Before slabs of towering concrete were dropped in, the metal twisted into devastated shapes, Killzone 2 clearly banked that it all begins with the simple fun of movement within a space. Because even though they radiate an orange, almost perfectly menacing glow, Helghast eyes don’t constitute a game on their own. Continue »
Anonymity is buffer for consequence. Perhaps that’s why in our era religious texts and pitchforks have been replaced by keyboards and broadband connections. Granted, we live in a time of donning masks: the lonely are led to Second Life, videogames imitate power fantasy, and intolerance is epitomized by a faceless crowd, who stare at computer screens and treat dissonance as a disease. Continue »
It starts with a heavy boot sinking into ashen, damp sand. Despite the cold and alien landscape, this is a battle with a distinct familiarity: it’s harkening back, drawing inspiration, and twisting it in a new light. If you haven’t already sensed it, Killzone 2 is oddly recognizable. The vivid, iconic imagery of war parallels great battles from the past, and, of course, the games they inspired. But rather than being wholly derivative of what it so explicitly admires, the enormity of developer Guerilla Games’ vision puts it a cut above the rest. Continue »