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The 10-Cent Tour: Sony's so-called "Halo-killer" didn't exactly kill, or even maim, any Halos. Maybe the second one will. A boy can dream, no?
1. After last year's E3
Killzone 2 demo, many journalists cried foul over the incredible level of detail shown in the target render video. "The actual game will never come close to that!" they griped. Then they said, "Wah! Baby made a boom-boom in its pants! Wah!" To those journalists, we say: You were wrong. At least,
mostly wrong. From what we can see so far, the game is looking pretty damn sharp. Those futuristic airborne vehicles, in particular, move with such alacrity and credibility that they look like they flew out of a Pixar movie and into this game.
2. You heard right:
Killzone 2 is indeed bumped back to Q1 of next year, but that's not because of any internal dev woes, you damn, dirty naysayers. According to Sony reps, the game was pushed back because they wanted to give gamers a chance to polish off
Resistance 2 before digging into
Killzone 2. We're not MBA holders or anything -- hell, we can barely count out the correct change when buying our Boone's Farm sixers -- but the notion of shipping a pair of AAA, alien-themed first-person shooters within mere weeks of each other does sort of sound like a rotten idea.
3. Exploding barrel-type things? Check. Valves to turn to open various gates? Check. And do the Helghast still have those eerie red eyes that make them ridiculously easy to spot on the battlefield? Answer: Does a bear shit in the woods?
4. Regarding multiplayer: So far, all that Sony would say is that we can expect to expect the expected ... along with a few surprises. Even though we threatened them with bodily harm and then called them names, they still wouldn't give us any further details. We hope to learn more at this year's E3.
5. The truth? Despite its terrific graphics,
Killzone 2 is looking fairly pedestrian at this stage. The beachfront/warehouse level, despite its scope, still felt terribly linear to us. As we mowed down hordes of Helghast soldiers -- who, by the way, do show some semblance of intelligence (there was clear evidence of flanking) -- the action still felt a bit unsurprising.
The Crispy Forecast: Mix of sun and clouds. Pretty? Oh, yes. But in this post-
Bioshock world, we've come to expect more from our shooters than mere good looks.
This preview was based on a publisher-driven demo. The game is scheduled to be released in February 2009.