[PS2] Killzone ROM Download

Killzone ROM Screenshots

Killzone ROM Description

Killzone is a first-person shooter that was developed by Gorilla Games, published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and released on the PS2 in November of 2004.

Story and Setting

Set in the year 2357 when humans had nuked each other so much that planet Earth became uninhabitable and had to flee to the stars to look for a new home, Killzone is the story of two human colonies that settled on different planets and are constantly at war with each other.

One colony settled on a resource-rich planet very similar to Earth named Vector. And the other colony, for some reason, decided to settle on a planet that looks just as terrible as the ruined Earth that they were fleeing from, but pay each to their own. This brand new wasteland of a planet is named Helgan and is home to the Helghast, a ghoulish looking colony that all lost their hair and went bald due to Helgan’s harsh conditions. But they stuck it out, got settled, and they decided to launch a secret invasion on Vector because why the hell not?

Our campaign begins here as you take control of Captain Templar, a veteran military man who was very much on the front lines of halting the Helghast invasion and protecting planet Vector. I won’t go too much more into the narrative than that, mainly for two reasons:

1. There are some twists and turns that I’d rather avoid discussing
2. There isn’t tons of more story to discuss. At the same time, all you really need to know is that the plot isn’t great nor is it bad. The characters aren’t interesting but the performances are okay. And overall what I’m trying to say is that this game gives you enough reasons to push forward with the narrative and shoot more people in the face.

Gameplay

This is a fairly standard FPS for the most part. The campaign has a decent length to it; the missions are non-stop shooting and quite linear, everything you’d expect from a shooter in 2004. One standout feature is the ability to pick between four characters that you gradually unlock as they make their appearances in the story.

You’ve got the standard assault rifle guy Templar, the silenced SMG assassin lady Luger, the tough LMG carrying Rico, or the half Vektan half Helghast hacker Hakha. All four have different primary weapons and differences in abilities – Templar is a good all-rounder, Luger is more agile, Rico is heavy and can take more damage, and Hakha can sneak behind enemy lines. I wouldn’t say each character has a drastically different campaign, but definitely enough to keep things interesting and give you a reason to switch around.

The controls and overall feel of the shooting in this game are unique. And when I say that I’m not using that word as a polite way to say it’s weird. The thing you have to understand is that this game seems to prioritize animation over everything, which is fine because it does make things somewhat more immersive to an extent. But when you lean too much in this direction, it can cause issues.

The weapons in Killzone feel heavy, which in one sense adds realism, but on the flip side, it means simple things like running around and aiming to have a sluggishness to them. This is something that is hard to explain until you play it yourself, but keeping your reticle still can be tricky because everything has a weight to it. All of your actions tilt your view in some minor way whether you’re walking, sprinting, climbing, shooting, reloading, or throwing a grenade.

You’ll find that your aim is swayed a lot naturally. You’ll do your best to adjust for this with the analog stick, but because the sensitivity of the aiming is a little off, you’ll either over-adjust or won’t move enough. I spent a lot of time having trouble keeping track of my targets but not in a realistic, challenging, and fun way this is a tolerable but sort of annoying kind of way.

Please do not mistake this as me saying I don’t like Killzone because I do, I just don’t love it. And I think the reason for this is that I can see exactly what Gorilla Games was going for, but in my personal opinion, they didn’t quite deliver on this on the first try. There are so many small things that chipped away at my experience – sluggish aiming, clunky movement, lack of enemy variety, and largely empty but nice-looking environments. It all has the right pieces but none of them are utilized perfectly enough to make this a must-play.

I still think there is plenty to like at the same time. Although I had trouble landing hits, the weapons feel unbelievably powerful and are great fun to use after an adjustment period. All of the usual weapons are here – assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and so on. They all pack a serious punch and, through a combination of visual, sound design, and DualShock vibration, feel just as destructive as you’d want them to be.

Visuals and Audio

The biggest highlight for me here was the visuals, as Killzone might possibly be the best-looking PS2 game I’ve played for this channel. It almost looks like an early PS3/360 game that was toned down and brought to the PS2. The environments looked very depressing and lifeless but also quite sharp at the same time. The detail on the weaponry is far beyond anything I would expect in 2004. The animation, although sometimes a hindrance to the gameplay, is arguably the best I’ve seen in this generation and the character models look fantastic.

All of this does come at a cost – the frame rate dips now and then, and there is a noticeable draw distance. And there were plenty of times when I saw a textured pop in and sometimes it was even on characters faces.

Adding to the stellar presentation is the audio work, which, sadly, is not enough. As covered already, the weapons sound awesome and thunderous, but the voice work and soundtrack are also well done. In between some of the missions you’ll get cut scenes that have great direction and performances that manage to strike the balance between dramatic but not cheesy. These are backed up by an original-sounding movie-like score that helps draw you in a little bit. But my only complaint with it all is that cutscenes are so few and far between, and for the most part, when you’re actually playing, the soundtrack is absent, sucking the epicness out of it a little bit.