With all the buzz around LittleBigPlanet, we didn’t want to forget another of Sony’s big games at E3, Killzone 2.

The highly anticipated and long-awaited first-person shooter was definitely one of the best looking games I checked out at E3. Now I know why the game has been in development for over four years.

With the power of the PS3 and Guerrilla Game’s propriety engine, Killzone 2 looks incredible, and is almost up to par with that infamous trailer shown back at E3 2005.

Players can expect to experience a smooth and detailed picture with the use of motion blur effects, depth-based color grading, and enhanced deferred rendering technology. Along with smooth character animations, natural looking environments, and real-time cutscenes, this game is going to be a great piece of eye candy, fo sho.

The story of Killzone 2 takes place after the action and events of the original Killzone, two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta. But this time around the ISA is making its way to the planet Helghan, the home planet of the Helghast.

On a mission to capture the Helghast leader, Emperor Visari, and to stop the Helghast army, the ISA is in a really bad position because the Helghast are a much stronger enemy on their home planet. Taking the role of Sev, a war-torn veteran and member of a special forces unit known as the Legion, players will be introduced to all new weapons, equipment, and vehicles to take down the Helghast.

I had roughly 15-20 minutes with the Killzone 2 demo, and the first thing I noticed was how f*cking good it looked. The second thing I noticed was how responsive and easy to grasp the controls were. Oh, and they’ve added a jump button to this game, so Killzone fans can breathe easy about that miscue from the first game.

The game played well, but I thought the A.I. was kind of off a little, seeing that I didn’t die once. We now know that the game was on easy mode and the A.I. was toned down, though it would have been nice to see more aggressive enemies.

At one point, my squad partner told me to grab the rocket launcher on the floor and blow up a pile of Helghast weapons, and as I was aiming and preparing to shoot, I don’t think one enemy soldier came after me. But again, it’s just a demo the A.I. shouldn’t be this slow in the final game.

Of course, with any first-person shooter my favorite part is the online multiplayer, and Killzone 2 sounds like it’ll be a great online game. With up to 32 players, six different character classes (and you can even create your own), the use of vehicles, and online leader boards and tournaments, Killzone 2 online multiplayer is looking like it could keep up with the likes of Call of Duty 4 and, gasp, Halo 3.  For a trailer and more details on the multiplayer, please follow this link.

Don’t expect Killzone 2 to be labeled another “Halo Killer”, but do expect it to be one hell of a shooter and one of the better games coming out on the PS3 when it hits stores in early 2009.

Tags: Killzone-2, Playstation 3, PS3

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