[PS3] Killzone 2

I'm just installing the demo now which I finally got from the US store.
Does the SP seem to have much replayability?
 
I have died, but not a lot. I die much more on CoD4 veteran (but that should equal the elite setting). So far this has not been particularly hard, the enemies move well and i feel that the AI is smart, in the sense that they move believeably. (but i see no difference from veteran to demo difficulty).



Hehe. Did take until the raining missle thingy after youve opened the floodgates.

There are some points where i die a few times in a row, but they are not frequent. Cover system+regen means if you take your time you rarely die.

Played some more multiplayer, played that arc defense tower. Man some places on that map are truly breathtaking. A lot of the tunnelways where the humans spawn on that map look real. The inside environments just look crazy good on that map, i think its because of the lighting thats applied, everything just looks like it has real volume.


I might switch to normal, was playing 3rd mission and some areas where you have to shoot loads of enemies across the street in buildings, is really frustrating due to the controls and the constant movement of the Helghast.

It makes it very hard to pop out of cover and pull off a headshot (and on Veteran the enemies take 2-3 shots to the head to die) when you have to constantly finetune your aim (due to the acceleration etc), before the enemy ducks back down again or you take enough damage from the others shooting you and have to go back into cover.
 
You will probably lose most (if not all) your progress in the Radec fight if you start a new chapter.

Yeah. Chapter select allows me to choose several checkpoints in each level I've played, and on that difficulty, or lower. So I can start right at the beginning of the Radec fight, which only puts me back 1 checkpoint.

I've been replaying some parts on Trooper now, instead of Veteran. It makes the gameplay much more run and gun, which is a lot of fun it's own way. The biggest difference between the 2 difficulties is simply the amount of hits the helghasts will take. And that's quite a few if you can't make headshots on the last levels on Veteran.
 
I might switch to normal, was playing 3rd mission and some areas where you have to shoot loads of enemies across the street in buildings, is really frustrating due to the controls and the constant movement of the Helghast.

It makes it very hard to pop out of cover and pull off a headshot (and on Veteran the enemies take 2-3 shots to the head to die) when you have to constantly finetune your aim (due to the acceleration etc), before the enemy ducks back down again or you take enough damage from the others shooting you and have to go back into cover.

Try strafing too! It removes the need for twitch controls in many instances for me and has the added benefit of helping the enemies miss with their shots a bit more.

Since you've play a lot of FPS this isn't any revelation but it definitely helps to employ this old practice when the situation permits.

Strafing offers quick precise movement on the horizon and if you're on an inclined plane then it does so also in the vertical plane.

Yes yes this a a "use cover" game so you shouldn't be strafing....wrong. Higs will quite often drive you out from cover, jump out from around corners and simply out flank you at every opportunity so while using cover will keep you alive you often still need to be VERY quick on your feet to avoid getting yourself killed.

Also, I have YET to find any good reason to rely on zoom a great deal. In fact, I find it hurts my accuracy more often then not because when zoomed in my shot gets too precise in contrast to taking advantage of the aim box when not zoomed in. It just takes more time to zoom and then line up a shot. I only zoom when I have my shot lined up already and a Hig is really far out in the distance. Otherwise, I get faster aiming motion, more aim assist and less actions to take between lining up a shot and pulling the trigger. Speedier aiming is of great help on harder difficulties. Another benefit of not using zoomed aiming as little as possible is that my view of the battlefield is far less comprised for not using zoom so I can track the movement of those sneaky Helghast much more easily.

I just can't find any good reason to use zoom in this game. With that I suggest going with Alternate 2 with zoom hold and crouch hold. It makes things so much easier for me. The default controls are great if you need to zoom a lot but in my play throughs its gotten me killed a lot more than saved my life by relying on it too much.
 
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I'm just installing the demo now which I finally got from the US store.
Does the SP seem to have much replayability?

The ai is pretty good. They will adapt to your movements and they often move relatively smart. This makes every play through slightly different.. The single player game is pretty much just intense shooting at all times.

The AI moves convingsly enough to keep things interesting. The action and the graphics are both so well done, that I think shooter fans who can overcome the controls can enjoy for a good while. The cover system is IMO very good, I like it more than the 3rd person view approach.

Kz2 doesn't seem to bring much new to the genre, but it does everything we have seen in good games and perfect most of them
 
Speaking of multiplayer, the servers are not dedicated i think, i have only seen player made servers so far, most if not all games seem a bit laggy.
Player made servers don't necessarily mean "p2p" as exampled in Resistance I/II. You can possibly test it by creating games behind firewall/router without port forwarding or UPnP.

Lag may also come from heavy load or inter continental connections.

I'm already pissed at the lobby system, if it's indeed p2p too I'm afraid there is little chance I will be playing online. :|
 
The biggest difference between the 2 difficulties is simply the amount of hits the helghasts will take. And that's quite a few if you can't make headshots on the last levels on Veteran.

Hmm... did they not increase the damage ? (or decrease my health bar)
I find that I die quicker in Veteran when they shoot at me in the open.

The Veteran Helghast snipers seem to duck more like the Uncharted pirates too. But may be this is one of their regular variations (I can't tell for sure but I saw those kind of dodges in my Veteran run).
 
Try strafing too! It removes the need for twitch controls in many instances for me and has the added benefit of helping the enemies miss with their shots a bit more.

Since you've play a lot of FPS this isn't any revelation but it definitely helps to employ this old practice when the situation permits.

Strafing offers quick precise movement on the horizon and if you're on an inclined plane then it does so also in the vertical plane.

Yes yes this a a "use cover" game so you shouldn't be strafing....wrong. Higs will quite often drive you out from cover, jump out from around corners and simply out flank you at every opportunity so while using cover will keep you alive you often still need to be VERY quick on your feet to avoid getting yourself killed.

Also, I have YET to find any good reason to rely on zoom a great deal. In fact, I find it hurts my accuracy more often then not because when zoomed in my shot gets too precise in contrast to taking advantage of the aim box when not zoomed in. It just takes more time to zoom and then line up a shot. I only zoom when I have my shot lined up already and a Hig is really far out in the distance. Otherwise, I get faster aiming motion, more aim assist and less actions to take between lining up a shot and pulling the trigger. Speedier aiming is of great help on harder difficulties. Another benefit of using zoomed aiming as little as possible is that my view of the battlefield is far less comprised for not using zoom so I can track the movement of those sneaky Helghast much more easily.

I just can't find any good reason to use zoom in this game. With that I suggest going with Alternate 2 with zoom hold and crouch hold. It makes things so much easier for me. The default controls are great if you need to zoom a lot but in my play throughs its gotten me killed a lot more than saved my life by relying on it too much.

Strafing is quite hard in this game at close quarters, I often find myself losing track of the enemy when trying to circle strafe them due to the turning controls.

I did try strafing out of full length cover (like pillars) instead of peeking out. And while it is definitely quicker to do (ie. you don't have to move to the edge while holding L2, tilt the left stick, then click in the stick to aim etc.) I found that it makes you more susceptible to hits from enemies off to your side, the cover mechanic decreases the chance of enemies hitting you from the side while in cover.

If the zoom has no good reason to use, then isn't that rather counterintuitive and a flaw in the controls?
I like using zoom in shooters, relying instead on the autoaim seems rather cheap.

Another thing I have yet to figure out, is for weapons without a dot sight, what part of the sight do you use to aim? For example with the pistol (which I use 70% of the time) do line the upper tip of the sight with their heads, or just below the top to counteract the effects of bullet drop (if there is any). Cause trying to shoot the tops of their heads when they're in cover (or blindfiring out) is very hard, and I don't know if I'm missing their helmets or hitting them but due to the difficulty they take a lot of shots to kill.

The enemies are quite like Uncharted's in their constant ducking and weaving, but it's much harder to take them out in KZ2 due to the controls, I wish they were more natural.
 
Another thing I have yet to figure out, is for weapons without a dot sight, what part of the sight do you use to aim?

You should shoot at the wall or a canister. The bullet mark would show you how you should aim.

For example with the pistol (which I use 70% of the time) do line the upper tip of the sight with their heads, or just below the top to counteract the effects of bullet drop (if there is any). Cause trying to shoot the tops of their heads when they're in cover (or blindfiring out) is very hard, and I don't know if I'm missing their helmets or hitting them but due to the difficulty they take a lot of shots to kill.

The enemies are quite like Uncharted's in their constant ducking and weaving, but it's much harder to take them out in KZ2 due to the controls, I wish they were more natural.

I think if you relax the left thumb, you might aim better.

I have more problem with the L3 sprinting. Forgot to press it sometimes.
 
You should shoot at the wall or a canister. The bullet mark would show you how you should aim.



I think if you relax the left thumb, you might aim better.

I have more problem with the L3 sprinting. Forgot to press it sometimes.

Ahh, good point, I'll try shooting at scenery to get an idea.

But don't you aim with the right thumb?
 
:LOL: Yes, right thumb.

The L3 confusion almost got me killed when I tried to run away from grenades several times.
 
Strafing is quite hard in this game at close quarters, I often find myself losing track of the enemy when trying to circle strafe them due to the turning controls.

I did try strafing out of full length cover (like pillars) instead of peeking out. And while it is definitely quicker to do (ie. you don't have to move to the edge while holding L2, tilt the left stick, then click in the stick to aim etc.) I found that it makes you more susceptible to hits from enemies off to your side, the cover mechanic decreases the chance of enemies hitting you from the side while in cover.

If the zoom has no good reason to use, then isn't that rather counterintuitive and a flaw in the controls?
I like using zoom in shooters, relying instead on the autoaim seems rather cheap.

Another thing I have yet to figure out, is for weapons without a dot sight, what part of the sight do you use to aim? For example with the pistol (which I use 70% of the time) do line the upper tip of the sight with their heads, or just below the top to counteract the effects of bullet drop (if there is any). Cause trying to shoot the tops of their heads when they're in cover (or blindfiring out) is very hard, and I don't know if I'm missing their helmets or hitting them but due to the difficulty they take a lot of shots to kill.

The enemies are quite like Uncharted's in their constant ducking and weaving, but it's much harder to take them out in KZ2 due to the controls, I wish they were more natural.

For this game you need to give up any idea of circle strafing. It is guaranteed to get you killed in SP and absolutely raped in MP. You only want to keep the target in front of you because if it is behind you you're probably as good as dead already...it is imperative to prevent that from happening. Circle strafing is for games which dole you out considerable health and allow you soak up some considerable damage before dying. A circle strafe is just a constant turn after all. In most cases you rarely force your opponent human or AI to miss you doing that. What usually happens is whoever gets the drop first wins.

The strafing I'm talking about is good ole right to left or left to right will back stepping or moving forward. Be random if you have poor reaction time. If you are good at reading your opponent deliberately stay out of their line of fire in that case.

For KZ2 however in close quarters I am deliberate primarily because I want to hit the target as quickly as it can hit me(Higs don't give too many second chances and are never slow to draw) because only a few hits decides who walks away alive. Subconsciously I'm avoiding being hit as any FPS player would do out of instinct.

It really isn't hard to strafe in this game. It is my bread and butter and why I don't need to use zoom virtually at all. It wasn't so much me getting around the controls but finding it more advantageous tactically. I line up shots just fine behind cover and secondly I have the leisure to do so from safety. A bad aim means only to duck and try again. Still a healthy chunk of your battles will be mono y mono in close quarters and then all bets are off. Make the enemy miss or you strike first or you can just opt to die QUICKLY.

Behind cover I would suggest to simply peek and reset your aim repeatedly to account for movements. Strafing while covered tends to be slow and not enough to compensate for Hig movements. As you noted getting close to the edges of cover is a bad idea but typically you are not hit at the edges...you are simply outflanked by pesky Higs so you have to give up the cover all together. If not...Higs are definitely nicer to you than they are to me.

I was speaking about the zoom as a matter of battle tactics. In truth the zoom can be thought of as forgiving or punishing. Some shooters throw you in a pot of molasses anytime you zoom and others allow you move like The Flash and others yet still make it slow to get into and out of zoom views altogether. I'm agnostic to zoom and only judge if I get a tactical advantage from it or not. Helghast move too much and are too smart to let me line them up like fish in a barrel so it becomes more important to be able to see and track their movements at all times then zoom in for a few well placed bursts of fire for me.

I like the controls but understand how they can be difficult for you. I thought some things I'm doing for sheer tactical advantage may be of use to you as a coping mechanism (no pun intended).

For aiming down the iron sights the sight must cover your target so I guess the top of your gun might be an accurate way to put it.

When I can see the tops of Higs heads behind cover I am a little below their head. I then press forward on the stick to come out of cover and take a few shots. Alternatively if your feeling confident or want to practice safety first just pull the trigger and you will pop out for a shot and automatically pop back in to safety. Anyhow when I rise for the shot my aim will also realistically rise and hit the top of the Higs head. I do this without zoom all the time and is primarily how I earned the knock off a hundred helmets trophy with zero extra effort.

I can't offer anything about the weighty controls. You like them or you don't. They affect you or they don't. I was trying to see if there was anything I was doing that might make your experience more enjoyable in spite of your apparent dissatisfaction. I just happen to like them as I am always aware of my momentum so it immerses me more. Because I like the controls doesn't make them good or bad broken or not broken. Its my opinion of them and nothing more.
 
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The controls etc. The game is not a run and gunner. Need to think what you're doing. If you treat it like a COD4 clone you'l get frustrated.:D
 
Would it be impossible, or even that difficult for Guerrilla to introduce a quick patch that gives you the option to raise the viewpoint to eye level? I understand the reasoning behind the chest cam, but it still feels weird to me. I'd love it if they could patch it like Bioshock was patched for it's messed up FOV.
 
Hmm... did they not increase the damage ? (or decrease my health bar)
I find that I die quicker in Veteran when they shoot at me in the open.

The Veteran Helghast snipers seem to duck more like the Uncharted pirates too. But may be this is one of their regular variations (I can't tell for sure but I saw those kind of dodges in my Veteran run).

I'm not sure about that, because you can go down very fast in both difficulties if you make a mistake. For example, if you get melee'd by a helghast carrying a rocketlauncher, it's still a 1 hit kill on normal. Maybe they have just increased the accuracy on the helghasts.
 
What's the online setup like? Is it possible/easy for a group to get together and stay in a team in MP, or is it like WH where it's pretty random and you can be pitted against each other? Do you need a clan to do Group vs. Group?
 
Player made servers don't necessarily mean "p2p" as exampled in Resistance I/II. You can possibly test it by creating games behind firewall/router without port forwarding or UPnP.

Lag may also come from heavy load or inter continental connections.

I'm already pissed at the lobby system, if it's indeed p2p too I'm afraid there is little chance I will be playing online. :|

Im perfectly aware of what p2p means, but the lag ive noticed so far, seems consistent with p2p netcode, which is ****ing ridiculous for anybody who wants to play competively.

Atleast, p2p netcode is the only explanation i have right now for the lag im noticing, its completely random if a person i shot will die on instant, or if he will die 1 second after i shot him, or if he doesn't die at all, even thought the bullets on my screen definately hit his head atleast a couple times.

GG are trying to hide the lag by making your gun fire (and bullets hit) instantly on your screen, but there is definately a lot of it. I doubt its my connection as i never have problems with online playing in other games.
 
I just played the very short demo so I'll reserve my final judgements for the complete game but so far....

+++graphics.
++sound.
+challenging.

---atmosphere.
--having to use one of the sticks for ironsight instead of trigger,apparently no crouch lock.
For a game so dependant on using cover,being able to HOLD down the jump button to go into crouch and then TAPPING the jump button to come out of crouch I think would have made popping in and out of cover more fluid. Then they could have had an L2 or R2 trigger left open for ironsights.
-despite the build up,seems like a rather straightforward FPS.
 
I played like three hours of MP last night while sitting for a friend, the SP save game cannot be transferred (why?). I ended the night on a team getting owned on the river level, they had us pinned to our spawn point the whole match and of course I left off one point shy of my next rank :(

A couple of matches I ended in the top half, so I was getting better. I learned to take my time with my aim and squeeze off a few shots, don't hold the trigger down. Of course once the enemy was close by I was useless, I cannot track a guy if he is moving across screen.
 
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