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Who is your favourite Killzone 1 hero? This poll is closed. |
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| Templar |
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7 | 3.24% |
| Rico |
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14 | 6.48% |
| Luger |
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23 | 10.65% |
| Hakha |
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64 | 29.63% |
| Don't talk to me about Killzone 1 |
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108 | 50.00% |
| Total: | 216 votes | ||
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 The old monarch, Thread Killzone the First was curséd. Let us purge it from our minds and turn towards a new dawn! All hail Thread Killzone the Second! Sit back in yonder chairs, grab some mutton and sack, and please, enjoy yourselves whilst nine-gear crow and myself needlessly complicate a sci-fi military shooter game.  Our goal is to play through the original quadrilogy, which includes Killzone, Killzone: Liberation, Killzone 2, and Killzone 3. For the main games, we are using the Killzone Trilogy released on the PS3 which includes the HD remaster of Killzone 1. We will be playing through each game's singleplayer campaign and showing off a bit of multiplayer when we can. For the PSP game, we will go through the free Act 5 DLC as well as the standard campaign.  Killzone 1is finished and can be viewed here. (The archived Killzone: Liberation thread is here). With regards to the later games in the series, Killzone: Mercenary and Killzone: Shadow Fall, there are currently no plans to do them and we will be making no promises to change that.   : : S P O I L E R · P O L I C Y : : : There isn't one! Or more specifically, don't dump the entire plot for the series, because that's just rude, but it's not a big deal to talk about stuff that hasn't happened yet. We are trying to treat the series like Shakespeare, and like Shakespeare, the plot story itself isn't quite as important as the performance--a mantra that fits this series well.  The style for this LP was influenced by a couple of really enjoyable threads in Cinema Discusso that utilized a running commentary style of reviewing--specifically, Kyle Hyde's American Psycho thread and Terry van Feleday's Transformers threads. In the spirit of those threads, I want to give a similar treatment to the Killzone franchise. Let's Continue To Needlessly Complicate The Killzone Quadrilogy At first glance, the Killzone games are nothing more than pretty, shallow sci-fi FPSes meant to act as glorified tech demos. While that's not entirely false, there's a bit more to the games than just that. Much like Spec Ops: The Line, the Killzone games have a deeper, more challenging, story to tell. Although while Spec Ops is akin to someone shouting in your face with a megaphone, Killzone is often more like someone whispering to you while you sleep--with earplugs. The ideas are subtle, but they're there, and while they're often drowned out by the in-your-face allusions to WW2 and facism, there's plenty of fun stuff to pick out between the lines, including:
That list isn't exhaustive, but it's what I'll be focussing on. Please, feel free to add more to the conversation as it comes up.  Ah, good question. These games are, perhaps surprisingly, downright Shakespearean in places. That said, I will not be transcribing the game's script into Ye Olde Shakespearean dialogue, like I did with the first game. What started out as a fun exercise, quickly became un-fun. Have no fear, though, as the acting and drama of Killzone 2 is a far cry from the stiff, clunky performances we were subjected to in Killzone 1. In fact, all joking aside, Killzone 2 and Killzone: Liberation are legit Good Games. All that aside, thus begins The Lamentable Tragedy of Sevchenkus Andronicus and The Merry                                     
Sally fucked around with this message at 06:16 on Dec 29, 2015 |
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Mar 5, 2015 02:39
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Welcome to Killzone 2! Same as the first LP, before we go anywhere, we need to take a look at the brilliant opening cinematic. With the first game, it was easy to point to the opening cinematic and say "there, that's the best part of this whole experience". It's harder to do this time around, since Killzone 2 is such an improved game. Harder, I say, but not impossible, because the opening cinematic here is probably the best in the entire series. Don't take my word for it, though, watch it: Killzone 2 Introduction Video The above link is from Machinima, because for whatever reason, someone keeps flagging content for a sound effect, causing the audio to be stripped from the video. Whoever they are, they aren't Guerrilla Games, but there's no "The person filing the claim doesn't own the content" option to dispute it, so c'est la vie. In case Machinima's version gets flagged as well, here's my own workaround video with the audio pitch shifted up. It sounds funny, if nothing else:  Anyways, if you didn't pick up on it right away, the opening cinematic is essentially done in a single-take. It's easier to accomplish this with CGI, than it is real film, but it's still a breath-taking effect, seen more recently used at the hands of director Alfonso Cuarón, who is known for doing it in Children Of Men and Gravity. It's effect helps demonstrate the scale of the war between Vekta and Helghan, as well as show the players that despite the distance between the two planets, the game's societies have reached a point of technology that allows them to bridge the gap relatively quickly.  The game opens with a shot of Visari's face. This is different from the first game, which began with the imagery of the Helghast Triad.  The importance of Visari to the Helghast transcends mere symbols. Really, 'Visari = Helghast'. The inhabitants of Helghan as they are in this game is a product of Visari and his power. The term 'Helghast' was one coined by him. If Visari were to keel over of a heart-attack partway through that speech, he would be deified and his teachings would live on. It makes perfect sense that the enemy's leader, a wonderful amalgamation of Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin, would be the first image to greet our eyes.  Fittingly, Visari is also the first thing our player character, Tomas Sevchenko, sees in the game. This is a great shot, and foreshadowing of what's to come with the 'Good Guy' facing off against the 'Bad Guy'. Our mission is to invade Helghan and end the war. To do this, the Vektan ISA need to break through the capitol city's defense, storm the royal palace, and capture Visari. One guess as to which Vektan soldier gets to do the storming. Following that, more ISA soldiers appear on screen. In these opening moments, we are introduced to the most important characters in the game (that's including Visari):  (This shot is great at establishing relationships. Rico and Jan are clearly old friends, whereas the relationship with the 'new guy' is very much on professional terms.) In this shot, we have a lot going on. On the surface, Templar wishes Rico, his friend, and Sevchenko "good luck" before they leave for Helghan. What's really happening is a passing of the torch. Jan Templar was the protagonist of Killzone 1 and Killzone: Liberation. In those games, he played the trope of 'ACTION HERO'. He was clean-shaven, young, honest, earnest, loyal, brave, and all that other good stuff. He fought for what he believed in, kicked butt, and saved the day. Unfortunately for Jan, he's run his course. His experience has matured him, literally and metaphorically. Templar has been promoted to Colonel and put in charge of leading the invasion, but as you can see he appears to have also physically aged compared to the first game. Jan is a 'good guy', and the brutality of the war has weighed heavily on him. Having seen what he's seen, he presumably now has the wisdom to order troops to their deaths rather than doing the killing himself. That honour passes on to Rico (who, unlike Jan, was passed over for promotions and commendations (for reasons we will see in Liberation), despite being involved in the same missions) and Sevchenko. Thus, when Templar shakes Sev's hand:  He is in effect 'passing on' the mantle of 'ACTION HERO' to Sev, much like when Arnie passed on that duty to The Rock. Now, remember how Killzone 1 ended on the note of 'Hope'? Observe Sev and Rico:  The skies are bright and they're smiling in wonder and excitement. Things are looking up for our heroes, and accordingly, they are literally looking upwards. That sentiment follows us as we blast off with the ISA Crusiers on route to Helghan, leaving behind the beautiful Earth-like Eden that is Vekta. Note that Rico is smiling. Take a picture, because Rico Velasquez is not a man who smiles very often. In fact, I don't think he smiled once in the first game. This is a STRANGE sight to see!  Fun bit of visuals here:  The ISA logo is a circle, a welcoming, protective shape, sometimes even rendered as a sun to suggest their nature as the heroes of the universe.  Note that their cruisers travel in a circular formation!  Anyways, at this point in the cutscene, we're still confident in ISA superiority. We watch as their cruisers swat their Helghast equivalents like flies. (A quick aside on starship sizes in the Killzone universe: the Earth Fleet's cruisers are twice the size of the Vektan cruisers, so that they may ensure their military superiority over their colonies. The Vektan ISA Cruisers are twice the size of the Helghast Cruisers, due to the building restrictions put upon Helghan in the wake of the First Extrasolar War--the events of these games are known as the Second Extrasolar War, in a nod to WWI and WWII).  This confidence begins to waver as we approach Helghan.  The planet looms before us, spilling beyond the screen, hovering dark and ominously. The music quiets and there is the feeling of the calm before the storm. With the word "smite", a bolt of lighting shoots from the planet's surface, as if thrown by Zeus, eradicating an ISA Cruiser in a single blow--the same ISA Cruiser we saw only moments ago that was capable of wiping out a cluster of Helghast Cruisers with a single cluster of missiles.  Truly, a weapon of mythic proportions awaits on Helghan. The Helghast are not about to roll over and surrender that easily, nor would we, the player, have it be that way. This is Killzone, not Play-Nice-Zone.  And so, the ISA dropships, fittingly called Intruders, land on the planets surface, releasing their cargo of soldiers, who are quickly eaten alive by the Helghast war machine. That hope we felt at the end of the first game, that we felt at the beginning of this cutscene, is gone. As we change planets, so does the nature of the war change. On Vekta, the fight was for freedom, and that feeling of hope, underscored by that being the name of the final chapter, was an undercurrent throughout. Here on Helghan, the fight is for total annihilation. The only hope to be found here is the dream that you might survive the onslaught.  Just as the cutscene began with Visari leering at the player, so too does it end that way. Autarch Scolar Visari is the Alpha and the Omega, not only of this cutscene, but of this game, the Helghast, and this entire conflict. Marshal Radisic posted:Well, first of all, I wanted to say this in the other thread, but we're over here now, so: Rest in peace, General Animé. You were too yandere for this world. Neruz posted:It's worth noting that the whole 'taking the fight to the enemy' action movie thing is actually based on a totally legitimate tactical and strategic concept typically called 'seizing the initiative' and basically revolves around the fact that the attacking force has an inherent advantage over the defending force because the defending force must react to what the attacking force is doing, thus the attacking force has more control over the field of battle and is said to have the initiative.  Woo! It's been a while since we've had a chance to look at lore for this game, but here we go. Once again, a lot of the really meaty stuff happened off screen. If you were here for Killzone 1, you'll notice some information is a bit old, but has had some of the redacted names added back in. General Adams was indeed a traitor, and since that fact is common knowledge, it has been added back in. The other redacted information is from Killzone: Liberation. It's not critical to the plot of Killzone 2, and I also don't feel like spoiling needlessly even if this LP will be pretty relaxed about spoilers--we'll get to that info soon enough:  Hooray! So that's all a bit of a refresher of the events of Killzone 1. If you're interested in seeing the full history and politics up to this point, it's available in the first few chapters of the first game's LP. The following gives us a brief summation of Killzone: Liberation. Since we're doing it concurrently with Killzone 2, we'll be seeing all of this unfold ourselves in forthcoming updates. Until then, a bit of backstory will help explain Vekta's persistence for a retaliatory invasion:  So, yeah. Some genius wanted to go ahead with the development of a SECOND orbital defense platform system after the first one did so well. Thankfully, the ISA council stopped that. However, the alternative winds up being 'nukes'. It's not mentioned here, but here's the skinny on these nukes: codenamed 'Red Dust', the bombs developed at Rayhoven are of a 'high yield, low radiation' variety. What that means is that they're going to cause all the destruction of a futuristic nuclear bomb, while producing minimal amounts of radiation. Note, it's not radiationless, but it produces less radiation. The idea is that this slightly 'friendlier' bomb will allow for faster reconstruction of bombed areas. General Metrac, the guy that replaced Lente, was a far more competent leader. He actually succeeded in his goals, which basically consisted of 1) fight a tactical retreat while causing as much damage as possible, and 2) steal the ISA's nukes. However, as he was left with the remains of Lente's forces, he didn't have the strength to take Vekta and was eventually defeated, the few surviving Helghast fleeing with the Red Dust bombs. With Metrac, Lente, and Adams all defeated, that accounted for all Helghast forces on Vekta. The UCA, Earth's strong arm in the region, felt its job was done. Note at the very end that the Earth Fleet packs up and leaves! Earth's final orders to Vekta are to set up a blockage against Helghan and wait for a neutral party to arrive and investigate the matter. Ha! Politics! I love it! Of course, the Vektan authority isn't too pleased with that. Given that if you're reading this you've probably already at least watched the opening cutscene, we know that Vekta doesn't sit idle, and in fact launches a counterattack.  Here we get the mission objectives for the game, clearly laid out for us in a three point plan. You'll notice the mention of Battle Group Mandrake? That's us. (Named after General Mandrake, who is in Killzone: Liberation). Colonel Templar, decorated war hero, is given the pleasure of leading Battle Group Mandrake to Helghan's capital city, Pyrrhus. With that in mind, the objective of 'capture Visari' is clearly first and foremost in the minds of our Battle Group. Easy, right? Given this whole invasion is in direct conflict with Earth's orders, as well as the warm welcome received on the surface of the planet, you better prepare yourself for a whole lot of disappointment. chitoryu12 posted:Is there anyone reading this who actually needs an explanation as to why the Helghan capital is Pyrrhus? SgtSteel91 posted:I'll bite; why is it Pyrrhus? nine-gear crow posted:It's named after the ancient Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus, who was famous for overseeing battles that, although technically victories, came at a cost so high they could almost be seen as defeats. It's where the term Pyrrhic victory comes from.  Returning characters:    Most of the faces we see in this opening are familiar to us. Captain Jan Templar, now a Colonel, is the plucky hero from the first two games. The stereotypical action hero, he's also a bit of a love-sick doofus--but hey, he gets over that. He is such a plain and generic action hero that it hurts. He even loses his father figure early on in the series to provide himself a fridged character as motivation! Can't stay mad at him, though, as he at least has the decency to bow out of this game. Templar is voiced by Kal Webber in the first game. In Liberation he is voiced by Nigel Whitmey. Here, he is voiced by Qarie Marshall. Truly, Templar is the generic action every-man as evidenced by the fact that it seems he can be voiced by any man. Blind Sally posted:Most CO's in Killzone don't seem to bother with hats. General Vaughton and Adams displayed their ranks on their uniforms, but I don't think they saw much frontline combat, so it didn't really matter for them. Ranking officers on the ground are dressed pretty much like other ISA soldiers. Don't want to make themselves a target for snipers, right? Sergeant Rico Velasquez is another story. The 'tough guy' trope, Rico is a unrepentant scumbag. He's rude, vulgar, and violent. He's also a space-racist. He hates everything Helghast, and isn't afraid to let you now--much to the annoyance of everyone. Still, the Rico we knew in the first game was just kind of an annoyance. The Rico of this game is now in charge. He is our protagonist's Commanding Officer. The opens up all sorts of possibilities for abuse of power. Tom Clark Hill provided his voice in the first two games, but he is voiced by Charles Everett here. Autarch Scolar Visari is played by none other than Brian Cox. The enigmatic and charismatic leader of the Helghast has made his presence felt since the beginning moments of the PS2 classic, Killzone The First. We finally have an opportunity to get face-to-face with him here. There's nothing else I can say at the moment, other than Cox absolutely owns this role.  Voiced by Demetri Goritsas, who has had small parts in films such as Saving Private Ryan, X-Men First Class, and The Bourne Identity. Sergeant Tomas 'Sev' Sevchenko is the first truly new character to the series, and is our playable character for the duration. That's right, singular on that one. Though we are once again in a four-person squad, Guerrilla wisely decided not to stretch themselves thin, and limit you to Sev's POV. Sev was born to a fairly affluent family on Vekta. Against his parents' wishes, he enlisted in the military. Originally out of boredom, it's galvanized into true desire to protect his homeland when the Heghast invade Vekta. In the attack, his mother and father are killed. His sister, Amy, survives, but is so traumatized by having witnessed the death of her family, that she is rendered catatonic. Read all about this in more in the novelization of Killzone 3, by Sam "No, we're not related" Bradbury! (Why did I subject myself to that horror). Anyways, there's more to be said about Sevchenko, but I won't do it here. All I'm going to say is that he is 'a new breed of action hero', somewhat grittier and realistic compared to what Templar represented.   ISA Cruiser Unlike the Helghast and UCN Cruisers, which are built along a horizontal axis, the ISA Cruiser is built along a vertical one--not that it really matters in zero-g. At approximately 700 meters in length, it's half the size of a UCN Cruiser, but twice the size of a Helghast Cruiser. It's the most advanced vessel in the ISA fleets, with enough firepower to level cities several times over. These include missile barrages, as seen in the cutscene, quad-cannon turrets for defensive purposes, and nuclear-powered laser weapon technology akin to what we saw on the ISA's SD Platforms in Killzone 1. They feature a type of dispersive armour, which allows them to 'tank' multiple direct hits. The also have an automated deployment system which allows them to rapidly launch aerial assaults. The ISA on Vekta don't own as many of these as they'd like, since they were largely phased out in favour of the ill-fated SD Platform program. Still, what they have is more than enough to get them to Helghan.  ISA Intruder Small, lightweight, maneuverable, fast, and modular in design. It's a rather reliable craft, despite the reputation it gets as a junker--though that's more likely due to the fact that it is lightly armoured and provides no cover or comfort to passengers. It was originally designed to be an ammo lift, but during a historical conflict, it was serviced into use as an evacuation craft for wounded soldiers. From there, its use as a troop transport was inevitable. It's armament is light, with twin-mounted rockets and a single front-mounted turret--though the nature of the craft allow for passengers to carry whatever they'd like onboard. The interesting thing about the Intruder, apart from its suggestive name, is how starkly it contrasts with the Helghast dropship design. For reference:  It's effectively a flying tank. There's a lot more to be said about the Intruder vs. the Helghast Dropship, but this post is already quite lengthy, so I'll leave it at that.  Visari concept art:  Intruder and ISA Cruiser concept art:  ISA first wave attack concept art: 
Sally fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Dec 29, 2015 |
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Mar 5, 2015 02:41
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According to Wikipedia, Pyrrhus was a great commander of his time, who was held alongside Hannibal of Carthage as one of the greatest commanders. Clearly, this does not bode well for our
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Mar 5, 2015 07:23
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I can't stop laughing at the poll results. Poor Jan can't catch a break. Also, who in their right mind voted for Rico!?!?!
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Mar 5, 2015 07:35
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Jobbo_Fett posted:Do ISA soldiers even display ranks on their uniforms? It's been a while since I played KZ2. Most CO's in Killzone don't seem to bother with hats. General Vaughton and Adams displayed their ranks on their uniforms, but I don't think they saw much frontline combat, so it didn't really matter for them. Ranking officers on the ground are dressed pretty much like other ISA soldiers. Don't want to make themselves a target for snipers, right? w/r/t Jan Templar, the man looks like he's aged 10 years between games (only 2 years passed). Seriously, he's like, 30ish in Killzone 1, but looks to be about 40ish in Killzone 2:  Also, his trucker hat is for his ship, the New Sun. I assume it's something that all crewmembers of the New Sun can get and hope that there's a whole bunch of engineers and pilots on board wearing similarly goofy hats:  Erd posted:He's... Serpentor? I don't what that is. Who is Serpentor?
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Mar 5, 2015 18:42
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The ship is called the "New Sun" 
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Mar 5, 2015 20:41
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Delta Green posted:Incidentally, anyone noticed that Earth's response would have actually made the situation better for everyone involved? Yeah, the EarthGov in Killzone isn't quite as incompetent as the EarthGovs I've seen in other games. It's a pretty measured response considering Helghan tried to shake off Earth power, decimated swaths of Vekta, and blew up a couple UCN Crusiers.
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Mar 5, 2015 21:00
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VolticSurge posted:This guy.  I had to look up video of this guy-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUdmetykD6o  I didn't think his name would be pronounced that way.
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Mar 5, 2015 22:27
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"Don't be so aggressive!!"
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Mar 5, 2015 22:42
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SelenicMartian posted:I take it from the KZL intro that even the dogs in their army have glowing red goggles. Now I want to see Helghast battle dolphins and Helghast carrier pigeons. Yes!  Also, technologically enhanced teeth for extra biting power! But yeah, since dogs are not native to Helghan, the also need "optimization" to function at full capacity. That includes sweet goggles and breathing tanks:  According to Killzone lore, Metrac ordered dogs for his troops because the sentry drones Lente brought--  --were experiencing high rates of malfunction. (Read: they were ineffective and bleeding useless, never posed any threat to Templar and co., and were consistently shot down).
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Mar 6, 2015 00:25
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I was talking to CJacobs, and he reminded me that the dogs in Wolfenstein: The New Order are similarly modified: Speaking of which, if you haven't watched Lazyfire's LP of Wolfenstein: The New Order, it's really good! The game is a lot of fun, and Lazyfire is a great LPer regardless. Also, there's prequel DLC that is coming out soon which will also, presumably, be covered in it.
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Mar 6, 2015 01:21
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Erd posted:Looks like the dogs are also bald as the next helghast. I never noticed that! Also, they look like they might once have been Doberman Pincshers, whereas the dogs in Wolfenstein: TNO look like they were once German Shepherds.
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Mar 6, 2015 02:52
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Fun fact: there were so many complaints about the "clunky" controls for Killzone 2, that Guerrilla patched in Call Of Duty-style controls!! Make sure your Killzone 2 game is fully updated, and select the "Alternate 2" setting under "Button Mapping" in "Options".
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Mar 6, 2015 04:29
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Time for some actual gameplay! The level divisions for Killzone 2 make a lot more sense than Killzone 1. Rather than having chapters that have anywhere between 2-4 stages that lasted anywhere between 3 - 20 minutes, they do a better job of segmenting them into single stages that generally take between 15 - 20 minutes to complete. So, yeah, it's not quite as erratic. Unlike the first game, there's also a lot of great ambient noise, background music, and dialogue throughout. Therefore, I will be including commentary and no commentary versions of each stage for those who want to hear all the gunfire and yelling in its proper glory--and the sound design and voice acting for this game is phenomenal. No longer a spectator, the game opens up with us in Tomas Sevchenko's shoes. We're waking up from, hopefully, a restful sleep, about to join to invasion force. Note, we are part of the second invasion wave. The forces we saw in the opening cutscene that were blown to pieces? Yeah, they're not us. In fact, those poor souls didn't even make to ground. ISA High Command keeps it under wraps that they needed to hire a mercenary group, the Phantom Talon Corp, to clear out those initial anti-air arc cannons. Ah, well, such is the nature of war, no? Anyways, the way has been paved for the second wave, Battle Group Mandrake, to take the fight to Visari.  This opening imagery is great. Everything is bright, and clear, and white. It's all hopeful and triumphant. It's great! Truly, the ISA does have some of the most advanced military technology in Alpha Centauri--they're not expecting this war to be a long one. Also, the ISA Cruisers themselves sort of resemble daggers or swords, hovering, waiting to be plunged into their victims. I love it! Also, since Garza brought it up, I'll talk about it. Captain Narville is being name-dropped, so he must be important, but I like what they did with the Convoy names here. Knowing what we know about the Vektans already--specifically, their thirst for vengeance considering Earth told them to back off--it's fitting that they give their convoys names like Avenger, and as we'll see later, Punisher and Nemesis. The Vektans really do see what they're doing here as righteous. That doesn't necessarily make it right, or even good. That whole idea of Guerrilla dissecting the concept of the "good guy" and the "hero"? They sort of danced around it in Killzone 1, but they're not going to be shy about it here. Moving on, remember how these cruisers are nuclear powered and have massive laser cannons? There's some great sci-fi stuff going on within them:  Specifically, big, purple, glowing energy shafts. Killzone has always been a sci-fi action series, but this game does a lot better job at hammering home that point than the first game did.  Anyways, regardless of whether or not you've played Liberation, the game makes it clear right out of the gates that the Helghast have stolen ISA nuclear weapons. Evelyn Batton, a character from Liberation, is here specifically to help track them (she helped develop the weapons). The player is given this moment to know that a) the Helghast have nukes, and b) Rico and Evelyn are characters in this game. Afterwards, Garza encourages you to move on. HOWEVER If you hang around, Rico and Evelyn continue to talk. This conversation isn't subtitled, so it's sort of a nice little hint of things to come for those players that stick around. I've transcribed the conversation here: quote:Rico: "Ah, Garza, Sev, meet Evelyn, our council scientist who's tracking the nukes the Higs stole." So, things to take away from that conversation:
As an aside, you can eavesdrop on the other little groups of ISA soldiers in this room to catch snippets of their conversations. Nothing terribly interesting, so I haven't transcribed it. Most of it is people talking about the intensity of the Helghast's defense, or some generic space-mechanic jargon. Metrac and Lente get name-dropped in a conversation about their replacement, Radec, and there's conversation around difficulties regarding the new ISA Exo weapon--so there's a couple of hints to come.  Anyways, we are quickly introduced to the squad's dynamics in this cutscene. Rico is Rico. We know him. We  This image I kept purely because I thought it was funny that Jan's hand clipped through Rico when he patted him on the back. Killzone physics  Here's some cool sci-fi imagery. I mentioned how the ISA Cruisers have an automated Intruder deployment system, right? Well hot drat, this is awesome. (As an aside, FoolyCharged pointed out that the first wave of the Vektan invasion looked surprisingly similar to Starship Trooper's invasion of Klendathu. I don't think they're wrong).  These things look cool. Look at these massive rails that bleed dozens and dozens of Intruders off the cruisers. I'd feel remiss if I didn't again point out the fact that the ISA Intruders don't seem to care too much about the safety of Vektan soldiers. Again, the Helghast dropships are basically flying tanks. They are pretty drat awesome for sci-fi VTOLs. The Intruders are a mess. Seriously, did anyone think about Vektan trooper safety? There aren't even seatbelts!  Thanks, Rico. Add that as another drawback of the Intruder, you get to breathe the exhaust of missile propellant as you are deployed from the cruisers.  Aaaaand, speaking of Vektan troopers flying off of Intruders,  nameless ISA mook. Sorry to jump around a bit, but I also want to revisit this remark. Almost as a throwaway gag, Killzone 2 does that thing that many bad stories do where they tell and don't show. We don't know what Sorin is. Presumably, another planet. Presumably, Natko saves Garza. Who cares? We don't see it. The moment Natko utters this remark we've already forgotten about it. What I find interesting is that this line is given to Natko to deliver. Natko is introduced with a "your mom" joke. This guys is, if anything, a bigger idiot than Rico. Seriously. We meet Shaun Natko, he makes a "your mom" joke, and does the whole "tell, don't show" thing. Why? Why, indeed. I don't think the player is supposed to like Natko. There seems to be a certain amount of contempt that the characters show towards Natko, and I believe the game is doing its darndest to make the player feel the same way. It's clever, and I like it.  Moving along, welcome to beautiful Helghan. Right away we're introduced to some important aspects of the planet. The fact that it has its own alphabet, for example:  Now, the Helghast speak, read, and write English. Hell, they've got English accents. As far as we're concerned, they're all a bunch of disgruntled Englishmen. That said, when Visari fanned the flames of nationalism, he also pushed for the creation of a specifically Helghast alphabet. It's largely a cipher for the English alphabet, but whatever. Many Helghans can't actually read or write the Helghast alphabet since it's still relatively new. In fact, some of the propaganda posters around Helghan translate to gibberish. Still, it fits the whole nationalistic theme and is reminiscent of America creating its own dictionary after freeing itself from Britain. Webster would be proud. Marshal Radisic posted:Well that's interesting...a lot of the new letters seem to be English digraphs that have individual characters in the Slavic languages. Except for the "ng" sound, you can find all those new letters in Russian. Kinda weird that they kept both a "G" and a "J" character instead of dropping one of them.  Helghan is also home to a lot of brutalist architecture. Note, that brutalist architecture doesn't come from the word 'brutal', but from the fact that concrete is the primary ingredient. Also of note, is that the Helghan buildings, much like the Helghan alphabet, takes a lot of queues from North Korea:  Also, speaking of the ISA Cruisers sort of looking likes swords?  Yeah. Pretty ominous stuff. Moving along, we start to see what Killzone 2 does really well: make you feel like a part of a bigger force.  Alpha Squad is a group of four highly-trained elite military lifers. As I mentioned in the video, they are finely tuned killing machines, competent in a variety of weapons and explosives, able to drive all sorts of vehicles, ships, and spacecraft, on reserve to handle the most difficult of problems. Does this sound suspiciously like the main character in a FPS video game? I like that Guerrilla sneaks in lore reasons to justify the fact that the player character is going to be the most competent soldier on the battlefield. Anyways, our first task is to secure the beachhead so that the ISA Regulars with Punisher Convoy can land. I like that the main focus is on the convoy itself. Alpha Squad is there as escort only, and it's up to us to clear the way. While the convoy is working its way in more or less a straight line, Alpha Squad is climbing all over the place, zig-zagging to make sure the road is clear. Take, for example, the abandoned Pyrrhus open-air market:  After clearing out the enemies, we can peer over the edge and see the convoy and its soldiers travelling along the route. Look at the road itself, at the grating--  --only moments later we find ourselves underneath it. Whether we're above or below, or on either side, our task is to make sure the Helghast aren't going to harass that convoy. While it's not that different from most FPSes that require you to go to a location and hit a button or go to a location and shoot a bad guy, the repeated focus on the convoy, over the comlink, and visually in the game, really helps ground you in the action. Moving on, let's talk about action movie tropes:  Never give a side character a name. Never do this. Not ever. It just means they're going to die tragically/pathetically. In this case, poor Jeffries winds up stamped out under the boot heels of the Helghast.  This image I've pointed out because, although I like Garza and he seems like a decent guy, this idea of wiping out the Helghast is a recurring theme with the ISA. I mean, on one hand, this is a war and hurrah and all that. On the other hand, this invasion is one of vengeance, is against Earth's orders, and has been done in the hopes of making the Helghast more easy to control. These are our 'good guys', folks. It was easier to buy it when the Vektans were the ones being invaded, but the whole black and white morality thing is beginning to get a whole lot greyer.  To cap off this update's analysis, I just want to point out the game's art direction. I hesitate to condemn Killzone 2 as just another muddy sci-fi shooter, because Guerrilla appears to be doing something different here. It'll be more obvious in future games, but it's beginning to occur here. This game is largely black and white. Granted, much of Pyrrhus City is just shades of grey, but really, this game is primarily monochrome. The colour that we do see are just highlights here and there: the red from Helghast eyes, banners, and blood; the blue from ISA uniforms and arc cannon bolts; the green from gun sights; and the orange and yellow from explosions. These are the colours we see. Why? Hard to say. I have some thoughts, but I wont speak on them until we've seen more of the game.  The gameplay in Killzone 2 is much improved. It's a heavy game, in that the character feels very weighted and controls are rather sluggish compared to the twitch shooting style of Call Of Duty, but some people really like that. Some don't, which is why Guerrilla released a patch with Call Of Duty-style controls. For the most part, though, you feel rather weighted, giving the feeling that your character has some substance, helping to connect the player with the world of Killzone 2. All the basic mechanics of Killzone 1 return, the shooting, aiming, crouching, and so on. Only, they feel a lot better. In addition, we no longer have to wait for prompts to appear to navigate around the game world. Instead, we have a jump button! Ground-breaking, I know. Guerrilla didn't include a jump button in the first game to add that sensation of weight to the player. Under the pressure of popular demand, they add in a jump button, and while it helps improve the experience, they manage to still make playing as Sev feel like it has some substance to it, so go Guerrilla Games! They also do away with prompted melee attacks, allowing you to melee at will like in Halo or Call Of Duty. This is a very welcome change. Also, we get this:  Cover and lean mechanics! As far as I can tell, Killzone 2 is one of the earliest FPSes to include such mechanics. When you crouch against cover, such as chest-high walls or corners, Sev will 'snap' against it. Think Gears Of War. From there, you can move against your cover. If you push forward on the control stick, you will lean out of cover and can fire upon enemies. Similarly, if you push towards the furthest side of the corner, you will peer around it. It's a fantastic mechanic simply because it's there. You do not ever have to use cover, but if you choose to, you can, and it's useful. The fact that it's not necessary to beat the game, though, really makes me happy because it means players can play according to their play-style and don't have to be forced into using a mechanic that doesn't work for them.  Guerrilla has also implemented a clever way of dealing with the problems of invisible walls. I mean, having an AI character open a door for you or hack a console to get to the next area isn't new. However, I like that there's such a focus on team-work to overcome physical obstacles. Having Garza gift you a leg up a high wall and then pulling him up? Gameplay-wise, it's just to prevent you from going ahead in the level before dealing with a current problem, but it's a great way of grounding the player in the game and making you rely on your team-mates. Without Garza, we quite literally wouldn't be able to succeed in this level. It helps that we actually see our character's hand reach out to help along our buddy.  Voiced by Ryan McCluskey, who was in the first Resident Evil film, and did bit parts in games such as Crysis 3 and Enslaved: Journey To The West. Also, an animated Dr. Who TV series with David Tennant, I guess? nine-gear crow posted:That's Doctor Who, jackass Dante Garza is a pretty laid back kind of guy. He's not great with the whole military procedures thing, but he's good at what he does and is loyal to his allies. Garza's skills in Alpha hinge on his abilities with technology and accuracy with a rifle. As a result, he generally does the hacking and sniping. His skills and intelligence come from the fact that Garza came from a wealthier and more privileged background compared to the rest of Alpha--a fact he tries to hide by being purposefully disheveled and carefree. Since Garza and Sev are old friends and work together so well, they will often be paired up when Alpha Squad needs to divide its forces.  Voiced by Noah Lee Margetts, a fellow who has a number of small roles in films such as Batman Begins, 1408, and Buffalo Soldiers. He has also done voices for the Vietcong series of video games. Shawn Natko is a tool. I mean, okay, maybe we give him more flak than he deserves. He is also Alpha Squad's most experienced demolitions expert and probably their best hand-to-hand combat guy. That said, his constant "your mom" jokes and overall shite attitude really drags him down. There's not much to his backstory either. He's a military lifer, he has no aspirations to high command, and while he's more than happy to defend himself in combat, he doesn't share the same vitriol for the Helghast that other ISA soldiers have. For him, war is just a job, and he's there to follow orders--often while swearing and complaining about it because oh god shut up Natko. That aside, Natko is extremely competent at what he does (as evidence by being on Alpha Squad) and occasionally shows acts of empathy and humility that would be otherwise surprising.  No! Don't give him a name! Don't do it! Aw, you offered to buy a main character a beer? You're only signing your own death warrant!  Helghast Tracked APC No where near as sophisticated as the Hover APCs we saw in Killzone 1, but these tracked variants are still a force to be reckoned with. Their powerful forward armour has earned them the nickname 'The Bull', because the can bulldoze through concrete walls without much trouble to transport their troops--incidentally, it appears as they might have once been mining vehicles that were only fitted for combat due to the looming ISA invasion. We'll be seeing these in and around Helghan quite a bit. I love the lore reason for why there are no hover APCs on Helghan. Apparently, the Helghast were so sure of their victory on Vekta, that they gave Lente's Third Army all the best and most advanced technology. Whatever was left is what we see on Helghan. What a waste, too, since Lente's Army turned out to be a gang of incompetents.  ISA Amphibious APC Solid and reliable machines, with a decent amount of armour. They have machine guns to defend them, like their Helghast counterparts, but otherwise they lack the advanced armour that let the Helghast APCs bulldoze through concrete walls. Unlike the Helghast Tracked APC, where troops deploy from a frontward ramp, the troops on the ISA AAPC deploy from a rearward ramp. Cooked Auto posted:Regarding the ISA APC that is pretty much a non turreted version of the Marine Corps AAV-P7/A1/Amphibious Assault Vehicle. I also think it's profile it's slightly squatter as well.  ISA Archer Tank The ISA Lancer tanks from the first game were great for getting around urban terrain, but not much else. The Archer tanks' treads improve their potential mobility over various rough terrains. Also, they're pretty drat powerful anyways, so regardless of terrain, they can get around pretty quick. It can keep up a solid 70kph on paved roads, and nearly 50kph on rough terrain. Not bad, not bad at all. Armed with rocket pods, AA guns, and a mounted machine gun, this tank is really meant more as an anti-personal vehicle. It's high speed and amphibious nature comes at the price of it lacking heavy armour, and against sufficiently armed foes, it doesn't fare well. Fortunately, ISA High Command intelligence revealed to them that they wouldn't be facing the heavy weaponry of Helghan Hover Tanks, so there was nothing to really fear! Also of note, the Archer tanks have less direct firepower than the Lancer tanks, but are a simple to control two-person rig, which explains why Sev was easily able to handle most of the operations of the tank when the driver died at the end of this first video.  Helghast Tank Similar to the Helghast APC, this vehicle is also modified mining machinery. The rear of the vehicle is lightly armoured compared to the rest of it, so it is deployed in conjunction with ground forces to make up for its deficiencies. Similar to the ISA Tank, is has twin multi-rocket launchers, a machine gun, and occasionally a mounted machine turret.  Returning weapons:     A quick note on these weapons, since we've seen them before.
chitoryu12 posted:Sadly, this is not a real thing. Preferably your gun makes the exact same sound every time it fires. It's a bad thing when it doesn't.  StA-14 Battle Rifle A classic Stahl Arms weapon that has been around for over 50 years. Long used in the service of Helghan (and also in the service of terrorist groups), it is seen as an honour to carry such a classic firearm into battle. It's accurate, pierces armour, and sports the same stylish helical barrel that is seen on the most iconic of Stahl Arms guns-- --but I don't like it. I don't like the iron sights, I don't like the rate of fire, and I don't like the way it handles. I won't be using this gun, because it doesn't mesh with my playstyle. That's not to say I always dislike it, because I rather like it in Killzone: Mercenary. However, this is not that game. So I do not use it. Cooked Auto posted:The StA-14 reminds me either of a Helghan M1 Garand or an M14 with the ring sight and heavier punch but with lower ammo count.  VC9 Rocket Launcher Manufactured by Visari Corporation, this is the Helghast's answer to the ISA's M80 Rocket Launcher that we saw in the first game. However, whereas the M80 will eventually get an upgrade that gives it lock-on capabilities, the VC9 pretty much always remains as a single-shot dumb-fire weapon. Not to knock it, or anything, as it's effective at what it does, but there's just nothing particularly special about it. We'll always have this gun when we need it in the game, but otherwise it's not something to get too excited about.  M4 Revolver Manufactured by the ISA. It's a six-shot .357 magnum revolver. It deals heavy damage but suffers from a slow rate of fire. This gun is standard issue side-arm for the ISA forces invading Helghan. This gun is okay. I use it in single-player, because the weapon system in Killzone 2 constrains you to one rifle-type gun and your side-arm, rather than the three guns of whatever you want in Killzone 1. However, its slow fire rate drives me up the wall, and I'll swap out for the faster-firing Helghast Pistol whenever I come across it. That said, this gun works well enough and the fact that it has infinite ammo boosts its utility. It's quite devastating in multiplayer, though, as it only takes two or so shots to kill a player.  Emplaced StA-3 Light Machine Gun The Helghast equivalent of the ISA MOMAG we saw in the first game. As this gun is emplaced, it's more accurate than StA-3s usually are--you may remember the StA-3 as my favourite Helghast LMG in Killzone 1. Anywho, the addition of infinite space bullets and bulky armour plating means it can overheat. However, you can also take cover behind the plating to heal or wait for it to cool down! It's not 100% effective, though, so Helghast can still shoot you if they attack from the right angle. I'd have more positive things to say about this gun, but it's actually more of a deathtrap than any real benefit in the game. I mean, if you're playing on Recruit or Trooper mode, it's fine. Once you get up to Veteran and Elite difficulty, though, it just makes you a massive target. Also, it's bugged. Seriously. While mounted on the gun, your screen will not turn red or blur as you take damage. Also, since you'll be laying down the gunfire, you won't be able to feel the controller vibrate while you take hits. Therefore, you have no real way to tell if you're taking damage while on the gun, meaning you'll often die before you can identify any danger and dismount. The more you know! Alpha Squad concept art:   Also, crow noted that Disney apparently still existed in the far flung future. That comes from Natko's line here:  It's a paraphrase of this particular Disney song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bWyhj7siEY Uh. No further comment. Sally fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Dec 29, 2015 |
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Mar 6, 2015 09:14
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Cythereal posted:It's supposed to also be a world with a lot of raw resources, and this invasion probably mobilized the Helghast militias and similar organizations. I wouldn't be at all surprised if most of the Helghan killed in this game aren't professional soldiers but normal civilians who reported for duty when their world was invaded. Yeah, Helghan has enough raw resources on it to power all of Earth's colonial holdings, as well as power a war effort near indefinitely. It's the small things like potable water, arable land, and breathable air that the planet truly lacks. I can confirm that the soldiers we fight in this game are in fact professional soldiers. We're in the capital of the planet, where Visari himself is stationed, which also happens to be the planet's biggest economic powerhouse. The best soldiers are here defending it. While I'm sure there's some sort of mandatory military service for every citizen, there are still many Helgan civvies about--not necessarily here, since we're on the frontlines and the city has been evacuated--intel found in Killzone: Mercenary reveals that the Helghast's intelligence warned them of Vekta's plans to invade. They were ready and waiting when the ISA arrived. Also a bit of interesting info from Killzone: Mercenary, since none of the combat takes place on the front lines, you actually bump into a lot of Helghast civilians, particularly while working your way through Helghan's slums. In other news, I forgot that there were mounted machine guns in the last video, so I went back and added this to the update: quote:
EDIT: Almost forgot about the tanks we saw at the end of the vid! quote:
Sally fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Mar 7, 2015 |
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Mar 7, 2015 01:58
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I said "best", not "realistic". Boy, they sure are a thing of beauty  SelenicMartian posted:So, that KZL + Syphon Filter bundle on PSN is mostly Syphon Filter? That's if you can rush your way through on the easiest difficulty, particularly with a co-op buddy--which is what crow and I do here. Killzone: Liberation can be a challenging tactical shooter. It's fun to play, though, and has collectibles to encourage replays. It also includes a multiplayer mode besides co-op. Not just AdHoc, either, as Guerrilla patched in proper Online support. Sally fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Mar 7, 2015 |
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Mar 7, 2015 17:49
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Question: Since doing the Killzone 1 multiplayer video, crow and I have been pondering how to do a Killzone 2 multiplayer video. The servers are still up and somewhat active, so there's people online to do it with, but it might also be fun to do with goons. So that said, are there any goons who own a copy of KZ2 who might be interested at playing some multiplayer at some undefined point in the future?
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Mar 8, 2015 21:51
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Hey, remember the "Killzone 2 Trailer Controversy" at 2005's E3? A trailer of Killzone 2 was shown. This particular trailer was mindblowing, for the time, and Sony's Jack Tretton claimed it was all real gameplay. Great, right?  Only it wasn't real gameplay. It was a render of what devs thought might be possible on the PS3. Heck, Guerrilla had spent a year working on a Killzone sequel for the PS2, they didn't have time to come up with a PS3 gameplay demo. After that mess, though, Guerrilla really stepped up to the plate. They scrapped their PS2 sequel and focussed on making a game that would live up to that trailer. While Killzone 2 never quite reached those heights, their results were nonetheless impressive. For comparison, here's said infamous E3 2005 Trailer. Two years later, Guerrilla released real gameplay footage for an actual Killzone sequel in their E3 2007 Trailer. This whole scene, the Vektan soldiers on an intruder high in the clouds, descending to the bleak madness of Helghan, is kept through all iterations of the game up to the final product. The opening scene of the second chapter is that trailer. (Note: if you want to see that scene without any comparison shots, view the "Chapter 2, no commentary" link in the list above). Welcome to "Second Verse, Same As The First" The Level.  After an Intruder insertion, Alpha squad fights their way to secure an objective for an ISA convoy. We did that last level, we're doing it here too. I mean, it's not all the same, as now we're with Avenger Convoy. The first chapter we were working with Punisher Convoy. They're on their way to complete whatever objective in Pyrrhus they're assigned to. Captain Narville, the man in charge of the direct assault on Visari's Palace, is in charge of Avenger Convoy. So we've been tasked to, arguably, the most important front in the entire assault. Therefore, the fighting is more intense. Also, rather than fighting along the slums and canals by the shores of the Corinth River, we're fighting along the slums and canals by the famed Visari Square, which is further inland from the Corinth River. Minor details, I know, but the scenery is less industrial shipyard, and more poor, run-down Helghan living quarters.  It looks life on Helghan kinda sucks. Well, we already knew that, didn't we. Not that Vekta was perfect, either. There was an entire chapter dedicated to working your way through Vekta City's slums. Still, I appreciate the focussed intensity the game has shown us so far. I mention it in the video, but I'll repeat myself here: Killzone 2 does an excellent job of making you feel like you are truly a part of some larger force that is fighting tooth and nail for every step of ground against a powerful force. The Helghast are a determined foe, and they have no intention of letting you waltz up to the palace. You're going to have to fight them right up to Visari's front door. Unfortunately, not a tonne else to say about this section of the game, other than it gives more of an opportunity to see how Alpha Squad is treated as the problem-solving force. While the main ISA forces fight against the Helghast's front lines, Alpha Squad gets sent off to the side to search out ways to tip the scales in their favour. Case in point, while Narville and his troops square off with the Helghast in Visari Square, Sev and Garza are tasked with disabling the Mobile Arc Cannons preventing reinforcements from safely dropping.  I do want to just point out this little bit at the end of the video. In the art of combat, Alpha Squad truly are consummate professionals. At this point in the game, Garz and Sev are being chased by Death in the form of a Helghast ATAC. This creepy machine, almost horrifically organic in its movements, is chasing them down raining gunfire upon them. Yet, Garza and Sev still take the time to check their corners when they duck out of a doorway. Nice touch. The single biggest mistep Guerrilla made with this game was adding collectibles. Talk about the absolute antithesis of what this game is trying to achieve. You're in the "killzone", you need to fight, constantly, pushing your forward lines closer and closer to Visari's Palace so you can capture him and end the war. Whatever you do in this game, no matter what side-route you might have to take, all leads back to this. Why, oh why distract you with collectibles? Not even Killzone 1 was shameful enough to offer to collectibles. Anyways, I've collected them all, so you wont see them at all in the LP and after this I won't make mention to them because they're useless. There are two types: intel and icons.  Intel are briefcases scattered about Helghan. They'll be found in corners, on tables, under boxes--where ever. When you get one it'll unlock some item for you on killzone.com. Only problem is, with Shadow Fall and Mercenary out, there's no longer any support for this. Not that I blame, Guerrilla, but I was unable to score any sweet concept art for this LP because back in the day I didn't link my account. So as of now, they are absolutely and effectively useless. Even from a lore standpoint; I can't picture Sev and co. hauling around these briefcases back to command when they spend so little time in the presence of their superiors in the first place.  There are also icons. These are simply Helghast logos you can shoot. They are also all over the place, but are placed on walls, above doorways, or on various Helghan structures. This makes more sense lore-wise, since in breaking the Helghast triad, you are metaphorically smashing their ideals. Garza made a remark about wiping out the Helghast last video. If he meant that, you're not gonna wipe them out by only killing them, but you'll have to kill their ideals too. Ultimately, though, it's pointless and neither of them are worth anything but trophies now. Pah. With regards to Liberation, the collectibles make absolute sense because it's a very tactical game. crow and I rush through it because we didn't want slow down the action for LP-sake, but most players will work their way through levels more slowly, planning their attack and defense. Part of that is making sure Templar is well stocked on health, ammo, and explosives. It's necessary here due to how different the nature of the game is compared to the rest of the series. Taking the time to scope out briefcases of Vektan cash to better equip yourself for upcoming missions fits within the framework set by an ISA scrambling to sort itself out in the aftermath of a devastating surprise invasion. So yeah, they worked there. They also work in Mercenary, again partly due to the narrative of the game: mercenaries want wealth and need intel to do that. Guerrilla realized this and were wise enough to leave collectibles out of Killzone 3 entirely, so good on them. Hey, let's talk about some good gameplay mechanics!! We saw this a bit in the first Chapter: Six Axis Controls!  Yes, that's right, Six Axis Controls. Guerrilla made excellent use of the Six Axis by having it work as a supplement or an enhancement to gameplay, rather than a core mechanic. When turning these wheels, for example. Kinda cool. Press either shoulder button to have your hands grip the wheel, and tilt the controller to spin it. Neat!  Twist it back and forth to arm D-Charges, too! The "D" stands for "drat, I really appreciate that Guerrilla added these Six Axis controls in such a novel and harmless way, rather than making them horrible, broken, core components of gameplay, like in Lair, or something". Cheers, Guerrilla!  Voiced by Mikey O'Conner, who notably did the voice of Travis Grady in Silent Hill: Origins. Otherwise, his work has largely consisted of doing "Additional Voices" in such games as Crysis 3, Haze, The Witcher, Mirror's Edge, and of all possible games, Killzone: Shadow Fall. One of the Vekta ISA's star soldiers, Captain Narville was on secondment to the UCA on Earth when the Helghast struck his home planet. Angry and ashamed that he wasn't there to defend his home, he has been a strong force in the Helghan invasion, eager to prove his worth and earn a little payback. As such, he is put in charge Avenger Convoy and charged with fighting his way to Visari Palace itself. As one of our guests in a later video points out, he's basically R Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket.  A new section! Whoa! We never really bothered with this in Killzone 1, since enemy types didn't really matter. They sometimes wore slightly different armour, but they were all effectively bullet sponges. Guerrilla put more effort into their enemy types, so I'll put more effort into showcasing them. Enemies from the first Chapter will be shown in this particular update. (Fun Fact: if you melee all fifteen standard enemy types, you get a trophy!)  Assault Infantry Your standard Helghast soldier. Unlike the ones we encountered in Killzone 1, these guys know how to flank, take cover, and outmaneuver you on the battlefield. They will flush you out with grenade, they will melee you to death, and they will mock you as the world fades to black. Armed with assault rifles. If you play Killzone 2 on Elite difficulty, you will come to fear these bog standard soldiers just as you would fear any of the more highly trained or better equipped Helghast soldier.  Support Trooper Standard rocket launcher enemies. What I like about this game is that it isn't afraid to throw them at you. You're getting rockets shot at you within the first dozen enemies you encounter in the first level. I appreciate that. If you get too close for their blast radius, they'll flee in terror since they don't have any sidearms on them. I mean, once they get a safe distance away they'll try to rocket you again, but it's pretty funny standing next to them and seeing the AI panic and struggle to get away.  Rifleman Not too many of these soldiers. In most mid-ranged encounters, it's against soldiers armed with light machine guns or assault rifles. Occasionally, though, these guys appear. Not super threatening if you keep moving or use cover. If you get too close, they'll switch to pistols to take you down.  Shock Trooper Armed with sub machine guns, these soldiers are the first to rush into a fight. I mean that, too. They'll run forward, spraying you with bullets, looking for a chance to gut you with a knife. They're fond of the "action roll" to close ground and dodge attacks. Do not underestimate. Do retrieve their gun after killing them.  Helghast Heavy Aha, the first boss! Super-easy if you know what you're doing. In fact, beating him within a minute nets you the Giant-Slayer Trophy. (There's a mythical theme in boss trophies). Heavies have a massive machine gun with an underslung grenade launcher--I guess they were jealous of what Rico was doing in the first game. They also have nigh-impenetrable armour. There are no visible goggles on their helmets, which leads me to believe they have video screens in there--so, yeah, no potential weakspots. Except the glowing red explosive tanks on their lower back. Yup. Shoot them in the head to disorient them and they'll spin around giving you a clear shot. If you're fast and accurate, it's possible to detonate them within a single spin. Otherwise, you'll have to try it more than once. Super easy once you know the pattern. In fact, like in many JRPGs, these fellas will eventually start appearing as standard enemies. As a further note, if you don't want to go the whole "shooting the tanks" route, it's possible to kill them with a couple of direct rocket launcher shots.  A.T.A.C. (Agile Tactical Air Component) What happened to the tiny, non-menacing Sentry Bots from Killzone 1  Quick and lethal. They were originally designed to have a single pilot in them, similar to the Jet Bikes, but the high speeds led to lots of crashes. It was instead decided that they would work better as unmanned drones. So, yeah. Drones. The Helghast have them. Lots of them. The Helghast were still working on prototypes during the invasion of Vekta. With the threat of Vektan retaliation, they were forced to fast-track them into service to defend their homeplanet. Armed with several rocket launchers and machine guns. These things move like creepy, horrific monsters. They are metal nightmares and I love them as enemies. It's too bad they're used to sparingly--or, perhaps that works in their favour. Fun Fact: the aircraft seen and shot down at the end of the 2005 E3 demo trailer is the early model ATAC. That's the model that would have had a single Helghast pilot. (I like the new ATAC better--mostly because its acronym makes it sound like a Star Wars weapon).  The People's Car I'm assuming these depressing vehicles we see about Helghan are some sort of civilian transport? Somehow I can't picture Helgast military using them. I imagine they'd mock them or look down on them. These depressing things will be seen throughout our adventure, in varying states of decay. Heck, we'll even wind up destroying some ourselves.  StA-11 Submachine Gun A brilliant weapon. Fast firing rate and large ammunition clip. This is a great close-ranged urban combat weapon. In fact, it will more or less replace the shotgun from your inventory. Why? Well, the shotgun has three big issues with it: 1) It's Natko's weapon of choice. 2) It's not much better than its Killzone 1 equivalent, and in fact lost its unique "triple-barrel" function for a decorative flashlight. 3) It's Natko's weapon of choice. I'd say use this gun all the time, but its range is its biggest draw-back. In close-quarters it's your best friends, but if you find yourself in a distance fight, you'd better find a new gun. The best part of all is that it's based off of a real-world weapon. Gargamel Gibson posted:Speaking of the Helghast SMG, there's some other non-made-up guns in the game. The Helghast machine gun is an MG-42 AKA Hitler's buzzsaw, and Natko's shotgun is a SPAS-12 AKA the shotgun from every video game ever.  Arc Weaponry Oh man, oh man! Sci-fi weapons! Lighting guns! Yes!!! So, for whatever reason, the Helghast have lightning guns. Garza surmises it's something to do with the weird atmosphere or something. He's not far off. There's something about the planet that allows the Helghast to create such amazing weapons. Keep this in mind. It's sort of on the backburner right now, as we're more focussed on moving the convoy through the city. This source of power is actually going to become a core plot point as the game progresses! What we know about the technology so far: it shoots lightning and is super awesome. Also, that the Helghast have various "calibres" of arc weaponry. There's the massive Arc Batteries which can shoot down ISA Cruisers in a single blast. Then there's the slightly smaller Arc Towers, which can still wreak havoc on Cruisers. Mobile Arc Towers (which we blow up in this mission) and Arc Cannons are smaller still and act as sci-fi AA guns. Not much more to say at the moment, other than they're awesome and highly volatile.  Auto-Mortars Background decoration, really. These mortars swivel about and occasionally fire artillery in, presumably, the direction of other ISA soldiers. You can ignore them, but if you want to, you can blow them out with enough explosives. Heavy Canal fight concept art:  Also, I'm so happy this exists:  http://www.desktopaper.com/spectacular-px-killzone-wallpaper/spectacular-px-killzone-wallpaper-high-definition/ Sally fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Jan 1, 2016 |
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Mar 11, 2015 06:16
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SelenicMartian posted:Will the drones get as creepy as this? what the gently caress.  i don't remember those in Terminator
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Mar 11, 2015 14:54
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Dr. Tough posted:I don't think the city actually has multiple Visari Squares, I'm pretty sure that those areas are just parts of the city that you fight through on the way to Visari Square I didn't think so either. I asked crow about this, because I was concerned that we were counting the same Visari Square--which we revisit--more than once. He's thinking of the courtyard to Visari's Palace. Which, technically isn't Visari Square, but is merely a lavish courtyard to a lavish palace. It fit the idea of a cult of personality sprung up around Visari, though. But then I did some more lore research. It turns out Visari's Palace was originally the old Helghan Administration building, back when it was a colonial superpower and before the First Extrasolar War. The Helghast, not wanting to be wasteful, repurposed it as Visari's seat of power. So, yeah, as far as we know there's only one Visari Square. Visari's Palace is a throwback to the planet's early company days.
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Mar 11, 2015 21:31
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I've been replaying some of the game to get a better look at ISA uniforms. Some of the enemy dialog is pretty good. If you play around with Heavy Troopers for a bit longer, they'll start to taunt you. "Come here, I only want to talk to you!"
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Mar 12, 2015 00:20
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Yeah, Guerrilla never reached the same heights as their tech demo with Killzone 2, at least not with a lot of the particle effects. That said, "PS2 era?!" What PS2 games are you thinking of? I thought the explosions looked pretty good for a 2009 console shooter. Also, I've been replaying the game to see if I can discover more funny lines said by NPCs and enemies. When fighting a losing battle, Helghast will sometimes shout out "gently caress me" in the most downtrodden voice possible--for an angry Helghast soldier. It's pretty funny. I've also noticed that some Helghast will shout out "For the Third Army!" as a battle cry. The fools. The Third Army was a bunch of suckers, but it's a cool callback to the first game. Oh, and if you leave Rico injured and bleeding out for long enough, he starts getting downright rude. He'll call out "Get me the gently caress up, motherfucker! Now!", as if that's really going to make you want to help him out. EDIT: been messing with the AI more. I thought the Support Troops had sidearms, but I guess I really was only thinking of the Rifleman. If you get up close to a Support Trooper, he just kind of panics and runs away, since ALL HE HAS IS A ROCKET LAUNCHER. It's pretty funny. I managed to clear out a building while keeping a Support Trooper alive and then chased him around the upper levels for a while. Until Garza shot him. 
Sally fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Mar 14, 2015 |
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Mar 14, 2015 18:00
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Lazyfire joins us once again. Last time we had him as a guest, we took him through a bunch of crumbling grey corridors on Vekta. So we thought we'd do something different this time, and take him through a bunch of crumbling grey corridors on Helghan. Also, check out Lazyfire's Wolfenstein: The New Order thread if you like really good LPs of really good shoot-man games. At the end of the last analysis, I pointed out what professionals Alpha Squad really are. Keeping that in mind, hey, look! Amidst exploding death ray cannons and flying robot monsters, Garza still managed to snag a piece of shrapnel so that ISA techs could examine it. Way to go, Garza! Maybe we'll get some Arc Tech of our own one day.  Onto the mission. If you remember from last time, Narville was starting to get antsy about Alpha-Two destroying the Arc Tower. Back at Visari Square, the Helghast have been putting up a formidible defense. Narville's group hasn't been able to push forward at this time. The convoy short on reinforcements, Narville had called in Intruders to resupply their lines--before Sev and Garza had disabled the tower. Of course, the tower is now down, but it wasn't knocked out before a few more Intruders were shot down. Normally Killzone 2 is really good at setting up a continuity to the warzone, so here's a minor dropping of the ball. Judging by Garza's response and the situation we find Alpha-One in, Narville had tasked Rico and Natko with rescuing some of the survivors of a downed Intruder. Makes sense. We did the same thing in the first mission with Garza and Sev. Jeffries Never forget. However, as far as I can tell, we haven't heard word one about this side-mission until now, and yet when Rico sets the parameters for our current mission, Garza tells us he'll bring reinforcements to the crash site? What crash site, Garza? All Rico said was that they have a "situation". He didn't say anything about a crash site.Ah, whatever. Garza breaks off to find Narville, and Sev fights his way to Alpha-One:  Here's the crash site. To be honest, the first couple times I played this game I had no idea what was going on. I just followed the waypoints to Rico and Natko, figuring they got lost trying to find Sev. Nope, that flaming wreckage is indeed an Intruder, and there are ISA corpses lying all about it. It was a trap, of course, because Rico and Natko have been pinned down by Helghast attack since they arrived. Which is where we come in.  Anyways, you might think it a good idea to hang around with Natko and Rico behind the sand bags. You'd be wrong. On lower difficulties, it doesn't really matter. If you want to play it on Elite, though, you're making yourself a great target. Yeah, if either of your allies gets injured, it'll be easier to revive them, but the Helghast are going to concentrate all their fire on that location, and on Elite, they get really grenade happy when you try to take cover like this. If you look at the above image, there's a wall to Rico's left that will block most Helghast fire--that's your best cover down here, and it won't be enough. If you're low on health and need to regen, odds are you won't be able to completely conceal yourself and you'll get picked off. You can get better cover in the ruins to your right, but getting their means exposing yourself. So ultimately, this is a bad position to be in. Instead, go up the stairs in the busted building and take position directly above Alpha-One. You have a better vantage point of the battlefield, and more mobility to get to cover. You're in greater danger of being shot by the Helghast in the adjacent building, but those on the ground now have to choose between targets--and they're more likely to choose Alpha-One than Sev. If a buddy gets injured, there's also a hole in the structure, so you can quickly drop down and run back up the stairs before taking too much fire. See this chair? I don't know who left it there, it's probably been slept on by some unfortunate homeless Helghan, but it's basically where you want to be:  I don't plan on posting strategy suggestions for most of the game, but on Elite difficulty, this area can be particularly challenging. When I come across other chokepoints, I'll go more indepth on tactics. Which reminds me, make sure you kill the rooftop Helghast while they do the slowly-lower-themselves-onto-the-walkway animation. It'll make that section so much easier. Note: don't be too close, or they'll start shooting before they do their animation.  Oh, and remember when I mentioned that Helghast APCs were repurposed mining tools? Yeah! Awesome!  Make sure you frag the troopers as they exit in a cluster. It just makes things harder if they spread out, and it'll drag on the fight. Once Garza opens the door and reinforcements arrive, you can rush to the exit and leave. Don't worry about additional Helghast, the ISA troops will keep them from following you.  Inside the building, we're greeted by another excellent Natko-ism. You can skip it, if you want. Rico doesn't stick around, so follow him to the next area. Or, stay and bask in the glory that is Shawn Natko. To be completely honest, I have a hard time getting a read on Natko. Is he really just joshing around? Sometimes he seems particularly mean-spirited. Also, his target seems to always be Garza. What's his deal? Did Garza run over his dog? Maybe Natko doesn't realize when a joke has gone too far. Pushing along, Alpha Squad is just in time to join Narville's final push for Visari Square. We left from the opposite side, so in the intervening missions, we've somehow circled completely around the square. If you're not paying attention, you may not notice that this is the exact same place we landed at the beginning of the second mission. Check out this screenshot, though, we're looking at the same area from the opposite end:  Zooming in, that barrier I'm looking at is where we first met Narville, consulting a map, when he sent Garza and Sev to first knock out the Arc Tower:  It's a nice bit of continuity. My only complaint is that it's not super obvious at first glance. Honestly, with all the assumed fighting that occurred since we were last here, I kind of expected the place to be in a greater state of destruction. Ah, well, I give it a pass since when you arrive back on scene, Guerrilla does a good job or creating a frenzy of ISA and Helghast soldier clashing against each other. Note: be wary of the landing Intruders. They can't see you. If you're underneath one when it touches down, you'll be killed! Friendly fire! Or as the ISA soldiers say, "blue on blue!"  Speaking of "blue on blue", we really get to see the revive gun in action this mission. Partly because the intense fighting keeps knocking out important NPCs, but also partly because you're able to injure your own comrades. Fun fact: Killzone 2 keeps track of a number of stats. One of those stats is "Number of times buddies offended". Basically, if you hit your friends enough times, they will briefly turn "red" and fire back at you and yell at you.  Another bit of repurposed Helghast technology, is this gondola here. It does not make an effective troop transport. Nosiree, it does not. Especially not when they exit one at a time in predictable intervals. Still, you have to admire the Helghast's dedication to the cause, even if it gets them shot. When the battle is done, we're reminded of what it's all about. The convoy:  Gotta get Narville and his troops up to Visari's Palace! Narville himself also reminds us of our subplot, though, just in case you hadn't picked up on how important Arc Tech was:  Before the mission ends, we get some character development.  And by character development, I mean that Natko continues to be a prick towards Garza, and Narville chews him out for it. What is his deal, seriously? Natko, not Narville, I mean. We all know Narville is trying to prove himself since he wasn't around for the defense of Vekta. Natko's deal remains a mystery.  Look at that smug rear end in a top hat.      There's a few things I want to talk about this update, some we've already been seeing, and one new thing. First, grenades. As Lazyfire points out, there's no grenade indicator. Horrible, right? I find it's actually not a big deal since Guerrilla has a workaround that is somewhat more realistic--considering this is a game where you fight Space Nazis with death rays. Primed grenades not only flash a bright light, but they beep with increasing urgency until they detonate. It works particularly well if you're playing the game with surround sound on a big screen television, as it helps figure out where wayward grenades lie. Otherwise, uh, yeah, boom. Second, complaints about the screen going red and black and white come up again in this video. I've never been a huge fan of it in shooter games, as it can be a huge hindrance if you're taking heavy fire and are trying to navigate your way to safety. That said, I do like the directional red sprays that appear when you first start getting hit. They'll appear on your screen in the exact direction that the enemy in question is firing from. If you look around, that spray will move with the screen so that you will continue to be "aware" of which direction the danger is in. It's subtle, but I like it, and it can be thought of as another one of Sev's professional skills as a member of Alpha Squad:  The last thing is only seen in this level. Doors blocked by, presumably, Arc Technology. Find the glowing blue weak-point to disable. Similarly to the weakened wall we encountered in the first chapter, this is sort of a token gameplay mechanic. I believe we see it only one or two times more throughout the game, and only in one instance is it mandatory to destroy the control box. So, an interesting security feature, but not necessarily a popular one on Helghan.  M224-A1 Light Machine Gun The ISA's response to Stahl Arm's StA-3 Light Machine Gun. It has all the firepower of the ISA MOMAGs we saw in the first game, and Rico's Gun. Unlike Rico's Gun, it lacks a secondary rocket launcher function. It also lacks the massive clip. Lore-wise, I'm sure this was to make it a more accessible weapon to regular soldiers. Apparently the original Rico's Gun gave people back problems. It's a powerful weapon, but doesn't have too many advantages over the StA-3. It takes much, much longer to reload, being a belt-fed weapon. It's a bit more accurate, since you can shoulder aim as well as hip-fire, but as far as I'm concerned, the ability to shoot more bullets faster elevates the StA-3. Note: though similar, this is indeed a different gun than the one we see Rico using in Killzone: Liberation. That gun, the "Tyrant", has a slightly larger calibre. Not that it really matters in gameplay terms.  Medic Reviving Device Manufactured by Visari Corporation. This gun's powerful charge can revive downed allies! How does it work? I dunno, ARC TECH!!! or something. In single-player, Sev can only use this when prompted while standing near downed allies. In multiplayer, this gun enters a whole new world of effectiveness. For example, revived allies have a 3 second window of invulnerability while they get up. Also, the electric beam can be used offensively. It deals about a quarter damage each blast, and it can be fired rather rapidly. Best of all, this gun actually has some incredible distance. Unlike in single-player, you can fire this gun from up to 20 metres away. Seriously good. As an aside, Visari Corporation also manufactures the medkits that are used in various Killzone games. I like that despite being a despotic leader, Visari also owns a company that has created some of the most advanced life-saving technology in the universe. I mean, it makes sense given what life was like on Helghan, but still. They're so effective that said medkits and these reviving guns are also used by the Vektan ISA. Ironic, no? Early concept art for the Helghast APC:  This one looks like something out of Warhammer 40k:  Visari Square: 
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Mar 15, 2015 04:04
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DO IT TO IT posted:The knife is so drat good. I platinumed this game way back when and the only way I was able to get through some of the more ridiculous encounters on the hardest difficulty was to just sprint around with the knife. Used, correctly, the knife can absolutely trivialize some sections of the game on Elite. Speaking of which, I mentioned that the game's AI is pretty crushing and that I'd never beaten it on Elite in the last video. The final encounter is absolutely brutal. That said, I final beat it the other night. So, go me. Woo. Also, I've found a cache of sweet concept art for Killzone 2 which I'm going to start adding to the Miscellaneous sections of posts. In fact, I've even gone back and added relevant artwork to older posts where relevant. Oh, and a correction: Support Troopers in Killzone 2 don't actually have a sidearm--I was confusing them with Support Troopers in later games. In THIS game, they ONLY have a rocket launcher. Which means if you get close to them, they will flee in terror, and you can just chase them around the level at your leisure. until Garza shoots them 
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Mar 16, 2015 07:53
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Holy poo poo. I was doing research for future updates when I came across news that Sony is being sued over Killzone: Shadow Fall. Apparently people feel they were deceived by Sony's advertising for the game, claiming that the multiplayer graphics don't look as nice as promised? A judge looked over the class action lawsuit a few months ago and has approved it to go ahead to trial. I mean, okay? I don't see what the big deal is. No one sued Sony over the pre-rendered Killzone 2 "gameplay" trailer.
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Mar 19, 2015 06:46
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Okay, I finally had some time to sit down at a computer and get a link:http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/6/5975983/sony-sued-killzone-shadow-fall-1080p posted:Sony Computer Entertainment America has been hit with a lawsuit alleging "deceptive marketing" of Killzone: Shadow Fall because the PlayStation 4 game's multiplayer mode does not run at the resolution advertised. Emphasis mine. Yeah, and so the judge denied Sony's move for dismissal of the case. So, yeah, it might wind up in court.
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Mar 20, 2015 06:09
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Yeah, it doesn't look great for Sony, particularly if they take the whole definition of "native 1080p" route. I dunno. I just find it a little baffling that there's such a fuss being made over a video game. I mean, I thought the whole class-action lawsuit against Microsoft for the massive failure rates of the 360 made sense. Killzone: Shadow Fall, though? It works. It looks great. It isn't exactly what is advertised on the box, but looking at gameplay videos, it still looks drat brilliant.
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Mar 21, 2015 04:12
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Hahaha, god damnit, crow.
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Mar 22, 2015 00:05
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As an aside, if you really want to, you can kill the tank with just a machine gun. However, it takes forever, and is basically suicide.
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Mar 22, 2015 00:09
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Calax posted:Honestly I wish I could see your analysis of Shadow Fall. I've played most of it, but it ditched so much of the original games that with a minor tweak it could be set in its own world. They should have gone a lot farther with the East/West Germany schtick they had going on. Have you played Mercenary? I will say that it acts as an excellent bridge between the original trilogy and Shadow Fall. Specifically with regards to the depiction of Vekta and the emphasis on playing either side because the ISA and Helghast aren't all that different. The first Killzone, unfortunately, really limits what you get to see of Vekta. We see its industrial sector, some dirty slums and a mall, a few courtyards in between ISA office buildings, and some shipyards before being whisked away from actual Vektan civilization to go traipsing through the swamps and the mountains. Mercenary is a lot better for showing off the actual civilian sector of the city. It's not terribly different from what you see Shadow Fall.
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Mar 22, 2015 05:36
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One of the really interesting things about the series is the evolution of the weapons throughout. In the original quadrilogy, the Vektans were beginning to get pretty complacent. A lot of their weapons mirror real-world guns today, the implication being they aren't spending as much on develpment for war. I mean, they were phasing out their space fleer navy in favour of giant deathray space lasers. We all know how that turned out. The Helghast, meanwhile, have all these cool, experimental, arguably unnecessarily overengineered, weapons. All the neat future sci-fi stuff we see is Helghan in origin. The ISA, again, are using very 21st century tech. Vague spoilers because it's Shadow Fall, but fast forward and you have the Vekta ISA in a position of power due to the outcome of the war. Suddenly all the standard issue ISA weapons are cool sci-fi guns, and it's the Helghast who are scraping together old firearms from the previous war. As an aside, the tech in Mercenary is some of the most advanced. You play as a human and are not beholden to budget or rank constraints like the ISA or Helghast militaries--just your own money. You can access the best experimental black market tech from Vekta, Helghan, AND Earth.
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Mar 22, 2015 20:07
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Delta Green posted:Like the probable why of Shadowfall's premise. As far as I can tell, that's precisely the lore reason too. I mean, it's not like EarthGov is gonna let all the Helghan refugees go back to Earth? Goodness, no, that would be crazy. Keep them in Alpha Centauri, there's more than one habitable planet after all Yeah, I like Killzone's EarthGov, despite the fact that they're brutal colonial master to the Vektans and Helghans. Flesnolk posted:I can't draw but I have someone on the case! Helgoons.
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Mar 25, 2015 23:14
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Don't worry, by the time the Helghast get around to developing their own shotgun, they're no less cruel: It's an incendiary shotgun. You know, so that if the person doesn't die from the initial shot, they'll at least burn to death afterwards. Fish Noise posted:You know what, I haven't used my JFCs for the day and this sounds like good supplemental material, let's see it! I got you covered. Here's the particular page from the manual (minor spoilers, for anyone who cares what weapons will appear in the game):  The funny thing is, it only gets mentioned here. Like, it's easy to shut off your brain and just focus on shooting space Nazis in the Killzone games, figuring that the ISA are genuinely the "good guys". However, if you start paying attention to the supplemental materials and the surrounding lore, that image quickly falls apart. Ah well, it's not like slow painful death by blood poisoning translates into a gameplay effect, but it's really, really telling that Guerrilla made a point of including the whole "toxic" bullets thing as a lore point.
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Mar 28, 2015 22:23
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paragon1 posted:Killzone 2 is a game with a plot that relies almost entirely on every character involved being as dumb as possible. Are you sure you aren't thinking of Killzone 3? Everyone is pretty competent in Killzone 2, even when they lash our irrationally, but even then those outbursts work within the plot's narrative. That said, a lot of Killzone 3's problem is characters get framed by the story to look poorly when they're actually doing just fine--but we'll get to that.
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Mar 29, 2015 16:59
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Rick_Hunter posted:So do you (Blind Sally/Nine Gear) have something against ADS'ing? Or is it not that strong in this game? Yeah, that would be me. crow's gonna do the KZ3 run, but I can't speak for his playstyle there. The ironsights are pretty solid in this game, but you honesty don't need them if you aren't playing on Elite difficulty. The reticle on-screen is so accurate that using the sights just takes away precious fractions of a second that I could use for shooting--which is a habit I may have picked up from playing KZ2 multiplayer. Going back to Elite, though, every Killzone game takes away your on-screen reticle on the hardest difficulty. That means you're forced to rely on the ironsights, but like I say, they're pretty decent so it's never much of a hindrance. (That said, Elite mode's lack of on-screen reticle does render some weapons relatively impotent. The Helghast machine gun lacks ironsights, getting a limited zoom function instead. It's terrible. Seriously, it's more accurate to use the ironsights on the submachine gun at that point. It basically means the only machine gun you're going to use throughout the campaign is the ISA version that you see Rico lugging around all the time.The ISA shotgun doesn't even get a limited zoom, function, so it's basically useless. Its flashlight sort of works as a replacement reticle, but the lighting in some areas of the game makes it impossible to see. The ISA assault rifle truly stands head and shoulders above every other weapons in this regard, because of its optical sight. It is the unrivaled weapon for beating Elite difficulty. In fact, I figure Guerrilla recognized this as well, because for Killzone 3 they improve the optical sight for the ISA assault rifle so that it's not green on green (See, Lazyfire? They're learning!), AND they add an optical sight to the Helghast assault rifle and the ISA shotgun. Yeah, the shotgun winds up getting an optical sight.)
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Mar 30, 2015 06:30
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I mean, the shotgun in the third game has a superior range to its older iterations, but it still feels mostly unnecessary. Reminds me of this:
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Mar 30, 2015 06:37
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"Just walk away..."
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Mar 30, 2015 06:37
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nine-gear crow posted:I can assure you, once we get to Killzone 3, you'll be seeing a ton of down-sight aiming. Sally's play style is a lot more kinetic and on the fly, while I tend to stick to cover and don't move until I either clear the area or am forced to abandon it, ADS'ing enemies more frequently the farther away from me they are. I'm trying to vary things up a little bit just so its not a boring slough, but we'll see how things go once we finally get there. By the time we get around to recording KZ3, I'm expecting your playstyle to look like this: 
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Mar 30, 2015 19:09
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Yeah, you don't need to aim down the sights through the original trilogy or Mercenary. I haven't played Shadow Fall, and I don't know what gameplay changes were made there, so maybe someone who has could speak to it? w/r/t the thread, I am sort of on spring break vay-cay, so KZ2's next update won't be forthcoming for a week and change. crow is pretty busy too, but if he has the opportunity, there might be another KZ:L update, or I might even be able to get out a mini-update, in that time.
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Mar 31, 2015 20:13
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Aw, man. Robert Z'dar died
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Apr 1, 2015 02:34
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