GC '07: Killzone 2 Hands-On

LEIPZIG, Germany--Buzz has been growing for Guerilla's upcoming Killzone 2 ever since its famous trailer was shown in 2005 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. That buzz has continued to grow given the game's fantastic showing at this year's E3. Today at the 2007 Games Conference in Leipzig, Guerilla developers gave us a tour of a good chunk of the first level, which was initially demoed back in July during E3. In addition, we got our first chance to play the game, and we're happy to report, it plays just as nicely as it looks.

If you've been paying attention to Killzone 2, you know the level in question begins with a thrilling opening scene that features your character and a bunch of badass military types being dropped into a hot zone. All the while, a huge weapon known as an "arc" fires deadly lightning bolts into the sky, taking out dropships left and right. Once your compatriots hit the ground, it's a battle to the first checkpoint, where one of your superior officers tells you that the first order of business is to infiltrate and take down the arc that's doing damage to your dropships.

The backstory behind this scene is that your character is a member of the Legion, a special forces unit called in to assist in the invasion of the Helghan capital city. The arc weapon is one developed by the Helghast forces, which have developed ways to control the weather. As Guerilla developers explained, weather will play a big part in Killzone 2's gameplay because the Helghast have developed methods of harnessing the power of the weather for use to its advantage. We tried to find out if other types of weather would be a part of the gameplay, such as heavy rain or snow, but Guerilla developers said they weren't ready to make any further announcements about that just yet.

During the demo, we actually got to experience this invasion level twice. The first time, the Guerilla developers took the controls, and the second time, the developers periodically paused the game to point out important details of the game's visuals. During the dropship scene, developers panned the camera around to show off the stunningly rendered, fully 3D area that comprises the level. Nearly as impressive as the architecture, however, was the lighting and environmental effects. These effects gave that opening scene a truly grim and gritty feel. Guerilla developers were also keen to point out the generous amount of post-processing, which adds ambience to the environments. When you add loads of special effects, such as motion blur and full-screen antialiasing, coupled with sophisticated lighting effects that allow everything in the world to cast a shadow, you have a remarkable-looking game to enjoy.

About midway through the demo level, we were introduced to boss enemies, affectionately known as "heavies," monstrous armored soldiers wielding massive chain guns. To beat them, you'll have to fire your weapon first at their head, which spins the heavies around so you can blast away at their vulnerable spots: gas tanks attached to their backs.

After the developers dealt with the heavies, they handed off the controls to us, and we got to check the game out for the first time ourselves. The game's controls are easy to use from the get-go. You move with the left stick, fire with the R2 button, chuck grenades with the R1 button, and switch weapons with the square button. The game is almost completely free of a heads-up display. The only time you see anything other than the environment onscreen is when you walk over a defeated enemy's weapon and are given the option to switch it out with your current weapon by pressing the X button. The lack of a HUD also means no artificial health bars. If you take too much damage, the screen begins to change contrast and color. If you're really close to the end, it will change to black and white. At that point, you better find some cover quick.

Speaking of cover, Killzone 2 has a new cover system, referred to internally as "lean and peek." When you come to an object you can hide behind, you simply press the L2 button to "lock" your character to it. From there, you can peek to the left or right by moving the analog stick accordingly and take a shot or simply blind fire over or around your hiding spot by pressing the fire button. If you've got a nice spot of cover, you can even press the R3 button to zoom in on your opponent, draw a bead, and drop him before he even knows what hit him. If our hands-on time with the game was any indication, you'll have plenty of opportunities to use the system because the snaking pathways through the game levels will offer you plenty of spots to hide behind objects for cover. However, not all cover is reliable because some of the more powerful weapons can rip right through some cover, such as cement blocks, which provide less cover the longer you're hidden behind them.

In addition to the lean and peek cover system, the nice variety of weapons in the game should make things interesting regardless of how you choose to play it. Indeed, Guerilla developers made a point of saying that they're designing the game to suit a variety of different play styles, from the tactical stop-and-pop to the full-bore run-and-gun style. We personally preferred the latter, especially after picking up a rocket-propelled grenade launcher that dealt a devastating amount of damage when it found its target. The Helghast enemies you'll be picking off by the dozen in the game will feature an improved hit-response system that will more accurately register the location of bullets hitting them and let their bodies react accordingly. Bottom line: bad guys die better in Killzone 2--and that's a good thing.

In fact, physics seem to be a big focus this time around. For example, if you shoot a can of compressed gas, the leaking fumes will propel the can down a hallway. It's all part of the extended effort the development team is making toward creating a believable and immersive world for Killzone 2. And, so far, it seems to be paying off in droves. When you combine the authentic physics, the gorgeous graphics with full Dolby 7.1 surround sound, and the advanced audio effects that will cause a cavernous hall to sound significantly different from a small room, you've got a game that's set to be a treat for the eyes and ears.

While we could have sat there all afternoon and played the game, our hands-on time with Killzone 2 had to end sooner or later. Now we're looking forward to the next time we can play this highly anticipated shooter. The game is currently on track for release in 2008, and we'll be bringing you much more information on it in the coming months, so stay tuned.