Better late than never, eh? As promised, this blog post is dedicated to my first experience with Killzone 2, via the exclusive (*cough*Europe) GameStop Demo.
I had picked up a Demo voucher code sometime in early January but, to my dismay, discovered that the actual demo wouldn't be available until February 5th. Bummer.
So, once the 5th rolled around, I punched in that voucher code and got my goods (in remote play, no less). Starting up the game, I noticed that there was no initial data install. Guerrilla Games has confirmed that the retail version won't have an install either, but I'm assuming that doesn't encompass any single or multiplayer patching that might appear.
Now, I'm sure that every blogger and their mother is writing an impressions piece based on the gameplay. I will too, of course (my mother probably won't), but I want to first highlight the rest of the "package."
After picking your language track, the main menu appears. It's fairly straightforward, but has a strange filter applied to it that will make you want to adjust your display (don't bother). Being that it's a demo, everything but Campaign and Options was grayed out. I waited until the game loaded up, but on subsequent playthroughs, I took this time to look at the different control options.
The default layout is most similar to the Resistance series, with zoom on the analog stick, and fire on the R2 trigger. I much prefer the Call of Duty style of controls (zoom on L1, fire on the less-squishy R1), and not-so coincidentally, there was a control scheme identical to that of CoD. I imagine some of the other layouts emulate other, ahem, notable FPS's which would really help people to jump right in.
Crap, 4 paragraphs and I haven't even talked about the game yet. But before I do, I just want to describe the cool loading screens. Instead of a static image, the loading screens display more of a "3D screenshot" of a level, weapon, etc that can be rotated by moving the Sixaxis. You kinda have to see it to know what I mean, but it's a neat effect.
As for the actual demo, it wasn't satisfying. Not because the graphics were bad (my mouth went all "O" shaped at some spots), and not because the gameplay was lackluster (I played the demo 5 times, consecutively). It left a hole in my heart because it was SO SHORT. My first time through clocked in at 13 minutes (6 on level one, 7 on level two). On subsequent runs, I was able to finish in under 8 minutes. In all fairness, it succeed in doing its job as a demo, but I have to admit, I REALLY REALLY wanted to see more.
Looks like class is coming up, so see Part 2 for continuing impressions from the battlefields of Helghan.
