Taken from my blog http://toomanywires.blog126.fc2.com/

Of late, I have been playing through Sony’s much-hyped first person shooter, Killzone 2. I picked it up on release, but I had a couple of other games that I wanted to finish up first.

So instead of giving a straight forward review, I want to compare it with Resitance 2, its well received, PS3 exclusive, FPS bretheren. Both games have been touted as Sony’s answer to the Halo franchise and have been both a commercial and critical successful.

The first thing that grabs you when playing Killzone 2 is that it is very easy on the eye. The level of visual presentation is astounding, and although the game utilizes a relatively dull and sombre pallete, it still sticks out. Resistance 2 is no slouch either. Unlike Killzone, many of Resitance’s levels are set in broad daylight, leading to a completely different experience. It is a very pretty game, but in an altogther different way to Killzone. The level of presentation is extremely high in both cases. Both games are suitably scored, and the voice acting is capable, and at times rather good. Brian Cox as Killzone 2’s head villian Scolar Visari particularly stands out.

I found Killzone 2 to be much more challenging than Resistance 2, though im not sure if that is a sentiment shared by other gamers. However, with the exception of the final boss, it was never frustrating. Speaking of bosses, one thing you will notice when playing through is that there arent many traditional end of level bosses that you would  expect to see in such a game. This contributes to a fresher, more realistic and fluid gaming experience. There doesn’t need to be a frighteningly powerful boss waiting around every umpteenth corner. However, it does contribute to the feeling of an ongoing slog through similar levels, with nothing notable to break it up. In comparison, this is one area in which Resitance excels. The bosses are one of the finest aspects of the game, with one of the bosses literally towering over Chicago’s ruined skyline.

As for controls, in Resistance 2 the main character has a certain feeling of weight to his movements, whereas in Killzone, I felt that the movements were far too sensitive. Any sudden movement will make your crosshairs go flying across the screen.  It’s difficult to find the words to fully describe it, but it just didn’t feel quite right.

There are a wide range of weapons at your disposal in both games, and for the most part, they are very well balanced. Each firearm will suit one situation better than the next and there is never a shortage of ammo. Set pieces also feature quite heavily in both games, but I think I will give Killzone the nod in this regard. One of the final stages stands out, requiring you to storm up the steps of the Helghast government building. Both games are also very well paced. There are segments where you literally wade through hoardes of enemies, claiming a few metres each push. There are others that encourage you to move at break neck speed, hurtling towards a goal and taking out whatever steps in your path.

One key area where both titles fall short is the story. Firstly, Killzone 2. The story was good enough to keep me interseted, but with the exception of the likeable yet entirely underdeveloped protagonist, Sev, the characters are uninteresting at best, and in some cases outright annoying. Also, the story never really touches upon the fact that you are part of an invading force. You play the role of aggressor. With no pre knowledge of the series backstory, it isnt clear what makes you the good guy. This in itself should have provided an interesting narrative drive, but its never explored. A missed opportunity. In its defense, the game does pull out a pretty decent ending.

Resistance 2 also suffers from a rather forgettable story. However, Nathan Hale does make for a pretty interesting lead and the unravelling story of the Chimeran enemy and their origins is quite interesting, especially if you have played the original. With that said, there are a few lazy and headscratching additions to the narrative, most notably the Daedalus character who seems to come out of nowhere, with a glaring lack of backstory. If you have played the second installment but not the first, you would be forgiven for thinking that he was a character from R1, as the game seems to expect you to know who he is. Overall, I think Resistance has a stronger plot than Killzone 2, though its nothing to write home about. The end sequence is very disapointing, and like most things in the game, comes with virtually no explanation.

Despite the narrative problems, both games boast great settings. Resistance 2 offers a unique mix of 1950s culture and futuristic technologies employed by the Chimera. It’s a brilliant meeting of two worlds. Killzone 2 conjours up a smoky, overcast alien planet inhabitted by human descedants. Its set in the future, but the vast majority of the characters and weaponary seem firmly rooted in the here and now. It provides a very engaging setting.

When it comes to multiplayer, I’m perhaps a little biased. I have spent a fair bit of time playing online on Resistance 2, especially on the co-op campaigns. It offers an all-encompassing and varied multiplayer experience, one that I am still drawn back to almost five months later. On the other hand, I have only played a couple hours of multiplayer on Killzone 2, and it didn’t do it for me. My issues with the controls were magnified ten fold when playing against other gamers and I found myself sitting through loading screens and mid game set-up menus far too often. On the plus side, the levels are impressively varied and expansive. I do intend to put a bit more time into the multiplayer, but it didn’t grab me initially the way that Resitance 2 did.

If pushed to pick a favourite, I would choose Resistance 2 for the above reasons. But, I think Killzone 2 and Resistance 2 complement each other quite well, and any PS3 owning FPS fan would do well to pick up both. While I’m not convinced that either title warrants picking up a PS3 on its own merit, they do both cement an increasingly impressive catalogue of platform exclusive games for Sony’s machine.