Unfortunately Killzone begins to lapse when you start looking at its execution,
primarily in the area of the AI. The AI can be pretty inconsistent, sometimes
fighting competently but just as often suffering mental lapses. You’ll notice
something strange right from the game’s opening level in the trenches when some
of the Helghast charge your trench and then just stop and stare without firing a
shot. Good thing for them that some of their squadmates remember that this is a
shooting war. You’ll run into this type of thing fairly often, to the point
where taking out a few Helghast at a time is pretty simple and the challenge
comes at the times when you are facing larger numbers of enemies. To even things
out a bit I suppose, your squad is not much better, and manages to get through
the campaign without killing much of anything.
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| The explosions look great. |
The game is also hurt by some interface issues in that the controls are slightly
sluggish and touchy. It can be frustratingly hard to line up precise shots
during firefights, and when you miss your problems are compounded by the fact
that the weapons in the game have extremely long load times – which is a
handicap your enemies do not seem to share. Also, the hit locations do not seem
consistent. Sometimes perfectly aligned headshots do not drop an enemy, but
clipping their shoulder will take them out. Lastly the physics model does not
seem to be fully developed. Grenades don’t bounce all that realistically and
explosions seem to toss bodies at random rather than in reaction to the actual
explosion. It’s as if the whole combat model needed more tightening up and
tweaking before the game was released.
The game supports multiplayer online play, and the online game can be quite
enjoyable. You have a variety of game types available, including standards such
as deathmatch. The maps are drawn from the single-player game environments and
are just as good looking and detailed as their campaign game counterparts. The
slow reload times are still present online, though, and this can be an annoyance
to players used to the standard fast reloading weapons in other shooters and who
have a hard time changing their tactics.
Killzone is not a world-beating shooter by any means and the level of enjoyment
you get from the game will depend somewhat on your expectations going in. If
you’re looking for an interesting setting for a shooter and can put up with the
game’s shortcomings, Killzone will provide you with the variety that are looking
for. If you’re more concerned about the action itself or have a limited gaming
budget, you probably will want to seek your shooter thrills elsewhere.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
74%. If the gameplay matched the atmosphere, Killzone would be a real
winner.
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