Killzone 2 (2009)

Killzone 2 is one of the best first person shooters of its generation and one of my all time favourites. It not only delivers what was being attempted in the first Killzone but cranks everything up to eleven while doing it. People dismiss it as just another shooter of its time or another grey/brown shooter of that generation but it stands separate from and above the pack. It is a beast of a game that was ahead of its time and very technically impressive with exceptional art direction. It was easily one of the best looking games available anywhere at the time and it has an award winning soundtrack as well. It felt different too. It is darker, slower and heavier with such strong intent and a more grounded play style. If Doom is rip and tear then Killzone 2 is a slower bludgeon and haemorrhage.

Coming back to Killzone 2 after all this time and being blown away again was something special. This game looks and feels phenomenal. It is a near perfect combination of technical achievement, artistic vision, attention to detail and passion. How it looks, feels, sounds and plays all work together so cohesively that each individual piece works to enhance every other piece. This is one of those games where I would recommend checking out a video break down with visual examples. If I remember correctly Digital Foundry did a video years ago heaping praise on Killzone 2 that would be worth a look. They really threw everything at Killzone 2. There are all these different effects like depth of field, blur, grain, lens flare, particles and the lighting, holy crap the lighting. The character models are high quality and the guns are even better. They are well detailed with great animations. The Helghast look incredible and the blood is something else. Environments are really well realised with so many little things that add up. Killzone 2 was from a different time, a better time, when developers knew how important the small things are and were allowed and able to pursue that quality. It is a big part of why something like Killzone 2 is more enjoyable than the very pretty and impressive but often static and uninteresting modern games we have now.

I don’t want to get bogged down in how so, so technically impressive this is for a 2009 PS3 game though. That is because it wasn’t just a technical showcase. Killzone 2 has a very strong vision and style. It is more important to try to explain how it feels, how it comes together, how it so tense and brutal, how it is different and how Killzone 2 achieved an atmosphere so thick you’ll choke. Maybe I am being too ambitious here especially with my amateur writing and only using text. But I’m going to try to do my little part in dealing with the shallow understanding or misremembering or misunderstanding that Killzone 2 is just some grey/brown shooter, just another shooter from a generation that had so many, which doesn’t simply need to be dispelled but completely shattered.

Killzone 2 continues what was started with the first Killzone. Through a combination of controls, camera, animation, movement and speed Killzone 2 makes it feel like you are in control of a human character that is carrying gear and using a heavy, powerful weapon. There are long detailed reloads, weapon swaps are not instant, crouching takes a little moment with camera movement, jumping feels like a lunge that also has camera movement, it has detailed first person animations for ladders and interactions, getting shot at impacts aim and each shot fired has hefty recoil, even just walking has a little camera movement. I know there is the input lag that was improved with an update and an added option. It is a strange case where a flaw is accentuating the design but of course I would recommend getting the update. I got used to it and adapted and don’t find it to be much of an issue. Killzone 2 is a game where consideration and committing to actions is important as well and I found myself regularly stopping to make little plans of approaching encounters. The cover system is really smooth and simple. Just hold L2 when up against a wall or waist high bit of cover and stick to it. Then you can peak over or around. It works so well with how Killzone 2 plays but doesn’t become completely dominant. Even on the hardest difficulty I found myself moving around a lot and engaging enemies out of cover. They even found a way for the PS3 controller’s motion functions to be used here and it works. You use them for setting explosive charges and turning things to open paths and you also need to keep your hands still when aiming with the sniper. It is simple and unobtrusive but in combination with the weight and animations in Killzone 2 it adds to experience instead of being an unnecessary and annoying addition.

What really helps all this is how immediate Killzone 2 is, it just drops you into the shit and only has brief moments to catch your breath and pretty to the point cut scenes. It is a dense, linear game that does not waste your time. There are a couple of collectable types to keep your eyes open for but nothing has you running about messing around and the whole campaigns run time is nice and tight with good pacing. That fits so well with the grounded approach and what Killzone 2 is trying to portray. This of course also makes it really enjoyable to keep coming back to and replay. Beyond the campaign though you’ll find a robust Skirmish mode that lets you take on bots. It is plenty of fun on its own but also would make for great practise for the online multiplayer mode Warzone. Unfortunately my experience with the online multiplayer is almost nonexistent. I tried it long after its prime and only had a few very empty games. I know it is a substantial offering and it is really well loved by many. Some people loved it so much that they brought it back a while ago and I believe there is a small community still playing. I know I should look into it and try to jump onto it at some point. Killzone 2 offers a solid package and even the case is great with the Helghast still being at the center. But the manual has fallen off hard, which was the norm for game manuals at the time.

The grounded, heavy feel is felt throughout everything in Killzone 2. Objects, explosions, vehicles, enemies and how they react, it is all so intense. You won’t be sliding, high jumping, floating about, wall running and 360 no scoping here. The way Killzone 2 plays combined with its look, feel and sound makes everything more impactful. Every shot or grenade throw is more meaningful. It is a slower experience but encounters have more consideration as you often find yourself stopping to take a moment before committing to actions. Grenades need to used strategically and shooting done in well controlled bursts. You can easily run out of grenades and ammo is restricted just enough to force weapon changes regularly. It manages to be just as engaging and visceral as some of the best in the genre even though you might just be lumbering forward against a handful of enemies. You need to push forward while understanding the limits and dealing with the pressure put on you by the Helghast enemies. While I’m on that I should mention difficulty. The challenge here is a key part that works with the visuals, sound and how it plays to create the tense, oppressive, gritty experience this is. I died many more times getting through the two hardest difficulties in Killzone 2 than in my somewhat recent play through of Lies of P for example. Even on the easiest difficulty Killzone 2 offers enough resistance that you won’t be completely able to cruise through on auto pilot, particularly if you are going for a no death run. If you are used to modern game standard difficulty then maybe try easy. If you are used to modern game ‘story mode’ then I hope you like being mocked by the Helghast, which they will do.

When you die the screen goes completely black and white and the game lingers for a moment. If a Helghast enemy is near you they will cheer or show pride over your body as you watch the expanding pool of blood leaking out. But you get back into it more determined. Walk back into that dark room emptying round after round into the Helghast as he screams, his body reacting to the shots with jerks, spasms and spurts of dark red blood come out staining the environment. While the room is mostly only lit up by the muzzle flash, casting shadows and letting you see missed shots causing sparks on metal, or dust, debris and marks on other surfaces. You pick up the shotgun that Heghast was wielding, flick on its flashlight and step into the next room. Another Helghast at point blank range and you fire. The shotgun kicks so hard with a perfect animation and feel, the sound really punchy without being too over the top. A different sound has caught your ear though, the grim sound of what happens to a Helghast when hit with that blast. The head just fucking gone, that once intimidating red eyed Helghast now just a headless body with a dark red pool. More Helghast, more blasts. One more to go but you are empty. As much as you want to see the long detailed reload animation or weapon swap, pulling the knife is quicker and it auto slices when switched to, more dark red stains.

The next area is more open, the music is driving you, a group of Helghast, you notice red gas bottles stored in shelving. You pull out the revolver that kicks so hard and the sound echoes through game and into your living room. The shelves break, gas bottles spill out naturally. Another shot and one is hissing and moving until it blows causing a chain reaction. You pick off survivors while taking in the damage and destruction and you appreciate the details that went into this scene. Dust, particles and debris in the air, so many reactive, damageable, destructible objects, and the blood, the blood. Light streaming in from above sources, combined with lots of other light sources. Glass shattering and actual chunks breaking off some surfaces. Helghast screaming, moving, using cover, peeking, blind firing, advancing, shooting, using grenades to flush you out and using melee when close. They yell grenade and move, so you learn to cook them first. They howl and run when lit up with the flame thrower. They get knocked down by damage and nearby explosions. They screech and convulse when hit with electricity. Their behaviour finally matches up with their powerful impression and is suited to the enemy type they are and weapon they have. Every action causing a reaction. Every action an appropriate weight, time taken and sound.

You keep moving while noticing every surface has wear and tear. Cracks, dents, chips, scratches, steam escaping, water dripping, graffiti, worn posters and rust, rust all over. So much detail in every space. Trash bags, bottles, pallets, furniture, boxes, and walls and they are all reactive and/or destructible. Helghast helmets pop off and tumble, Helghast bodies slide down stairs and bloody boot prints are left behind. You start to realise how much went into this. Then you step back out into an outside area and soak it in, the dark skies, with clouds and lightning. You often see missiles and fires in the distance and ash in the air, destruction everywhere with the soundscape to match. This is how you create a location, this is how you sell an invading force clashing with their enemies defences and this is how you make a game feel alive. Killzone 2 is a game of steel, cement, dirt, rust, fire, dust, blood and ash. It is a dark game with lots of strong shadows but then it also often has a green/blue tinge in many places and it is typically full of really warm yellow/orange light sources. This contrasts with the ISA ship that is so much cleaner, with lots of white and lighter grey environments, lit up with brighter white light sources and blues, even a bit of violet. The game uses red, blue and green for visual clarity that seamlessly blends with the world in way that doesn’t feel like the developer saying ‘look over here you dumb arse.’ It is a very cinematic game, and not just in cut scenes, that has plenty of scripted sections and set pieces but it pulls it off without taking too much control or freedom from the player. Everything is viewed with a simple, minimal HUD that can be turned off completely, along with the hip fire crosshair. The sound design and score is excellent, elevating every moment, and it is no surprise it won the Ivor Novello Award, the first videogame ever to do this. Killzone 2 is a substantial game in that there is layer upon layer of things, big and small, adding up to create a very strong and unique look and tone. Generic? Just another grey/brown shooter? I found myself often stopping to take this all in, just looking, reflecting and understanding that Killzone 2 has one of the most well realised game worlds, Helghan is one of the best game locations and this is some of best atmosphere ever achieved. They married it with controls, game play, challenge and a grounded feel that is at one with this bleak, gritty world. Playing on elite difficulty is still one of the most oppressive and immersive experiences around.

This is it. This is pretty much as good as video game graphics needed to get. Performance and loading times though, yeah I can’t say the same for that. Killzone 2 can’t perfectly maintain performance with heaps of enemies, fire and explosions but it doesn’t hit bad enough or often enough to detract too much. The more jarring thing is loading. When moving along between areas the game just freezes for a bit, to the point where it is initially concerning but this is just what it does. Then the game goes again with a little loading message in the corner and this really pulls you out of things and hurts momentum. It does this when skipping cut scenes too and the loading times in general are on the longer side. There is an audio issue where sections of dialogue will quickly repeat and it is bad enough that it happens a handful of times every play through. On top of all that there are a bunch of typical minor and occasional video game things. Helghast body parts passing through things they shouldn’t, or bodies and objects doing something weird, casings, bodies and footprints disappear too quick and enemy and friendly AI will have some dumb moments. All this sticks out more in a game like Killzone 2 as well because of how good it usually is and of course the input lag already mentioned as well. There is a little disappointment initially because it ditches the multiple character approach of the first game and also really restricts the weapons you can have at one time but it is worth it to create such a strong specific experience. The worst sin of all though is that you get teased with a buggy but then don’t get to drive it. The tank section could have been longer too or maybe have another section in it, at least there is another cool vehicle section later on.

I have been writing for a while now and haven’t even talked about what is going on in Killzone 2. It picks up after Killzone Liberation in the midst of the ISA launching a counter invasion on Helghan with the objective of smashing their forces and capturing their leader Visari. The game first opens with an epic cut scene, then quickly establishes things while on an ISA ship, before very quickly dropping you right into a beach landing. From there it is all about advancing until you get a curve ball and the game slows back down and even gets a little eerie for a moment before building back up again. Something really major happens towards the end that pushes the atmosphere into something hellish and the gameplay and challenge absolutely rise to match it. It is a hell of a ride with some big character deaths, big moments and great pacing. You can enjoy it as just that, a fun action packed ride, kicking Helghast arse, but Killzone has a little more to dive into as well. It is an anti war, sci-fi game, set in the future. It is very much a ‘look what happens when we keep making the same mistakes’ and is clearly inspired by events from the 20th century. Not just what the Helghast obviously make you think of and more than this too, I would say human conflict in general. You get to see more of how the Helghast became what they are and I am not just talking about the mutations caused by their home planet. It isn’t as simple as good guys verses space Nazis if you are paying attention. Guerrilla put quite a lot into building this world and the conflicts; more than 300 years of history, dehumanisation and propaganda on both sides, enormous powerful corporations, the need for resources, etc. Killzone 2 is the game in this series where everything comes to the surface more and certainly it is presented in a very cinematic, high quality way, and this is the series high point in this aspect as well.

There are some issues though. Rico… everyone that has played Killzone games knows I don’t need to say more. Rico is too much. His behaviour, choices and dialogue was too far, he is too hot headed, stupid and unlikable. The main character you play as, Sev, is better and more grounded but not very interesting, so are the rest of the characters on your side, for the most part. The game again like the first has this like dumb, bro, military vibe, no offence, just not sure how else to put it. Some of the characters and dialogue really clashes with the tone, this world and what I’m seeing. I’m sure if it was more sombre and serious all the time then it would probably come off as flat or maybe edgy. Toning things down and trying craft dialogue and personalities more unique to Killzone would have been better. However it could be intentional. Rico, the dialogue and the other soldiers, the fact that they rush in with that attitude doing what the very far away people in charge have commanded. While on the other hand the Helghast, which are what all the visuals, covers and marketing is around, the actual central characters of this series get better dialogue and characters. The ending is kind of similar to this. It is very abrupt and doesn’t even let you digest things before immediately going ‘this shit isn’t over,’ which is not great but actually is, because that’s Killzone. You made it all that way and pushed through it all but there is no happy ending or resolution. Instead you are left with, what was actually gained from this conflict, what changed, what is trying to be achieved here and why were they sent in to invade Helghan with intel suggesting that it was going to be a breeze.

There is nothing quite like Killzone 2. It pulls you in and suffocates you in its atmosphere and violence while demanding that you brute force your way through it. It isn’t perfect but damn it is good, so good. The fact that a game this big, this good and this important to PlayStation history doesn’t have a remaster is disrespectful and offensive. Come on Sony, just a basic remaster that does not mess up anything here. Killzone 2 is a must own and play PS3 game, an essential first person shooter and is still comfortably the best thing Guerrilla has ever done and will likely ever do.