Monday, March 16, 2009

Killzone 2 for PS3

Holy crap this game is intense. The intro movie sets the stage spectacularly, then launches you right into the action. Even in easy mode it's intense -- you survive longer, but it doesn't ratchet down the intensity at all. My eyes are still bleeding.

Visually, it's smooth and detailed. Your bullets don't just leave scars on the column that the bad guy is hiding behind -- you blow off pieces of concrete, all the way down to the rebar. And that piece of corrugated steel *you're* hiding behind gets knocked out of place with every grenade they land near it. You can see rockets coming at you smoothly, not stuttering between frames. The clear graphics give you time to side-step!

Then there's the AI stuff, which is remarkable. Enemies work together, shouting things to each other. They split up to flank you and they sneak around behind you when you hide. And this adaptability means that if you're failing a level, you can try a different approach and get totally different results. Blazing down the middle while mashing buttons not doing it? Sweep around the side, draw enemies out one by one, or just see whatever works in that particular area.

In any currency (six movie tickets, eight hours of iTunes, three blu-rays...) this title was definitely worth full price.

No comments: