Killzone 2 Multiplayer Beta Hands-On
The Killzone 2 beta went out to the press last week, and we jumped onboard for some multiplayer skirmishes.
While Sony already has Resistance 2 in the bag this winter, there's no doubt that two triple-A shooter franchises are better than one. Insomniac's World War shooter already has its fair share of fans, but the anticipation for Killzone 2 in February is possibly even greater. The long-awaited follow-up to the PlayStation 2 original will finally launch next year, and as is becoming customary for the genre, Sony has issued a multiplayer beta for the game. We got our dirty little mittens on said code, and wasted no time shooting up the other testers who were populating the servers.
The Killzone 2 beta offers a generous amount of what we'll get on the finished Blu-ray, with three of the eight maps and all of the game modes that will ship next year. The beta also offers the first proper introduction to the class system, which allows players to combine skills and specialise in areas that suit their particular playing style. Then there's the ability to group up into clans of four, allowing you to build a team that supports each other with the different abilities on offer. Combined with support for up to 32 players per map, Killzone 2 multiplayer can be hectic but also highly tactical, and it's an encouraging sign for the full multiplayer offering next year.
Like the original game, Killzone 2 has a very distinct feel to it, with environments, characters, and weapons that feel heavy and robust. You start out with a standard assault rifle, which is much more effective than most default FPS weapons, as well as a pistol and a set of grenades. So far, standard FPS, but the game offers little in the way of extra weapons and ammunition on the battlefield. Your only real option is to take weapons from your fallen enemies, or rifle-butt them if you get close enough. The health system is regenerative, but if you do run out of health you have 10 seconds to be revived by a medic, or for the enemy to finish you off.
The class system is Killzone 2's defining feature, and it allows you to specialise the more you play the game. There are seven different classes to set yourself up in, most of which will be familiar to shooter veterans, such as rifleman, engineer, scout, medic, tactician, assault, and saboteur. The rifleman offers better firepower, the engineer can set up automated turrets, the scout can use camouflage, and the medic can revive downed allies. The other classes are slightly different from the standard FPS--the tactician can throw smoke grenades that act as respawn points, the assault class has better armour, and like a similar class in Team Fortress, the saboteur can disguise himself as a member of the opposite team. What's more, you can choose to specialise in up to two of these classes, which allows you to hedge your bets as well as create someone fairly unique, even in a 32-player game.
Developers Guerilla were kind enough to include every game mode from the finished game in the beta. There's a standard team deathmatch mode in the form of Body Count, but it's a shame to see that there's no option for an every-man-for-himself variety. Capture the flag is called Search and Retrieve, with a Search and Destroy variant turning the tables with explosive results. Finally, Assassination mode sees one person given the role of VIP while everyone on the team tries to keep them alive. While all of these game modes have been seen before, the Warzone option allows the host to change game types without ever having to come out to the lobby, and it's this option that's certainly the most popular online.
With support for up to 32 players, Killzone 2 can get fairly hectic, so it's good to see that clan support has been implemented even on the beta. You can group into teams of four, allowing you to share the class types as well as communicate directly with one another over voice chat. It's also encouraging to see just how many matches online reach their full capacity, with little if any impact on the speed of the game. The maps themselves certainly seem built for this number of people, with Salamun Market and Blood Gracht in particular offering some particularly sprawling streets and multiple levels to fight on, while Radec Academy is much tighter and suited to fewer players.
Killzone 2 has a distinctive look to it, but the multiplayer maps don't really give the engine much chance to show off. There are lens flare effects and the weapons have plenty of detail to them, but the environments are very static with no movable objects or vehicles. The sound is impressive though, with some really meaty weapon effects from the standard sidearms and automated turrets. And while we sometimes had trouble getting into multiplayer games, the lobby system was quick and painless, allowing us to get into the action immediately after connecting.
The Killzone 2 beta offers a promising first look at what will be a very important part of the overall retail package. There's plenty to like about the class system, and while the skills themselves are nothing new to the genre, the way in which they're rewarded certainly is novel. We also like the clan system, which looks like it will offer some sense of teamwork in the huge 32-player games. Killzone 2 is due for release in February 2009 on the PlayStation 3, and we're as excited as ever about playing the finished game.
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- GameSpot Score9.0Editors' Choice
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