First off, I am not going to compare this to passed Killzone games because it really isn't about comparison of the predecessors here, it's about a new console and it's big exclusive game.
Killzone delivers in some really creative ways but also has it's fair share of issues that really leave you thinking that Guerrilla Games had some really great ideas but when it came to exicution, those great ideas really got away from them.
Graphics: Killzone really showcases the power of the PS4. The graphics when it comes to scenery (Forests/Buildings) are really top notch and make you want to go sightseeing in a video game which is very impressive to say the least. Water never looked so amazing on a console game before. The game can send you in a contrast of both light and dark areas, both looking very solid. The clothing and armor of the characters look really spot on as well. Where the Graphics quickly take a turn for the worst is when you look at the faces of unimportant characters. For some reason they look so basic that it's sad. I want to see detail in these faces even if they are of just people you walk by. Then the civilians between males and females have like four hairstyles, Yeah, four. And the hairstyles all look pretty bad too. There was an instance where I was in the enemies' territory and all I saw were poor Vektans all with Hitler hair styles. It was really weird after a while. You have a powerful console at your disposal with a game that you put a lot of work into, why not be a little creative and go that extra step? The Helghast faces felt like they never came out quite right either. That's my only gripe with visuals.
Overview: Before we get into the campaign, let me talk about where this game starts. Without giving a lot away you are a Shadow Marshal named Lucas Kellan. A foreign species known as the Helghast lost their planet from the back story of Killzone 3 and now share planet Vekta and this is where the problems are.
Campaign: The campaign has ups and downs. Visuals are great. At first you really love how the game starts off. After a little while of gameplay you're put into an open world environment with Helghast roaming around. You have a set of missions that you have to complete in your open world. What Guerrilla Games made clear was that you can complete the missions in a stealthy sort of way or a bursting in firing sort of way. This... kind of isn't true. Or at least the stealth ability in this game is almost non existent in most cases. The AI always ended up seeing me when I was trying to get in a stealth moment then when they didn't see me they were sort of riled up in a sense where I thought they saw me but they didn't. It was really weird. Other parts of the game are weird as well when you have to float around in a zero gravity area. It takes away from the FPS and just should of been left out. Another serious issue with KZSF (Killzone Shadow Fall) is the tedious little parts of this long grueling missions. It just isn't something gamers are interested in doing. Also, strangely you do a lot of running around with no enemies in sight.
An important part of the campaign is a little drone you are completely in charge of called "Owl". If you are one of those people that aren't highly fond of solo FPS' like me, (since I'm such a girl like that) then Owl does a great job at giving you support and keeping you company through your journey. It's AI works very well since you are pretty much in control of everything it does.
Where the AI fails is when other friendlies join you on the battlefield. Yes guys, it's all well and good but they only get in the way and ALWAY die. The horrid thing about the AI is that they don't perform in a sense that they want to live. They're pretty dumb to sum it up. On one level where I was surrounded by train tracks, more enemies got killed by the oncoming trains then I actually killed myself it seemed like. It was humorous but at the same time unrealistic and retarded on the AI part. With the enemies picking up on your "stealth" mode it's as if the AI succeeds on where it's supposed to fail and fails where it's supposed to succeed. I could go on all day about how retarded the AI is quite honestly.
Notable thing about the campaign is that it has no load times which honestly shocked me because for a game that's definitely performing on a high level you would think it would need to load things up but no, which is very nice on PS4's part.
DS4 Functions: KZ does a good job of using all of the DS4's added functions. The use of the touch pad where you use your owl is key. depending on which direction you swipe you can command your owl to do something. Swiping up means full assault, swiping left is to stun enemies, swiping down is to make a shield in front of you and swiping right is for the zipline. It's very clever and easy to use.
Another function of the DS4 that KZ uses is the sound output. Audio Logs which are collectables will be played through the controller which isn't a huge deal but I thought it was cool. The DS4 is actually surprisingly loud. When I collected my first audio log I almost jumped in my seat when the DS4 instantly started playing it.
Multiplayer: This is where KZ shines. The KZ Multiplayer is definitely a unique online FPS. The graphics are still there. The load outs are simple but work very well. You have a choice of three load out classes. It's not much but three is all you'll need.
1. Scout (sniper class)
2. Assault (assault rifle class)
3. Support (shotgun and light machine gun classes)
They all are different in many ways from the types of guns to the abilities you're allowed to have.
The maximum amount of players you can have in one match would be 24. The maps are nice. Small but effective.
The system of leveling up is very original from your typical multiplayer first person shooter. Instead of gaining experience to level up you have to complete challenges. Each challenge you complete earns you a level. Simple, original and effective. This multiplayer game really stresses skill over anything else which we can all appreciate. The abilities you have are also really cool and fun to use. You can become invisible to run around and assassinate your enemies from behind, you can make a shield anywhere it fits in order to protect yourself from gunfire, you can even emergency teleport to a random place on the map which is very useful if you are a sniper under immediate heavy fire. There's also owl drones for each class, they all have a particular ability depending on which class you're using.
What is also cool about KZ multiplayer is that you can create a game with your own set of rules. You can choose what classes, guns, maps and war zone objectives will be used in your game. I thought this was an awesome touch if you want to get creative.
Final Thoughts and Verdict: The way this Multiplayer plays is definitely one of my favorites. It personally brings me back to Call of Duty 4 days in the sense that it's simplistic but so very entertaining. I will be playing this game online for a while. If not for the multiplayer this game would be worthy of being nothing more than a frisbee to be quite honest though. The campaign is fun for the first few chapters but once I got to about the 6th chapter I was dying for it to be over already. What kept me going was the beautiful graphics and the need to see the ending. At times the smallest things in the campaign really interested me like the way the glass windows shattered when I shot and hit them, the way the stucco walls would break when I hit them was by far my favorite though. I spent a good 10 minutes doing that before proceeding with the mission. The AI is terrible, nothing can defend how bad it is, sadly. Overall with everything said, I personally give Killzone Shadow Fall an 7.5 out of 10. The fact is that this campaign is just too weak to be a positive part of this game. As a launch title it shows that the PS4 has a lot to offer us but just as soon as the developers really know how to use it.
If you have or you're getting Killzone Shadow Fall don't hesitate to take me on in a match or join up with me.
Reviewer: Cassie Fox
Twitter:@ AdventureBMO
PSN: AdvengerTime
Graphics: Killzone really showcases the power of the PS4. The graphics when it comes to scenery (Forests/Buildings) are really top notch and make you want to go sightseeing in a video game which is very impressive to say the least. Water never looked so amazing on a console game before. The game can send you in a contrast of both light and dark areas, both looking very solid. The clothing and armor of the characters look really spot on as well. Where the Graphics quickly take a turn for the worst is when you look at the faces of unimportant characters. For some reason they look so basic that it's sad. I want to see detail in these faces even if they are of just people you walk by. Then the civilians between males and females have like four hairstyles, Yeah, four. And the hairstyles all look pretty bad too. There was an instance where I was in the enemies' territory and all I saw were poor Vektans all with Hitler hair styles. It was really weird after a while. You have a powerful console at your disposal with a game that you put a lot of work into, why not be a little creative and go that extra step? The Helghast faces felt like they never came out quite right either. That's my only gripe with visuals.
 |
| Lucas Kellan |
 |
| Owl |
Where the AI fails is when other friendlies join you on the battlefield. Yes guys, it's all well and good but they only get in the way and ALWAY die. The horrid thing about the AI is that they don't perform in a sense that they want to live. They're pretty dumb to sum it up. On one level where I was surrounded by train tracks, more enemies got killed by the oncoming trains then I actually killed myself it seemed like. It was humorous but at the same time unrealistic and retarded on the AI part. With the enemies picking up on your "stealth" mode it's as if the AI succeeds on where it's supposed to fail and fails where it's supposed to succeed. I could go on all day about how retarded the AI is quite honestly.
 |
| Helghast |
DS4 Functions: KZ does a good job of using all of the DS4's added functions. The use of the touch pad where you use your owl is key. depending on which direction you swipe you can command your owl to do something. Swiping up means full assault, swiping left is to stun enemies, swiping down is to make a shield in front of you and swiping right is for the zipline. It's very clever and easy to use.
Another function of the DS4 that KZ uses is the sound output. Audio Logs which are collectables will be played through the controller which isn't a huge deal but I thought it was cool. The DS4 is actually surprisingly loud. When I collected my first audio log I almost jumped in my seat when the DS4 instantly started playing it.
Multiplayer: This is where KZ shines. The KZ Multiplayer is definitely a unique online FPS. The graphics are still there. The load outs are simple but work very well. You have a choice of three load out classes. It's not much but three is all you'll need.
1. Scout (sniper class)
2. Assault (assault rifle class)
3. Support (shotgun and light machine gun classes)
They all are different in many ways from the types of guns to the abilities you're allowed to have.
The maximum amount of players you can have in one match would be 24. The maps are nice. Small but effective.
The system of leveling up is very original from your typical multiplayer first person shooter. Instead of gaining experience to level up you have to complete challenges. Each challenge you complete earns you a level. Simple, original and effective. This multiplayer game really stresses skill over anything else which we can all appreciate. The abilities you have are also really cool and fun to use. You can become invisible to run around and assassinate your enemies from behind, you can make a shield anywhere it fits in order to protect yourself from gunfire, you can even emergency teleport to a random place on the map which is very useful if you are a sniper under immediate heavy fire. There's also owl drones for each class, they all have a particular ability depending on which class you're using.What is also cool about KZ multiplayer is that you can create a game with your own set of rules. You can choose what classes, guns, maps and war zone objectives will be used in your game. I thought this was an awesome touch if you want to get creative.
Final Thoughts and Verdict: The way this Multiplayer plays is definitely one of my favorites. It personally brings me back to Call of Duty 4 days in the sense that it's simplistic but so very entertaining. I will be playing this game online for a while. If not for the multiplayer this game would be worthy of being nothing more than a frisbee to be quite honest though. The campaign is fun for the first few chapters but once I got to about the 6th chapter I was dying for it to be over already. What kept me going was the beautiful graphics and the need to see the ending. At times the smallest things in the campaign really interested me like the way the glass windows shattered when I shot and hit them, the way the stucco walls would break when I hit them was by far my favorite though. I spent a good 10 minutes doing that before proceeding with the mission. The AI is terrible, nothing can defend how bad it is, sadly. Overall with everything said, I personally give Killzone Shadow Fall an 7.5 out of 10. The fact is that this campaign is just too weak to be a positive part of this game. As a launch title it shows that the PS4 has a lot to offer us but just as soon as the developers really know how to use it.
If you have or you're getting Killzone Shadow Fall don't hesitate to take me on in a match or join up with me.
Reviewer: Cassie Fox
Twitter:
PSN: AdvengerTime
