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Killzone Shadow Fall Review Thread

Pandemic

Member
Whoever is going to be free the next few hours should make a PS4 | Killzone Shadow Fall Review Thread and keep it updated. Otherwise it's going to get hard to follow.

Done.

I'll try my best to keep it up to date for the next hour or so.

• Kotaku - No
• IGN - 8/10
• Eurogamer - 7/10
• PSNation - 9.5/10
• Polygon - 5/10
• Gamespot - 7/10
• Joystiq - 3.5/5

Seems more effort has been put into the below post, so feel free to grab any remaining reviews there. Credit to Shinobi.
 
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PSNation 9.5
Even with a couple of stumbles during the campaign, this is a fantastic game, and like I said, I have a hard time believing that this is a launch title. Shadow Fall is the biggest step in evolution that the series has seen, and although a few die-hards may have an issue with the more open nature in sections, I think that many are going to appreciate what’s been accomplished here. The story takes some pretty interesting twists and turns, and the action never gets stale.

Add-in an exceptional multiplayer system, that runs at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second at a native 1080p resolution, with an incredible breadth of options and flexibility, and you’ve got yourself a game that will not only impress on every level, but that will also last you a long time.

If this is a launch title, I can’t imagine what we’ll see two years down the road. The new generation of console gaming is truly upon us, and so far, it’s looking pretty damned good!

Destructoid 9/10
I like Killzone: Shadow Fall for its change of direction from previous series games, as well as its change of pace over other first-person shooters. Guerrilla has tried a few new things this time around, and should be commended as such. I welcome the almost sandbox-ish level approach, and the stealth segments did a nice job of breaking up the standard shooting action. It’s really nice when gameplay concepts win out over big set pieces and cinematic events.

Oh, and it’s beautiful. A stunner. Killzone: Shadow Fall is the game that will make you happy to own a PS4. This needs to be on your PS4 launch game list.

GameTrailers Video 8.8

Eurogamer: 7/10

Nine years ago, the first Killzone game offered us an unforgettable, iconic image: a gas-masked space Nazi, eyes glowing a malevolent ochre, standing under a cherry blossom tree. A strong start - and yet since then, the series has been groping for an identity that could live up to that look and set it apart from its FPS peers. It's never quite found it.

It's all the more frustrating that Shadow Fall fails to establish that identity, because it gets so close in its early design and themes. It sets up an open-ended tactical shooter in a cynical world of sci-fi realpolitik - and then bottles it, taking the easy escape route of another suicide mission into empty spectacle. There's a lack of confidence here that contrasts starkly with Guerrilla's dazzling, sure-footed command of the new hardware. It's a game that any new PlayStation 4 owner will be proud to show off - but it won't be one they remember by the time PS5 rolls around.


IGN 8/10

Shadow Fall represents the Killzone series’ coming-out party – out from being a plodding, gray war shooter through hours of bland, linear corridors. Now, it’s something else entirely. Its single-player campaign suffers from some AI issues and dabbling in non-shooter gameplay it’s just not good at, but it’s still an enjoyable romp that challenges you to really think about how you’re approaching each fight. And then there’s multiplayer, as hardcore as ever but with a level of accessibility that will allow Killzone’s online community to grow and flourish for some time to come.

There’s never been a better time for everyone to be paying attention to the Killzone franchise, because Shadow Fall is a step in an all-new, very welcome direction.

Multiplayer.it (Italy) 8.7


CVG- In progress
But overall, Killzone Shadow Fall is a pleasant surprise. It doesn't seek to reinvent the FPS, but it does inject a much-needed infusion of creativity and originality into the genre. It looks as fantastic as you would hope, and even better, Guerrilla has managed to buck the trend of its previous games and move beyond generic aesthetics.

If you've become jaded with first-person shooters recently, Shadow Fall's campaign should challenge your cynicism. It is undoubtedly the main draw among the PS4's launch line-up, and makes the likes of CoD Ghosts seem one-paced and two-dimensional by comparison. That's certainly going beyond the call of duty for any next-gen launch title.

GamesRadar 4/5
Killzone: Shadow Fall is an excellent way to kick off the eighth console generation. Sure, its characters may not be all that convincing, and its multiplayer is more a well-crafted distraction than a long-term destination, but the game as a whole contains plenty of unexpected surprises that make it worth your time. The open-ended missions, though not as plentiful as you might like, are made even better thanks to the awesome tools at your disposal, and its story has some powerful moments that are sure to catch you off guard. And even when it hits lulls, you'll still have a great time shooting to your heart's content.


Videogamer- No score yet

Again, it's not terrible, just rather played out. What is terrible, however, is that the button for crouch is the same for climbing ladders, making ledge sniping a nice guessing game; that NPC faces are often identical; or that you can enter a Helghan slum and be berated for being Vektan master race scum, but shoot someone's wife and watch everyone collectively shrug...

Like Crytek and its flagship series, Guerrilla Games is a master at creating technically excellent but utterly lifeless titles – the 'game' element is seemingly little more than an interactive showcase for its skills. Killzone: Shadow Fall is both ahead and behind the times, with gameplay sadly falling into the latter category.

OPM UK 8/10

It all adds up to form an impressive launch shooter. A mix of familiar gunplay and just enough new ideas, gorgeous looks and sheer technical wow to make you feel like you’re stepping into a shiny new future. If it could have sustained the initial open gameplay promise all the way through then it could have easily snagged another point. But even the later stages, with their slightly more limited options and pressured action are still impressive. Most importantly, of all the launch shooters on PS4, this is the only one to try and do something different and vary its formula. Something it also does with visibly new tech rather than shored up current-gen code. It’s a combination that makes Killzone Shadow Fall a great experience and strong start to PS4.

GameReactor 8/10
Killzone: Shadow Fall ends up being a nice side attraction that, despite a few frustrating elements, shows what PlayStation 4 is capable of. The mix of exploration, light puzzles, a slower pace and the contrast between Vekta and Helghan, are elements that really stand out. The wonderful graphics, the juxtaposing aesthetics and the masterful audio also impress. A couple of idiotic missions, a weak ending and a bunch of firefights that devolved into something akin to a meaningless guessing game pull the score down to a weak 8 in the end. Guerrilla is capable of more, but if you're dying for a next-gen action experience, this is a game you can't afford to miss.

Gamespot 7/10
As much as I enjoyed my online time with Killzone: Shadow Fall--and as much as I will enjoy lots more time with it, unlocking perks that allow me to personalize my weapons--I missed Killzone 3's jump pack, which brought a nifty nimbleness to the battlegrounds. I missed it in Shadow Fall's disappointing single-player campaign, too, which sorely needed a shot of adrenaline. Where I look back fondly on Killzone 2's finest single-player moments, the moments I recall here are those in which I wandered through corridors and rocky meadows wondering where the bad guys were. Luckily, Guerrilla Games remembered what drew me and many others to the front lines of online war, and it's here that Shadow Fall emerges from the rubble and flies into the electric skies.

Joystiq 3.5/5
Killzone: Shadow Fall loses its sheen at times, usually when pursuing moments that are cinematic but not sensible. As a shooter, it's better at thriving on eye-catching environments and supportive combat abilities that don't just come for free. It also can't help but blow up its pristine cityscapes before you get to know them, but that just goes with the territory, here on the border between good and great.

Toronto Sun 3.5/5
For all its many flaws, Killzone: Shadow Fall deserves kudos for being such a spectacular early example of the PlayStation 4’s technical potential, and the game’s stunning visual design goes a long way towards offsetting the generic action, silly plot and rage-worthy bottlenecks. I wouldn’t want to marry it, but I’d definitely love a hot, short-term relationship.

Polygon 5/10
That absence of meaningful evolution might be Killzone: Shadow Fall’s biggest sin. For all the next-gen bluster of its visuals and the repeated blunt-force attempts to ram a message home, Guerilla’s first shot on the PS4 retreads shooter cliches, and poorly. In a launch lineup crowded with shooters, Killzone: Shadow Fall sits at the bottom.

Kotaku - NO
Shadow Fall tries very hard to be a cautionary tale about warmongering, the politics of crisis and What's Going On in the World Today. And, y'know, maybe some 15-year-old will play this and Shadow Fall's 'the enemies are human beings just like us' shtick will give them pause. But this game's being aimed squarely at would-be PS4 owners, adults who have lived and played through that kind of revelation in other, better games and entertainments. They're also people who have different FPS games to choose from, even on a system as brand-spanking-new as the PS4. Killzone Shadow Fall succeeds as an example of how amazing a PS4 game can look but feels mysteriously devoid of the secret ingredient that takes games from great-looking to great-feeling.
 

nib95

Banned
Good stuff dude. Might as well add the GameReactor one in the OP too now. Be interesting to see how the reviews pan out.
 

Empty

Member
from the eurogamer review

After years of shooters in which all your targets lie ahead, this open battleground - clearly heavily influenced by multiplayer map design - takes some getting used to, especially when hitched to Killzone's typically no-nonsense difficulty. Once you are used to it, it's thrilling and instantly replayable, as you seek out new routes and alternative encounters. But Shadow Fall never throws up anything like it again.

There are flashes of this philosophy here and there throughout the game: a scattering of sneaky vents, secret vantage points and open plazas. A hostage situation at the end of the fourth chapter, set in a circular building with multiple entry points and destructible walls, is brilliantly realised. But true tactical options soon dry up, and levels quickly devolve from non-linear spaces into elaborate, broad corridors - and then into simple, narrow ones. There are a lot of rusting gangways. Eventually, you realise that you haven't even thought about using that lovely zipline for a level and a half.

:(
 

Jonboy

Member
Probably going to average in the 8s it looks like. Pretty much what I was expecting. Will be a fabulous launch title.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
Sounds quite similar to the previous Killzones then, beautiful but braindead. GG almost had me for a while there.
 

elty

Member
I guess Killzone must be horribly bad, considered a broken game like SimCity can get 9.5 from Polygon!!
 

DeadcatXL

Banned
A FPS being negatively reviewed on it's storytelling.

Now i've seen it all.

I guess the MP wasn't worth it with 20 people online world wide.
 
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