Killzone 2 Multiplayer Hands-On

Unfulfilled potential. Doesn’t it suck? The original Killzone, released in 2004 for the PS2, left many PlayStation owners feeling gypped. There was, naturally, the fanatical (and wistful) desire to have PlayStation’s answer to Halo, and Killzone, as an exclusive FPS title, promised to be a real challenger to Microsoft’s behemoth. It was unfortunate then, that although the game was generally solid, Killzone lacked Halo’s imaginative X-factor, floundered on a generally neglected online network, and was plagued by glitches that put the capabilities of the PS2 as its console of choice into question.

Yet it can be argued that Killzone was still a pretty good FPS, subsequently gaining a fan base and leaving the door open for the inevitable sequel. Luckily we’ve now got the PlayStation 3, and Killzone 2’s developer, Guerilla Games, has been working on something that could finally be the game we wanted all along. We got our first taste of the all-important multiplayer mode in an online beta, and the future looks good. If not very, very depressing.

Delicately tiptoeing into the beta -none of this ‘jumping in’ business, you have to be careful in Killzone territory – I was presented with the options to join an immediate game, or enter the clan warzones. Clans offer gamers the opportunity to compete as groups in planned tournaments, vying for the top spot or in-game currency called ‘valor’. You have the option to set up a clan yourself, or join an existing one, however you must rank up in experience first to do either.

It was interesting to note that there were already a bunch of clans set up, and games scheduled – the concept of ‘valor’ is indeed an incentive, as it is utilized as a sort of in-game currency where you can bet certain amounts on the game’s outcome. The clan with the most valor occupies the leaderboard, and from there it’s all hail to the chief until someone knocks him off his throne.

However, this was a way down the line for a newbie, so I chose to join an immediate game. There were three maps available in the beta: the Salamun Market, the Radec Academy, and the Blood Gracht. Each one is included here to mix up gameplay and offer variety – for example, Radec Academy is small and claustraphobic, whereas the Salamun market is large and sprawling, spreading players out across the map through a series of empty buildings and winding alleyways.

The missions on offer in the beta were generously all the ones that have made the final blu-ray cut. There’s the more traditional ‘Body Count’, essentially a straight up team deathmatch, ‘Search and Retrieve’ of the capture the flag variety, ‘Capture and Hold’, seize two hotspots, ‘Search and Destroy’, let’s bomb the bastards, and ‘Assasination’, where one poor helpless fella is the target of the entire oppositions army, and it’s your job to protect him.

Due to limited beta matches, I was saddled with ‘Body Count’ mode, but luckily got into one of the bigger matches on offer. Killzone 2’s multiplayer caters to 2-32 players, and each match is separated into a game size of small (2-8), medium (9-16) or large, (17-32). You can then choose your faction, at this point either one of the Helghst (the baddies) or the ISA (the goodies), your weapons, and then step right in, ladies and gentlemen.

Killzone 2’s multiplayer shtick – every decent FPS must have one – is its class system. There are seven altogether, and each class can be combined with another to provide unique mishmashes, depending on your preferred style of play. You can choose from Rifleman, the weapon-heavy option, the Scout, who can cloak himself with invisibility, the Engineer, who can program and repair turrets, the Medic, the Tactician, who can toss grenades that act as spawning points, the Assault, who has extra armour, and finally the Saboteur, who can mimic the enemy and use this ability to infiltrate the opposing base. Combine any two together and voila, you’ve got an invisible medic, or a tactian who looks disturbingly like Steve from the other team.

It was odd to note that none of these classes were instantly playable aside from the default rifleman, a distinctively uncharismatic heavy, until you level up. The same goes for the weapons – I only had the choice of two assault rifles and a secondary pistol, but was taunted by pictures of locked M13 shotguns and STA3 light machine guns. You level up, RPG style, by winning enough games or killing enough players to reach the required rank. One can only assume this is to provide a ‘learning curve’ – I just call it grinding, and it seems slightly at odds with Killzone’s instant-gratification game-play.

And that’s just it; Killzone 2 multiplayer is not something you ease into, like dipping your toes into a freezing cold pool. It is as immediate and unforgiving, and hardcore gamers will revel in its brutality. For starters, it is graphically as bleak as it gets; your playground a Blade-Runneresque post-industrial nightmare. Sure, the destroyed and crumbling metropolis has been done before in sci-fi games, but never has it felt so damn oppressive or unnervingly realistic. Moving about in this world keeps you assuredly grounded in it, as your character feels weighty, and runs and guns with every inch of his bulk and heft. He feels human, and therefore vulnerable.

And indeed he is vulnerable, for gameplay in multiplayer goes like this: if your enemy spots you before you spot him, you’re dead. And it doesn’t take much to put you down – a few bullets in the general torso area will do it, and you will spend much of your time on the ground, arms flailing for help. You can get up again if a medic comes to your aid, but not once did one come to mine, and I must have respawned more than a dozen times in every battle. Conversely, if you are the one who spots your enemy first, you can put him down with the same ease. Even the introductory assault rifles are deadly.

Health does regenerate but feels incidental, as to put it bluntly, the game prefers you to die. The concept of merely being ‘injured’ seems redundant in Killzone 2, but respawning is quick and fuss-free and sends you right back into the fray. This is a good thing, as you’ll be respawning A LOT. Don’t expect the usual pick-ups either, as nothing in Killzone 2 is there for your convenience, and there’s not the optimistic gleam of a med-pack to be found anywhere. Notably absent, too, is the usual additional weaponry lying about, although you can scavenge - I picked up a something-or-rather from a corpse that had a nice little kick to it.

This all might sound a bit depressing, but fear not. The game simply demands skill, and that should not be a complaint. The maps are perfect for those with a tactical head, a mixture of large open spaces and small winding corridors, giving you the opportunity to approach the situation from a variety of ways. You won’t find yourself stuck in a choke point either, as the maps aren’t linear, and you’ll often move back and forth through the same areas. There’s also the option to remove that creepy feeling of isolation by joining a four-man squad within your larger team, where you can nut out a game plan for yourselves and communicate via headset. Once you introduce classes and different weaponry in amongst all this, the tactical possibilities go through the roof.

And that’s the essence of it. You have to use tactics, and no man in Killzone 2 multiplayer is an island. Without the usual unrealistic frills (eg being pummeled by bullets and still remaining upright) or token power-ups, the levels are simply stark, well-designed battlegrounds where the only the best will triumph. For those who don’t lean towards hardcore shooters, Killzone 2 multiplayer might not be for you, however you might surprise yourself with how good you can become within a few hours of play. Sometimes, the simple human need to survive brings out skills we never knew we had.

Hopefully, Killzone 2’s single player campaign will be as equally well crafted as its lean and deadly multiplayer. It will need, perhaps, a little sprinkling of charm in order to shake up Master Chief’s championship, but there is certainly enough confidence on display to suggest a winning formula.

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