Killzone 2: a step ahead of all things next-gen

by Nick Doerr { Oct 15th 2007 at 5:00PM }

Some of you may have heard rumblings about this obscure Killzone 2 title -- we're not sure, it hasn't really gotten much attention from the press, but apparently it's being touted as one step ahead of all other console games in terms of next-gen technology. From an excerpt in the Official PlayStation Magazine UK: " ... the fact that Helghan is such an inhospitable hole, should mean that the game looks drab. The fact it doesn't is down to an array of visual tricks, the most important of which is deferred rendering, which involves blending the effect of light sources on an object... it makes the city look incredibly dynamic with light and shadow changing constantly as a result of muzzle flashes, burning wreckage and jags of lighting."

In addition to those fancy bits of techno-babble, the firefights and ferocity of the situation the gamer is placed in seem to really draw a from a different well inside of our minds, causing the whole FPS experience to seem fresh and exciting. Those are our words, but they get the idea across rather well. In conclusion, OPM states that Killzone 2 "is genuinely a notch ahead of anything being done on consoles right now." We're glad to hear these glowing impressions, but we'd like to get our grubby mitts on it before every other game coming out on consoles catches up with this one in terms of technical prowess.

Tags: guerrila-games, killzone-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

batmanhill6157 @ Oct 15th 2007 5:08PM

We ps3 owners need all we can get to throw in xbox fanboys faces. We've been getting screwed for too long and they've been eating it up. Skate delay, the orange box pointless delay, madden looking better on 360. I'm sick of us getting f**ked on pointless issues

ekbigpimping @ Oct 15th 2007 5:22PM

Didn't Phil Harrison say that there was a demo coming out before 2007 was over for Killzone 2

Sloar @ Oct 15th 2007 5:28PM

I think you mean an "excerpt" from OPM UK, not an "except".

Bourega @ Oct 15th 2007 5:32PM

Egh. Silly claims like this just don't help. It's better to play a game with minimal expectations (Saint's Row) and be surprised than it is to play an uber-hyped game and be dissapointed because it's not the game you wanted it to be (Halo 3).

Unforunately, these silly claims usually equal $$$.

Andy @ Oct 15th 2007 5:36PM

I think we all need to remember this is a Playstation magazine so of course they are going to say good things about Killzone 2.

Now that I think about I cannot wait for 2008. And now I see why people are consider 2008 the year of the PS3.

preciousdeath @ Oct 15th 2007 5:41PM

I can believe the graphics are "a notch ahead of anything being done on consoles right now", but the gameplay is what matters in the end. That's why Halo is such a success. Here's to hoping they get the gameplay right so the PS3 community can brag about its superior FPS.

The1 @ Oct 15th 2007 5:47PM

Time will tell. However, I am always suspect of a gaming magazine comments on a game. I like to send independent previews so to speak. I was a beta tester for Killzone 1 and the game was just on par. It did nothing new.

ClarkyCat @ Oct 15th 2007 5:49PM

Next gen graphically. Gameplay wise? I'll wager it doesn't have a level of environmental destruction to come close to Red Faction. And even that was pretty poor.

Ghaleon @ Oct 15th 2007 6:01PM

If the official Sony magazine genuinely said it, it genuinely must be true and worthy of posting here.

But does it have DEFORMABLE TERRAIN

sicklesdawg @ Oct 15th 2007 6:08PM

Stop the Next Gen-HYPE Please! It will only create HIGH expectation we dont need. see:halo3

B @ Oct 16th 2007 4:20PM

the only reason why im getting the ps3

Silent @ Oct 16th 2007 4:50PM

"...on consoles..."

half life 2 is light years above halo 3 in terms of a 'refreshing fps experience' and i predict the same case will most likely apply to this game too. they need to do more than just set their sites on being 'better' than halo to be a step ahead.

Easo @ Oct 15th 2007 6:22PM

OPM allow me to introduce you to Mr. Wake

http://download.remedygames.com/movies/Alan_Wake_video.wmv

Killzone 2 looks amazing, but a step ahead of all things next gen, I think not.

Justin @ Oct 15th 2007 6:22PM

I just want to play the damn thing...

Easo @ Oct 15th 2007 6:29PM

oh and as a side note, why havent you guys talked about UT3 possibly becoming exclusive to the ps3?

I read it last night (this morning? damn you jet lag!!) but havent seen anything about it since.

ruibing @ Oct 15th 2007 6:35PM

@12

I wished it was but I read on n4g.com that it has been reaffirmed for the 360 in 2008.

Popfrogs @ Oct 15th 2007 6:38PM

@12: I doubt they'll make it exclusive...I could see it being a timed exclusive though. I'm ready for some crazy fast-paced multiplayer action with a keyboard and mouse though.

sammy @ Oct 15th 2007 7:31PM

I don't think Killzone 2 will be a better gaming experience than Halo 3. But I do believe that if it is not as good it can still be a strong game. I hope to see less humanoid creatures. It limits the diversity of the experience massively. I hope to see a FPS which shows more imagination. Especially in terms of puzzles and thoughtful moments. Settings are rather dull too.
If I see another set of crates... I think I will write to a crate manafaturers union and demand they ask for royalties per crate! It shows crates in a bad light! Crates!

Popfrogs @ Oct 15th 2007 6:43PM

@10: You gotta be kidding me. That video has more jaggies than a lego convention, bad mip-mapping, tearing, frame rate drops (flyover in the beginning with the trees), etc. This game looks like crap compared to KZ2.

Kspraydad @ Oct 15th 2007 6:55PM

For those ragging on OPM UK...

They gave
Lair a 6
Heavenly Sword a 7
Warhawk a 9

They don't seem to be out of line with most reviewers out there.

Justin @ Oct 15th 2007 7:06PM

@ 10, if you think alan wake looks better than killzone 2, or if you believe that the PS3 couldn't handle something like alan wake...you need your eyes checked.

kevin @ Oct 15th 2007 7:07PM

@10

there was no gameplay footage what-so-ever in that boring trailer you linked too.

Shattercross @ Oct 15th 2007 7:47PM

Meh, hope it's good... but by the time I play it I'll have played several other FPS games.

sammy @ Oct 15th 2007 8:11PM

Alan Wake does look good as a game although the graphics while impressive are basically what we have come to expect from this generation. I am not sure the technology of the two games are really comparable. Don't forget that AW was once intended to be a dual platform release before MS paid for exclusivity. I think we will see better from both machines.
H3 was not the best looking game on 360 it was just one of the best games overall. I am actually hoping that the next couple of years sees developers move away from FPS...I am sick already and most are not even out. The market cannot support this many and they are also not ideal console fodder.

Easo @ Oct 15th 2007 10:16PM

Popfrogs
Maybe you should take off your rose colored glasses and watch the Killzone 2 trailer over again. I clearly remember watching it for the first time and thinking,"wow the characters look really good... but the floor(on the drop ship)looks like ass. No the floors everywhere look like ass, oh well, its still pretty damn impressive" I also remember seening so minor AA issues and a slight drop in framerate during the first scene (when the camera pans around the ship), but you know what, the overall effect was stunning, so I didnt think it was a big deal. You, on the other hand tear the trailer for Alan Wake apart for issues that for the most part dont even exist. For example, You mention poor mipmapping. Unless you were watching the game frame by frame(and even then its nearly impossible), how could you possibly see a far away object,or any object for that matter, refresh its polycount? Thats right, you cant.
As for the jaggies and framerate drops, No way, you must be kidding!! You mean to tell me you saw imperfections in a 2 year old announcement trailer, running in realtime at about x4 normal game speed. Seriously, you cant look at that tralier objectively and say kill zone looks better. Its simply not true.

Justin:
I never said or implied that alan wake couldnt run on ps3 hardware, and yes it does look better than killzone.

kevin:
Ive got your back buddy. You want real time in game footage, i'll give you real time in game footage.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/58159.html

The only reason I didnt post this video the first time is because it was originally taken from youtube, and is extremely low res.

Popfrogs @ Oct 15th 2007 11:16PM

@24: Killzone2 trailer? Why? We've already been shown developer walkthroughs of a _very_ early work in progress and it already puts AW to shame. The AW trailer you posted looked like it could be finished soon, or at least the extremely flat buildings and poor rendering are done.

Mip mapping has nothing to do with polygon count, it's a texture filtering technique. You can see the mip map line during the beginning as you sweep through the trees, there's a line where the trees and other textures are noticeably blurrier than everything on the camera's side of the line. This makes it look like Quake3 on a Banshee card when you stare at the floor.

As for jaggies, yes, the trailer you linked is LOADED with them. They are on everything. If there is any AA at all in this game, they didn't turn it on for this video..everything from the power lines to the bars on the gate Alan tries to unlock is jaggy as hell.

Floor textures on an alpha build of a game don't phase me. The last time I stared at a floor was in Oblivion just because the whole game is beautiful. Legoland jaggies in a low-res looking AW trailer, however, do disturb me.

This game appears to be like most other X360 games: poorly coded PC ports. PC developers just don't make games like console devs do, they can always tell people "hey, you want it to look better, upgrade your PC". Doesn't surprise me that PC devs are making games for a Microsoft console this way.

sammy @ Oct 16th 2007 12:29PM

Why can one not objectively say Killzone looks better? The reaction from the gaming press at large is sure Killzone looks great... I still think it looks much like any FPS to me but I am not overly impressed by the genre anyway.
As for Killzone 2's technical setbacks the developer has already stated many times that the footage shown at E3 lacked a lot of the final technology so who knows what state the game is in now other than people behind the scenes. I am not sure what built OPM saw..but I can almost guarantee KZ will look better. It is still a long way off.

Easo @ Oct 16th 2007 1:13PM

Popfrogs:
Your talking about bilinear filtering. When using a bilinear filtering, it is common to see a visible line where the textures are being switched from a low res texture to a high res one. That however is not what your seeing. What you see during the flyover on the trees is the shadowing changing rapidly as the footage is being run at about x4 speed. Still, for a trailer produced from alpha footage in 2005, it still looks amazing. Oh, and dont you find it a little hyprocrital to jump on an early build trailer for alan wake for issues that you say you can ignore in an early build tralier for Killzone. Are there jaggies in the killzone trailer, yes. Do the textures look flat on almost everything, yes. Are there issues with slowdown, yes. But you and I can both agree that the tralier looks great. But The Alan Wake trailer shares similar issues and that distrubs you. Whatever im done.