First impressions from someone who played KZ2 for 50 hours:
GENERAL/GAMEPLAY
-Far greater controller response. I have no grievances about this change because it improves the precision of the gunplay, but I can understand the argument that KZ2's input lag lent itself to the sensation of "weight". Worthwhile trade-off, in my view.
-No exaggerated dead zone on the analogue sticks, even on default settings.
-Frame rate stumbles around the low 20s (by my vague estimate), even when there are no enemies on screen. This typically occurs after the first spawn, and eventually improves.
-Loading times have been reduced to 10 seconds, rather than 20-30 in KZ2. Massive improvement, although I wonder if this is due to it being installed locally.
-I felt the need to switch to "Alternative" controls to feel comfortable.
VISUALS
-Beautiful snow effects, with footsteps leaving an exact trail.
-Some of the best water waves and splashes I've seen in a console game.
-Use of MLAA definitely gives a sharper impression to the edges, and the textures are more defined now. Everything's crystal clear. But, in a way, I miss the visual style that Guerrilla honed themselves towards as a result of using the softer quincunx method. It was a limitation they deftly worked around, and I felt it ended up characterizing Killzone's overall look. Swings and roundabouts, I suppose.
That's all for now. I haven't toyed with the class system enough yet (nor do I know how representative this is of the final product), but the foundations seem to be in place. There's plenty of fun to be had with this.