the situation. The game plays like guerilla warfare in this way, a perfect complement to the outstandingly gritty atmosphere that Killzone so well conveys.

Killzone's intuitive control scheme makes this guerilla combat especially satisfying. While the PlayStation 2 controller isn't often credited for being an outstanding fit for the genre, Killzone makes excellent use of the Dual Shock's strengths. The shoulder-button-centered control scheme works flawlessly with the level design, though some qualms could be had with the aiming. There is no implementation of auto-aim (as in Halo), and aiming on the Dual Shock's analog sticks is somewhat stiff. But this rigidity doesn't present a real problem in the game's single player campaign; in fact, it actually slows down the pacing, which works to the game design's advantage. Not all is roses, as the obstinate aiming really doesn't work on a competitive level of play, effectively ruining the chance of a passable multiplayer game, but it's hard to care with such a solid single player campaign intact.

In an odd way, Killzone conspicuously exposes the waxing age of PlayStation 2 and, simultaneously, manages to achieve one of the most visually unique and compelling experiences in gaming. At moments, it's obvious that developer Guerilla Games asked too much of this aging hardware. But in spite of frequent visual and audio foibles, Killzone delivers an utterly satisfying experience that no audience should forgo.

[Opaque]

I've been thinking of giving this a run, perhaphs I will.

[Giltch]

I rented this after it came out, and I liked it. I'm surprised it got such bad reviews. It's like playing a movie, if that makes any sense.

[Diff-chan]

Good review, but Im not gonna be playing this trash heap of a game anytime soon.

[Sl1p]

Yeah, this is the first MarkRyan review I've enjoyed. DUN DUN DUN~

Killzone is still horrid but I'm not going to question this because you also liked Zone of Enders 2 =D

[catty]

Although I don't agree with you, this is a nice review.
The game had some cool elements (like the backstory, the weapon animations and some of the visual design) but overall I didn't think it was worth playing. I'd rather play through Metal Arms again. Hell, even the wretched Call Of Duty console game was more fun and technically sound than Killzone.
I disagree about the audio. I thought it was some of the worst I've heard this generation, technically and artistically. The voices are so overacted and the samples are so repetitive that it just comes off as absurd rather than harsh or immersive. I actually LOLed a few times watching the Helghast do the 2-frame duck walk towards me while repeatedly screaming "Kill him!" and "Attack!".