More reviews:

• 100 Playstation Official Magazine Australia
  I'll say it again: Killzone 2 is the best console first person shooter ever. It will be bested one day, and that is as it should be, but this game has set the proverbial bar so high we reckon it'll be the king for a good long while... Hail to the king, baby. [Feb 2009, p.66]
  
• 100 GamePro
  It took a long time for Killzone 2 to finally come out, but after diving head first into the game, there's no doubt in my mind that it lives up to the hype and is a must-play for FPS fans. [Mar 2009, p.70]
  
• 100 Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
  It's true that Killzone 2 is filled with moments that can handily be described as inspiring awe. Each scene is incredibly well detailed, from the gaps in jerry-rigged cover points letting you sneak in a killing headshot to scarred and scratched textures, the planet feels entirely believable... Without a doubt Killzone fans, action and shooter fans of any stripe will instantly tag this sequel as a powerful contender for best game of 2009. [Feb 2009, p.38]
  
• 100 Eurogamer Portugal
  Killzone 2 is without a doubt the high point for a project in videogaming. Believable, safe, coherent and above all, brilliant in its execution. A must-have for all those who love this art, especially for those in need of breathtaking experiences, where the different senses are laid on the table.
  
• 99 MEGamers
  Killzone 2’s secret ingredient is the fluidity in gameplay that we have come to enjoy more than its graphical prowess or jaw-dropping visuals. And that’s what games have always been about... We're surprised to see Killzone 2 blows our expectations out of the water with a memorable SP campaign and a stellar MP component. To put it short, this game makes "Gears of War 2" look like a high school attempt at gaming and that is a HUGE compliment!
  
• 95 Meristation
  Killzone 2 rises from the ashes of the E3 2005 trailer to prove itself as even better; the most outstanding, immersive and technologically advanced first person shooter available for any console on the market. The dark and grim world created by Guerrilla hosts a crude conflict on Helghast soil, divided in 10 acts packed with a variety of situations portrayed with an epic tone. With a polished enemy AI, a huge multiplayer, a well balanced and powerful arsenal, 7.1 sound, great voice acting among some other strong points, few complaints can be made; only the lack of coop and some roughness in the allied AI. The rest is faithful and loyal to the promise Guerrilla made 4 years ago. Mission accomplished.
  
• 95 Gameplayer
  Killzone 2 is a stunning game best suited for FPS aficionados, rabid graphics whores, and all proud Ps3 owners in general. Guerrilla Games have stepped up to the plate and delivered very comparable results to “that preview video” that blew our collective minds in 2005. Using Guerrilla’s proprietary ‘deferred rendering engine’ Killzone 2 squeezes a lot more juice out of the Ps3 than anything we’ve seen thus far.
  
• 95 InsideGamer.nl
  The great graphics, the very smart AI, the mind-blowing physics and the multiplayer mode you can play for months combined make Killzone 2 a true FPS-classic.
  
• 94 IGN
  The single-player experience is a truly enjoyable campaign across the Helghast home world that will test your skills, particularly on the higher difficulty levels, and the game simply looks phenomenal for a console shooter. But perhaps the strongest segment of the game is the extremely deep multiplayer, which gives seven basic classes with which you can create your own customized super-soldier after performing your class-specific duties.
  
• 90 IGN AU
  Outstanding. It is consistent in every respect and is testament to the talents of the developer as well as the power of the PS3 in the hands of a team that knows how to use the hardware - and who have the full support of Sony behind them. In the same stroke, it is not the be all and end all of console shooters, or even shooters on the PS3.
  
• 90 Playstation Official Magazine UK
  Visually it's so far ahead of anything else out there it shatters your expectations...This is a PS3 showing what it's truly capable of and delivering a landmark piece of explosive entertainment you can't afford to miss. [Feb 2009, p.88]
  
• 90 EuroGamer
  Killzone 2 is a taut and muscular game, a shooter that gives back more than you put in, provided you have the intestinal fortitude. It may take its time revealing its true depths and pleasures, but the journey is well worth taking. Between Killzone 2's unforgiving grit and Resistance 2's alien-bursting excess, the PS3 finally has both ends of the shooter spectrum covered in grand style.
  
• 90 Level7.nu
  Quotation forthcoming. [Review dated 1/29/09]

Raya setahun sekali, so fen-bui mode pun setahun sekalik gak'lah..

Killzone 2 Controller Presets Revealed

The six controller presets that will be used have been revealed by Seb Downie (aka motherh), the QA manager at Guerilla Games.

He also confirmed that there will be no option to customize the controls, so check them out below and have a look which one suits you.

STANDARD 1

L1 - Close combat
L2 - Crouch
R1 - Fire
R2 - Grenade
^ - Swap Weapons
[] - Reload/Pick up weapon (Hold)
O - Use
X - Jump
Left Analogue - Movement
Right Analogue - Look
L3 - Sprint
R3 - Zoom

STANDARD 2

L1 - Close Combat
L2 - Crouch
R1 - Grenade
R2 - Fire
^ - Swap Weapon
[] - Reload/Pick up weapon (Hold)
O - Use
X - Jump
Left Analogue - Movement
Right Analogue - Look
L3 - Sprint
R3 - Zoom

STANDARD 3

L1 - Close Combat
L2 - Crouch
R1 - Fire
R2 - Grenade
^ - Swap Weapon
[] - Reload/Pick up weapon (Hold)
O - Use
X - Jump
Left Analogue - Look
Right Analogue - Movement
L3 - Zoom
R3 - Sprint

STANDARD 4

L1 - Close Combat
L2 - Crouch
R1 - Grenade
R2 - Fire
^ - Swap Weapon
[] - Reload/Pick up weapon (Hold)
O - Use
X - Jump
Left Analogue - Look
Right Analogue - Movement
L3 - Zoom
R3 - Sprint

ALTERNATE 1

L1 - Grenade
L2 - Crouch
R1 - Fire
R2 - Swap Weapon
^ - Close combat
[] - Reload/Pick up weapon (Hold)
O - Use
X - Jump
Left Analogue - Movement
Right Analogue - Look
L3 - Sprint
R3 - Zoom

ALTERNATE 2

L1 - Zoom
L2 - Crouch
R1 - Fire
R2 - Grenade
^ - Swap Weapon
[ ] - Reload/Pick up weapon (Hold)
O - Use
X - Jump
Left Analogue - Movement
Right Analogue - Look
L3 - Sprint
R3 - Close Combat

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Invert X Axis
Invert Y Axis
X Axis sensitivity
Y Axis sensitivity
Zoom Hold toggle
Dpad-L/R/Down - Inventory
Crouch Hold toggle (MP only)
Dpad-Up - Objectives (SP Only)

Sauce: http://www.gamersdigest.net/569/killzone-2...esets-revealed/

Dem.. UK got Limited Edition Steel-book.



Linkus: http://www.shopto.net/page.php?page=dettag...KI00FNP81714272

Asia tin biskut edition.

OMG, I can't stop laughing.

Sony release their first wave of the marketing blitz for KillZone 2 - this one for the Superbowl. Check it out.

KillZone 2 Superbowl Ad Official

The Evolution of Rico

During the Helghast attack on Vekta, few soldiers saw more action than Sergeant Rico Velasquez. A dependable but short-tempered ISA grunt, Rico teamed up with Templar, Luger and Hakha after his own platoon was wiped out. Together, the four heroes single-handedly put a wrench in the Helghast invasion plans. But for Rico, new developments were already on the horizon...

Designed as a ‘tank’-type buddy character for the first Killzone game on PlayStation 2, Rico was modeled by senior character artist Mariska Bolman-Vos. To give him a more believable appearance, Rico – like many ISA soldiers in the game – was based on a real-life Guerrilla employee.

Former Guerrilla artist Nasier Abdoel agreed to become the model for Rico, and signed a release form permitting the use of his likeness. He was photographed from several angles, allowing Mariska to accurately reproduce his facial features in 3D in Maya. She also combined the reference photographs into a texture map, which was ‘wrapped around’ the 3D model’s head.



Since the real Nasier was sitting just a few desks away, obtaining proper perspectives was rarely a problem during the modeling process. “If I wanted to see whether I got something right, I’d simply look across the room or go over to his desk,” Mariska recalls. “I imagine it must have been pretty unnerving for Nasier, seeing someone stare at him every few minutes.”

While the end result came extremely close, the goal was never to create a dead-on likeness of Nasier. “We wanted to take some artistic liberties for the benefit of the game,” Mariska says. “For instance, Rico is a large and imposing character, whereas Nasier is only average in height. So we bulked him up – made him taller and a bit more muscular in the game, to reinforce the impression of a walking tank.”

When it came time to transport Rico to the smaller screen of the PSP (PlayStation Portable), a similar philosophy was applied. To enhance the visibility of Rico’s new low-polygon model, and to better distinguish him from enemies and player characters, artist Sytho Holwerda outfitted him with a high-contrast uniform and a shaved head.



Because Killzone: Liberation takes place shortly after the events of the first Killzone, Rico’s features remained largely the same. For the Killzone 2 E3 presentation in 2007, however, a new set of reference photographs of Nasier was created. These were sent to outsourcing studio Massive Black along with the head's base geometry for the construction of a new, higher-polygon model.

The design brief called for a matured, battle-worn Rico. Promoted to the rank of ISA Master Sergeant, Rico is now embedded with Alpha Team to spearhead the invasion on Helghan’s capital, Pyrrhus. “After the E3 presentation, we felt he still looked too much like a rookie in comparison to some of Alpha’s other members,” senior character artist Rudy Massar admits. “So we went back to the drawing table.”

Rudy stepped in to ‘age’ Rico head model by hand, adding details to the face and making the head slightly more angular in appearance. “Giving the model another pass allowed us to use Killzone 2’s core shader to full effect,” Rudy explains. “The shader can produce highly realistic human skin, which we use in conjunction with a special normal map to put wrinkles and skin folds into Rico’s face.”



“Rico’s new, close-cropped head is comprised of over 4600 polygons, whereas in Killzone 1 it consisted of only 1800 polygons,” Rudy continues. “And that included his hair. The number of blend shapes, which we use to simulate facial muscle movements during speech, has also drastically increased – from 16 in the first Killzone game to 55 in Killzone 2.”

One thing is certain: Rico Velasquez has come a long way since the early days of Killzone 1. And while he may have physically aged in Killzone 2, his new model is state of the art.

Source: http://www.killzone.com/kz/news.psml?kz_ne...ate=July%202008

Who is Alpha Team?

Colonel Templar and the ISA Vekta Special Forces

When the dust had settled after the Helghast invasion of Vekta was beaten back, most of the ISA Armed Forces lay in shattered ruins. Caught by surprise and subjected to months of high intensity combat, few ISA units were organized by the book when the fighting stopped. Losses were particularly high amongst Captain Templar’s old unit - the Rapid Reaction Force - which had to be disbanded.

As the senior surviving RRF officer, and hero of the defense of Vekta, Captain Templar was promoted to colonel and given the task of rebuilding ISA Vekta's Special Forces. He was told to place special attention on the reliability of the men he picked - Vekta had suffered enough from traitors in her ranks. Fortunately the invasion had created a ready supply of young combat veterans with revenge against the Helghast as their primary motivation.

Drawing upon his experience on Vekta against the Helghast, Colonel Templar created an organization of small squads of four to five people. Due to the small size of the units and the nature of their deployment, they were picked for their aggression, initiative and resourcefulness. Every single team member needed combat experience. Colonel Templar handpicked each of his eight team leaders, and the team leaders then worked with the colonel to fill the slots in their individual teams. Every single member of the Special Forces has been personally approved by Colonel Templar.

When the first planning for Operation Archangel had been completed, the Vektan Council found Templar as the best fit for overall ground commander. He has been working on the details of the operation with Councilor Evelyn Batton and is tasked with specific responsibility for the capture of Autarch Scolar Visari for public trial and the recovery of the stolen nuclear weapon Red Dust.



Master Sergeant Rico Velasquez and Alpha Team

When Colonel Templar started selecting his team leaders, his first pick was old comrade Master Sergeant Rico Velasquez. The pair of them fought together during both the initial chaos of the Helghast assault on Vekta and the bitter campaign to clear their world of the last invader.

Rico and Templar had first met whilst Rico was avenging the death of his ISA Regular Army squad on a group of Helghast. Templar was engaged on a special mission for the then head of the ISA Military, General Vaughton. Like many soldiers who were separated from their units, Rico found himself collected up by an officer with a need for more men and accompanied Templar for the duration of his mission.

Distinguishing himself for his bravery and deadly combat skills, Rico was highly decorated at the end of the invasion, but the same anger that made him so deadly to the Helghast destroyed his ability to serve quietly in the ranks again. Worse, his direct experience of betrayal by treasonous Generals Stratson and Adams made him distrustful of the officer class in general. Rico proved insubordinate and aggressive during attempts to reintegrate him into the ISA Regular Army.

When Colonel Templar made Rico the offer of his own team command, serving under the only officer he still trusted and respected, it was a simple choice for the veteran.



Rico and Templar began the selection of the remaining members of Alpha Team immediately - a process that did not run according to plan. Rico's pick for second in command, Shawn Natko, an experienced soldier with an excellent combat record turned down the promotion, electing to join the team instead at his current rank in the number three slot. Templar's choice of replacement, along with the team's fourth member perished in a grenade training accident, and Alpha was pulled out of training to reform.

To replace the dead second-in-command, Templar proposed a young sergeant who had impressed him with his skill and determination - Sergeant First Class Tomas Sevchenko. An army lifer, Rico initially distrusted short-timer Sev, but put his trust in Templar's instinct. Sev had joined the army as a young man, but lost his taste for soldiering and returned to civilian life. During the invasion he was one of many lapsed soldiers who came back to the military in order to fight for the freedom of their homes and families. Despite the death of his family at the hands of Helghast soldiers, and his experiences during the dark days following the initial invasion when the Helghast seemed invincible, Sev remained a focused and disciplined soldier who was promoted and placed in charge of a squad of infantry.

The fourth team member was suggested by Sev as Garza - a soldier who'd worked with him during the invasion. Dante Garza was a trained sniper and a fair mechanic - both qualities that had dug Sev out of some deep holes during the fighting. Dysfunctional and sarcastic, it took some fast talking from Sev to sell the idea to Rico and Templar, but Garza proved himself in training and earned at least the benefit of the doubt.



Source: http://www.killzone.com/kz/news.psml?kz_ne...ate=July%202008

Marvelous!

Graphics "TOO CLEAN"? Whats next? Graphics "TOO REALISTIC", it sucks?

From Kotaku:

"Yes, impressions. Not the review.

We decided to hold off on our formal review until we can play the Playstation 3 game online under more typical conditions. Instead I've written up some of my initial thoughts from playing through the entire single-player campaign on the average difficulty setting.

It's easy when playing a game in an over-saturated genre, like first-person shooters, to judge the title not by what it is, but by what it isn't. Games like Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 both suffer from that same problem.

The graphics, while a bit too clean for my liking, still capture the pivotal moments of the game with an almost cinematic flare. Details make the game pop.

I'm still debating whether the artificial intelligence that controls your squad mates, and the Helghast you take on, is very good or sketchy."

Source: http://kotaku.com/5144855/killzone-2-impressions

Let's pray there's no region-lock for the demo; like what happen to 'Uncharted' demo before.

Another 1 hour and 50 minutes. Thanks, Streamyx. 180kb/s.

Mine always 118.101.x.x. Cannot get 60.x.x.x.

Sony really put some muscles to the servers. Mine getting faster. LoL..200kbs.

No sleep for me tonite. 43% and counting.

LoL.. LYN down last nite, can't post my impression.

AMAZING

The graphics are CRAZY smooth, I love the color and the industrial look... barely any jagged lines. Looks damn good on my 70" screen..

Sound, ok how can I put this. 5.1+KZ2= oh-summm!! the sound is just amazing; end of story..

Complaints? Too damn short!

Can't wait to get the full game! Will post some vids later.

This post has been edited by Ninja: Feb 6 2009, 07:20 AM

Just use 'Alternate 2' control setting. It's almost the same as COD4 control. L1 Zoom R1 Fire L3 Sprint.

This post has been edited by Ninja: Feb 6 2009, 07:54 AM

No need to hold-down L3. Press and release; your character will sprint automatically; just need to move your character around with L3.

I spend more than 30 minutes; looking at the textures; weapons; dead bodies; wall instead of playing.

Invasion starts tomorrow. Got a few Helghasts from Subang gonna stop by. Join the team.