In a little over a month, one of the great burning questions of the current-gen console war will be settled: Does Killzone 2 live up to the hype that Sony started when it unveiled that infamous target footage at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo? For that matter, is it any good at all?
To help answer these questions (and pour a little more fuel on the fire), weve decided to pit Killzone 2 directly against three of last years biggest shooters: Gears of War 2, Resistance 2 and Call of Duty: World at War (Left 4 Dead, meanwhile, was judged simply too awesome to participate). To ensure a fair comparison, weve assembled a debate team consisting of Mikel Reparaz (defending Killzone 2), Charlie Barratt (Gears of War 2), Paul Ryan (Resistance 2) and Chris Antista (Call of Duty: World at War). All four editors have played (and in some cases even enjoyed) all four games, and are now primed and ready to rip each other to shreds.
Why Killzone 2 will be better: After a couple of years spent comparing PS3 and 360 versions of multi-platform games, weve noticed one recurring issue: 360 games tend to be slightly sharper, with a greenish tinge, while PS3 games are slightly blurrier, with softer lighting and more orange hues. Gears 2 and Killzone 2 have the same issues, but each game is built with its systems strengths and weaknesses specifically in mind. Gears 2, then, is extremely crisp, but it doesnt have the raw, organic feel that Killzone 2s blighted environments do. All those grays and browns add up to make planet Helghan look thoroughly blasted, both by war and its own weather. Its ugly, but its richly detailed, weathered ugly. Its appropriate for a war game. In Gears 2, meanwhile, everything looks pretty to the point that its almost plastic.
And then there are the actual characters, who are rendered with about the same level of detail in both games. In Killzone 2, however, theyre proportioned like normal men, not linebackers. Theyre also capable of displaying a range of emotions beyond grimacing, grimacing meaningfully and grimacing while grunting meaningfully.
Why Gears of War 2 is better: Youre right Gears of War 2 is pretty. A next-gen game actually managed to transform that ubiquitous gray-brown palette into something both unique and pleasing on the eye. Is that a bad thing?
Personally, I appreciate the occasional dash of color or splash of sunshine in my bleak, apocalyptic sci-fi shooters. When you glimpse a picturesque mountain village sparkling on the horizon, or notice the intricate architecture of a crumbling city, youre reminded of what the universe might look like if humans and Locust werent so busy tearing each other apart. Yes, Gears of War 2s visuals are beautiful, but poignantly and hauntingly so.
Killzone 2 isnt ugly. The visuals are something far worse generic. I couldnt tell one war-torn landscape or dilapidated warehouse from the next. Same goes for the normal (i.e., forgettable) characters. Marcus and crew may be comically inflated, but at least they stand out from the crowd.
Why Killzone 2 will be better: Marcus grunts a lot, Dom wants to find his wife, Baird is a whiney asshole, Cole is a one-note stereotype and Carmine is just whiling away the hours being earnest and awkward until hes Locust chow. Did I miss anything? Was there any subtle character development Im overlooking? The characters in Gears are walking action figures, and despite the best efforts of the designers, its difficult to really care when bad things happen to them. Same goes for the setting did Jacinto ever really feel like a city on the edge of civilization? In the end, was there ever really a sense that you were in a desperate struggle for the survival of the human race? What was really at stake?
Killzone 2 isnt that much better, but its helped along by its characters having at least a second dimension. Your squad depends on you; theres a real sense that theyre actually pretty vulnerable, even though they can soak up bullets like sponges. The world is more believable (not too surprising, since Killzone has always taken its inspiration from World War I and II, rather than from traditional sci-fi), and the characters personalities go through noticeable, permanent changes as the game progresses and horrible things happen. Oh, and the enemies can actually speak to each other in multi-word sentences. That makes a difference. - Mikel
Why Killzone 2 will be better: Well, its first-person, which makes a big difference for some people and means you dont have to zoom in with the aim button just to draw a steady bead on your targets. If youre in a tight spot, slashing dudes with your knife or just rifle-butting them in the face will get you out a lot quicker than a chainsaw bayonet will, albeit less gruesomely. And although a lot of people are guaranteed to bitch about how you have to hold down the crouch button in order to stick to cover, being able to flatten yourself against crates and peek around the edges works surprisingly well, and it avoids the old I meant to run ahead but instead just pirouetted to another cover point and now look Im being sawed in half issue common to Gears. - Mikel
Why Gears of War 2 is better: Guess what. Im one of those people that is guaranteed to bitch about how you have to hold down the crouch button in order to stick to cover. Its awkward, painful and, thanks to the PS3s spongy trigger button, often impossible. The thing will just slip out of your grip sometimes, instantly exposing you to enemy fire.
The real problem, though, might be the first person view. After all, the Rainbow Six Vegas series also asks you to hold down a button to take cover, but makes that design choice work by switching to a third person perspective. In that game, as in Gears of War 2, I can clearly see my position in relation to the rest of the environment.
In Killzone 2, I can see a wall. Or a crate. Or, basically, the blank surface of whatever Im hiding behind. Until I pop my head out, I wont know exactly where the enemies are located. Realistic? Maybe. Fun? Ehh. - Charlie
Why Killzone 2 will be better: Your squadmates are really an integral part of Killzone 2 so much so that its surprising that co-op wasnt included in the final game. Theyll watch your back, help lift you over obstacles, point out enemies and most important of all soak up bullets. Your squadmates in Gears, meanwhile, dont do much except revive you when youre down.
The Helghast, meanwhile, are a lot more believable than the bulky Locust, and theyre slightly smarter (except when confronted by charging, knife-wielding maniacs). Theyll blind-fire from behind cover, run from grenades, gang up on you and retreat if it looks like youre getting the upper hand. And while the Locust do a lot of that, too, it comes down to whats scarier: a few lizard-faced albino thugs, or massed death squads with gasmasks and glowing red eyes? - Mikel
Why Gears of War 2 is better: For the friends side of the argument, Im tempted to point out the difference in co-op and declare myself (er, Gears 2) the automatic winner. One game has none. The other - even when compared to new contenders like Left 4 Dead, Resistance 2 and Call of Duty: World at War - has perhaps the best cooperative play of any game ever.
In Gears of War 2, co-op is more than a shared shooting gallery. You and your buddy must learn to work as a team, or fail over and over. You must cover each others backs while running for ammo. You must coordinate your angles of attack on a swiveling turret. You must take the sniper rifle when he or she takes the shotgun, and vice versa. Most importantly, you must revive your fallen comrade - an ability that builds trust and encourages communication like no other in gaming. In Killzone 2, youre doomed to die alone... while you can heal AI squadmates, they cannot heal you.
As for the enemies argument, Ill concede the entry level grunts to you. Nothing in Killzone 2, however, can match up to the oh shit scale of a towering Brumak, mammoth Reaver, gargantuan Corpser, colossal Leviathan or hulking Boomer. See how many synonyms for big I just came up with? Thats how many times Gears of War 2 kicks Killzone 2s ass in this department. - Charlie
Why Killzone 2 will be better: Gears 2 would probably have this one sewed up, except that its coolest vehicle segment is actually just an on-rails dogfight. So what were left with is the Centaur jeeptank and the towering Brumak at the very end, both of which still run along linear paths, and both of which have similar analogues in Killzone 2: a tank, and another thing that, while awesome, we cant talk about just yet.
True, KZ2s tank makes an even shorter appearance than Gears Centaur, and the thing we cant talk about doesnt offer anywhere near the sense of omnipotence that the Brumak does. But it does enable you to wade in closer to your opponents, who actually have a fighting chance against your seemingly unstoppable engine of destruction, and that challenge which begins the third act, rather than ending it makes it just a little more rewarding than stomping an ant-like horde of fleeing Locust. - Mikel
Why Gears of War 2 is better: Yeah, Im no fan of the Centaur in Gears of War 2. The Reaver segments, while way more exciting, are equally frustrating. Grabbing the reins of a Brumak in the last mission, however, was one of the highlights of the entire game. After spending a dozen intense hours in gory and grimy close-quarters combat, Gears of War 2 set the player free. Squash a formerly formidable army of Locust with one, ground-shaking step. Reduce a previously impenetrable fortress with one salvo of rockets. Murder a once terrifying Corpser with one simple flex of monstrous muscle.
Forget rewarding. This vehicle segment was cathartic. - Charlie
Why Killzone 2 will be better: I admit, its tough to beat a chainsaw bayonet for sheer coolness. But that aside, what does Gears 2s arsenal really have going for it? With a few exceptions (like the Hammer of Dawn laser satellite, which you dont get to use until the games final act), most of its guns are the same guns youll find in Killzone 2. Lancer? Two varieties of assault rifle and a light machinegun. Boomshot? Rocket launcher and a grenade launcher. Gnasher? Shotgun. The main difference is that the first-person perspective lends KZ2s firearms a little more of a kick.
Really, though, it all comes down to flamethrowers: the one in Gears 2 is a short-ranged novelty that just blasts out a jet of flame, eventually crisping anything its aimed at. Killzone 2s, meanwhile, sprays flaming napalm that can be arced across long distances if you get the angle right, sending entire squads of covering snipers into flailing, burning panic. Which, incidentally, is a hell of a lot more gratifying than just watching a Locust glow a little before falling over. - Mikel
Why Gears of War 2 is better: The crucial difference here isnt the weapons themselves - its the blood. Sure, both games have assault rifles, but only one has an assault rifle with an attached chainsaw. Both games include shotguns... but only one shotgun has enough force to pulverize an enemy into instant dog food. Both games have high tech energy weapons... but only one can literally microwave a bad guy into unrecognizable red gloop. Killzone 2s gore consists of some blurry red pixels, scattered timidly across the screen. Gears of War 2s gore is nothing short of a masterpiece. - Charlie
Why Killzone 2 will be better: True, Killzone 2 doesnt have Horde mode. It doesnt even have co-op. But what it does have is a fairly complicated, rewarding, class-based Warzone mode that cycles through a series of objectives (capture the flag
er, propaganda speaker, base defense, control points, assassination and straight-up team deathmatch) during each lengthy round. Oh, and it supports up to 32 players. How many does Gears 2 support again? 10? Pfft. KZ2 kicks its ass on volume alone. - Mikel
Why Gears of War 2 is better: Capture the flag? Control points? Assassination? Team deathmatch? Throw 32 players or 320 players into those tired old game types and the hardened multiplayer addict still wont have a reason to care. At this point, with every console and nearly every title offering some form of online combat, we need fresh and original ways to engage each other. Horde mode accomplishes just that, challenging you and four friends to survive a smothering 50-wave onslaught of literally hundreds of increasingly vicious enemies. Sounds a bit more interesting than base defense, wouldnt you agree? - Charlie
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