The PlayStation 4 is finally upon us, beginning a new age of next generation gaming... Because the Wii U doesn't really count, does it? The PlayStation 3 never really had a killer app at launch, the closest thing being Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man. A solid, atmospheric shooter but nothing at the level of a new Halo or Mario game. After Guerrilla Games' Killzone franchise beat out Resistance for the title as Sony's flagship shooter, the fourth main entry of the series is the closest thing to a AAA, killer app that the PlayStation 4 has at launch. This is Killzone: Shadow Fall.
The most immediately apparent thing in Killzone: Shadow Fall is that is a very different game from its predecessors. While the first Killzone trilogy was known as a gritty, grungy, sci-fi series that had its fair share of ups and downs, Shadow Fall presents a very different take on the Killzone universe. Set 30 years after the end of Killzone 3, Shadow Fall takes place on Vekta rather than Helghan. Immediately the futuristic, Earth-like setting provides a much more colourfully vibrant and varied setting than Helghan ever could. While prior Killzone games were always impressive technically, this is the first Killzone game that I can really say is beautiful in every sense of the word. Sure, there were times playing Killzone 2 that I would be taken aback by how amazing the game looked from a technical standpoint, but nothing ever really made me stop and want to send out screenshots constantly (thanks Share button!) like I often did in Shadow Fall. This is an extremely good looking game both technically and artistically, and the varied locations of Vekta City and New Helghan (the Helghast side of Vekta) feel much more natural than the randomly placed jungles of Helghan, which seemed out of place. The game runs at a gorgeous native 1080p, and has an unlocked frame rate in single player that generally stays in the 40's and 50's. While it's slightly disappointing not being able to hit a locked 60 frames per second, I found the game stayed towards that higher end more often than not and it was a huge improvement over the 30 frames previous games in the series managed. Another noticeable difference with the jump to next-gen, and in my opinion the biggest difference across all games, are the particle effects. Explosions, and most notably in Shadow Fall the stun and petrusite effects look stunning. The scale displayed in some gameplay sections and many cutscenes are truly impressive as well, especially that flyby over Vekta City seen during the PS4 reveal back in February.
Gameplay is also considerably changed up in Shadow Fall, with most (if not all) of the weighty feel the controls had in previous games removed. You are playing as Lucas Kellan, a shadow marshal. As such, the player is much more agile than the regular ol' grunts we played as in previous games. The shadow marshals are an area of the Killzone universe many fans have been begging for Guerrilla to explore after the introduction of the character Luger all the way back in the original Killzone, and finally we get to see what they are like 30 years after the events of the Second Extrasolar War. The biggest change in single player is the addition of the OWL, a companion drone that allows the shadow marshal to play around with a few different tricks. Using the new touchpad on the DualShock 4 controller, you can set the OWL into one of four different modes; attack, defend, stun, and zipline. The attack and stun options are rather self-explanatory, defend will deploy a small nano shield in front of the player, and zipline well... lets the player use a zipline to move around the map. Combined with the more open designs to the levels and solid difficulty to the game even on the Normal setting, the OWL is an invaluable asset that players will need to learn to use quickly. While it was initially a concern whether or not the touchpad would just be a gimmick, it feels surprisingly intuitive to swipe up, down, left, or right on the touch pad to quickly change between OWL modes and then tap the L1 button to give an order. It also allows the player to revive themselves with adrenaline packs and hack various consoles around the levels. The OWL and open design are welcome changes, and I wish there were more optional objectives throughout the campaign. When Shadow Fall sticks to shooting and exploring, it's one of the better first person shooter campaigns I've played in years. Unfortunately, it tries to change things up with a few horribly designed sections of free-falling, controlling little drones, and a particularly awful zero gravity combat section.
Hopefully Guerrilla can learn from these mistakes and expand on the good while leaving out the bad in the inevitable sequel. There is some replayability to the campaign for people that like to snag all the collectibles to find out all the backstory, such as audio logs and comic pages, but otherwise these poorly designed sections along with the poor pacing of the final chapters will turn a lot of people off. It's unfortunate because the story really starts to pick up and become interesting about halfway through, and Echo is the most interesting character the franchise has ever had. Going back around to the inevitable sequel to Shadow Fall, my hope is that Echo will play a much bigger part as the story took a turn that many fans have been hoping for since Killzone 2. While Echo (played by Jamie Gray Hyder) is a standout, other voice actors can be hit or miss. David Harewood as Sinclair is most notable, with some of his lines coming across as extremely awkward. Gene Farber voices the player character of Lucas Kellan, and does a solid job with what lines he has. Most other characters didn't get enough screen time to be of note, though I was disappointed that a certain actor didn't reprise his role from Killzone 3. Outside of the dialogue, the sound design in Shadow Fall is top notch. Guns sound unique and powerful, and little details such as the mechanized whirring of the Helghast drum magazines are fantastic touches. The soundtrack by Tyler Bates is a real standout, despite not being over-the-top like the previous games' music could be. It is very subdued, but helps create a fantastic, dark sci-fi vibe that adds to the atmosphere, something that has always been a strongpoint of the Killzone series.
Multiplayer is back in Shadow Fall, obviously as it has been the core of the franchise for years. While Killzone 3 was a disappointment all around, Shadow Fall is a return to form for the series. Classes have been simplified and a boatload more customization has been added, from your individual guns and loadouts to the warzones (playlists) available to play. Anyone can create their own custom warzones, picking and choosing everything they want in their warzone. From there it goes live, and anyone can join in and play that particular game. Of course, classic Warzone is back with its rotating missions throughout the same game. The dynamic changes help keep games fresh and create a fantastic tug-of-war style of gameplay between the two teams. Unfortunately, if one team is outmatched in terms of skill or just uncoordinated, they will almost always end up stuck in their spawns with enemies all around them. While it's disappointing when matches devolve into spawn camping, it only takes one player with a spawn beacon to break the trap and help their entire team get out of their spawn. One of the biggest things for me is that Shadow Fall's multiplayer almost always runs at 60 frames per second, and the silky smooth frame rate really helps the flow of the game and the feel of the controls. After this however, the multiplayer is rather barebones. In-game chat was not included in the game at launch (though Guerrilla has confirmed they are looking to implement it) and clan support--a staple of Killzone 2 and 3--is strangely missing. It all gives a sense that the game was rushed out to meet launch to help bolster a so-so launch lineup. Thankfully Guerrilla Games is planning to support the game for at least 18 months with hotfixes, patches, and DLC. Any new maps will be made available to all players for free, something that has made gamers rejoice and will keep the community together rather than splitting it. However, there is a season pass that will add a new co-op horde mode, expansions to the co-op, and a multiplayer expansion. For a fan of the series who plans to stay with Shadow Fall for a while, it's rather fairly priced at $20 and should be an attractive option for purchase.
Overall, this is not the killer app the PlayStation 4 would've wanted at launch but it comes pretty darn close. It's better game than Resistance: Fall of Man was, and the constant support from Guerrilla should offset the rather barebones multiplayer offering at launch. The campaign starts weak, shows promise, then ultimately falls flat with a poorly paced final third. Despite these flaws, it is a fantastic first step in a new direction for the Killzone series. Instead of resting on their laurels, Guerrilla Games has reinvigorated the series that put them on the map with their first PS4 game, and I look forward to seeing what is next for this franchise.