Upon seeing the Killzone: Shadow Fall gameplay reveal during Sony’s press conference I was both amazed and apprehensive. Graphically, it looks amazing, but despite this I still have a few anxieties regarding this new and exciting title from Guerrilla. My concerns do not come about from what the demo looked like, or what it was being run on, as with other people; I am sure graphically it will be remarkable, especially given the PlayStation 4’s capabilities. My real concern however, comes about from the way the gameplay appeared to be.
I am a huge fan of all the Killzone games, Killzone 3 easily being one of my favorite first-person shooters, and I am very excited to play Killzone: Mercenary, coming to PS Vita in September. However, what struck me as disappointing about the gameplay video of Killzone: Shadow Fall was the apparent difference in gameplay from the first three titles.
Take away the colossal sky ships in the air, the iconic glowing red eyes of the Helghast, and those odd sideways thigh pouches of the ISA troops, and you could have fooled me into believing it was anything other than a Killzone title. What worried me was the way the new title resembled more of a Call of Duty title in its gameplay. The movement of the firearm, or what appeared to be a rail gun, in the hands of the player was super tight, and the reloading was immensely quick. Very foreign to Killzone’s casual reloading, and natural sway and feel of weapons as your character moves about. I realize that this is hardly something a lot of players care to deeply about, so let me get to the nitty-gritty; the part of the demo that disappointed me the most.
The moment where your character dived for the rope of the Helghast aircraft and held on was to me unquestionably ridiculous. The cinematic moment appeared to be something that would have been in a Call of Duty title, not a Killzone one. Not to mention, in order to hold on to, climb up, and shoot from a rope attached to a moving ship at the speed represented in the demo, someone like me would believe that your character should be wearing a Crysis Nano Suit.
My point is, Killzone is not Call of Duty, and is not Crysis, nor does someone like me want it to have the same characteristics. Too many first person shooters have become a mirrored image of the other. Battlefield, Medal of Honor, and Call of Duty all have eerily similar gameplay, which is perhaps why people like me, who want something different, have to come to love the Killzone titles so dearly. I love Killzone because it is not another game; it feels original, and not like another first person shooter with a different coat of paint.
The principle of my argument and the reason behind my seemingly ridiculous ramblings is that I do not want Killzone to be the next Call of Duty, and if Guerrilla ceases to create Killzone as a game whose gameplay goes against the grain, then I no longer have a reason to love it.
Based on the gameplay video, the game obviously has some polishing up to do (e.g. the character animations), but what I have seen is enough for some concerns. At this point though, I guess I can only hope. So I will let this cookie crumble how it may.
im also hoping that helghan still exists with a lot of helghast still living there but lacks military might at the moment and probably waiting for help from the helghast on vekta. im hoping that there are female soldiers in killzone shadow fall and that visaris daughter plays a roll in the game.
What, jumping a single set piece now turns this into CoD? When the hell did CoD become such a standard in gaming, that even a single quality of it instantly qualifies another game to be a "CoD Clone"?
I disagree completely with this blog, for an opening "tech demo" it more than fulfilled its role, and looks completely killzone to me.
Someone wants attention.
Its a cyborg. Probably explains why he reloads so fast, can enter slow man, can jump on a roof from a helicopter etc.
But yeah.. I dont like where this is going either.
I miss the realistic 'slow' reloads and high recoil of KZ2.
Still, I have hopes for this game. Even if it doesn't offer a Killzone experience I will still buy it if it's good enough.
Shadowfall seems to be focusing on bringing the 2 types of environments together in one game to give that contrast on how vektans and helghans go trough their everyday lives.
All this could be the setup for an amazing story if done well.
LMFAO, KZs story sucks!!!
KZ2 is my favorite in the series.
The demo played out too much like COD.
People who make games want to move on and just because they decided to use lighter colors for certain levels don't just assume that negates any type of Killzone like environments.I mean it is a futuristic city. Did you expect polluted air,burnt out buildings and broken streets? We haven't even seen what other environment they have to offer us and if they have the same industrial look.
You can't just jump and start saying 'You are trying to be like COD or Battlefield' just because of a little change in scenery or colors.We have already seen from the preview that the Helgast look exactly the same. Red eyes and frighting helmets and all with the knife stabbing in the face still there. You are assuming a whole bunch of stuff based on a preview of a game.I think you are trying to see Crysis and COD when it isn't even there the same way people somehow see Halo in Killzone and Resistance. That is the very reason PS3 games always get ruined before they even come out because people are always trying to compare it to this and that and not letting the game crave it's own niche.For example people were so trying to think Killzone was supposed to be a Halo killer they never allowed it to make a place of it's own.People on other consoles don't do that.Only we allow other people to compare our games and let them spoil it for us.Forget COD and Halo and Crysis. This is Killzone and only Killzone.Judge it for what it is and not what something else is.
... unless if you're replying to some comment. *shrug*
Sorry, but I saw nothing but COD; and trust me, I wasn't looking for it.
What, jumping a single set piece now turns this into CoD? When the hell did CoD become such a standard in gaming, that even a single quality of it instantly qualifies another game to be a "CoD Clone"?
Honestly, I liked the ps4 presentation but the most disappointing thing about it was the games. Nothing looked super innovative but I'm pretty sure those games are saved for e3 reveals anyway. Infamous looked awesome and so did Watch Dogs though.
I know this might come as a surprise to some but Killzone is an FPS so of course it looks like bloody COD. KZ2 and 3 are still my favorite console fps of all time, Far Cry 3 came close but only close.
If you watched the reveal the only gameplay shown was from KZ everything else was a techdemo. That includes watchdogs which was so setup to look cool right down to the train escape.
Its going to be awesome so please calm down over 4 mins of footage. Thats the lenght of the average COD game for god sake.
I'm no expert on Killzone but the gameplay seemed very similar, guns had recoil and the character seemed to have weight. You also gotta remember this would have been on some super easy mode for the conference, just so the guy didn't die and look like a fool lol. Brutal melee kills are back and grenades sound and roll exactly the same.
I can see where you're coming from with the jumping on the rope thing, was a bit Crysis/Call of duty but I imagine there will be very few of these moments. Just something to "Wow" the majority, and an excuse to show the awesome graphics
Watch the trailer again, skip to about 8 minutes in, just as he blows up the ship and pause it. It shows an epic, gritty, futuristic city and I imagine that place will play a big part of the game. I can't help but be excited
Personally I think this game could take Killzone to new heights, and I love the part where the helghan uncloaks himself as he walks up to the guy. So cool
Chances are if you enjoyed the few games you should give the developers the benefit of the doubt until more gameplay is revealed.
not a reply to you tootall but I don't get the COD talk seem like everybody wants to see COD in everything oh well I dont see it and I play COD everyday Can't wait for the PS4 and this Game
They've still got time to add changes before the PS4 launches so hopefully they fix up the aesthetics of the ISA.
You can say that GG is making the game more accessible, but imo they are just sticking to their script as it always has been. GG has always tried to push immersion into its titles and wants to create contrast between the vektans' and helghans'
Killzone 3 tries to have big setpieces in the campaign and the multiplayer and to me they just felt tacked on to a game that didnt need them - jetpacks, giant spider robots, crappy shooting gallery style sequences, and pantomime characters.
KZ3 screwed it up so badly, I think it was the missed opportunity of this generation.
I disagree. What the original had going for it was that you had the choice to pick one of 4 characters to play as, and depending on who you choose changed how the level was played. They all had different default weapons and abilities too. Liberation was more of just a top down arcade shooter.
This took away from me the authentic Killzone feel, and destroys the immersion in that virtual world. I hope they change the scene while remaining bombastic, to a more acceptable rate of extravaganza.
Funny how you start by saying you're a huge fan of the series and know hardy anything at all about Shadow Fall??
Hmmm.... you are Curious George...Indeed!
I know some of you think I am being unfair in my concerns. I am well aware that this is a very preliminary, very raw, render of what they want to game to look like. Keep in mind though, that Killzone 2 resembles greatly the early render of Killzone 2 released at the E3 reveal.
The reason I am worried, perhaps to a ridiculous degree according to some of you, is that I see a game I love going in a direction I despise. Let me say again, I am well aware that this is a tech demo, and not the final game, but I love Killzone enough to point out the slightest deviation that could spoil the game for me, even if it brings me ridicule. It is like a friend who tells you when you are doing something you should not be doing; they may scream and shout hysterically about something that seems to you only a slight blunder, but in the end you are happy they are there to keep you on track. In many instances, like this one, the more you love something the harder you will be on it.
Thank you everyone again for all the comments. Keep them coming.
KZ3 is the worst KILZONE game in the series so far. KZ3 went the CoD route. I agree that Shadow Fall was a bit over the top, but it sure as hell looks better than KZ3.
I really want to reserve my judgment though. I remember getting super excited for KZ3 after seeing the first trailer and swore up and down that I'd get any collector's edition they had for KZ3 day one, but you know how it goes. The more footage I saw the more I was like "WTF this is not KILLZONE at all." I really hope Shadow Fall turns out to be the true successor to KZ2.
This obviously brings concerns for the gameplay, but then again killzone has never had great gameplay.
Sony need something different, and genre defining like microsoft had with Gears if they want to succeed next gen.