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Uma das reviews mais fracas e detestáveis (só para chamar a atenção) feitas pela EDGE... já estamos habituados...


Some would have you believe that Killzone has no fans,‭ ‬just fanboys,‭ ‬mobilised by Sony’s promise of a technological blitzkrieg.‭ ‬That’s not entirely fair.‭

The first game,‭ ‬released in‭ ‬2004,‭ ‬created a cult of sorts that a smart PSP spin-off,‭ Killzone Liberation,‭ ‬galvanised in lieu of a proper sequel.‭ ‬The most physical game of its kind,‭ ‬it was a shooter made of metal while others dealt in plastic.‭ ‬Now the sequel’s here,‭ ‬though,‭ ‬it’s those genuine fans who will suffer it the most.‭

Because if Dead Space shows just what can be gained when you approach the familiar with a mind to making changes,‭ ‬Killzone‭ ‬2‭ ‬shows just what can happen when you don’t.

It opens as four years of marketing have led us to suspect‭ – ‬with thunder and lightning.‭ ‬From ISA carriers that point like daggers towards Helghan,‭ ‬home of man’s forsaken children the Helghast,‭ ‬leather-faced marines cling to fragile dropships as they swoop through the clouds.‭ ‬Orders are yelled and banter exchanged,‭ ‬until seconds later a stupendous blast rips up from the clouds below,‭ ‬filling the sky with wreckage.‭

Those that survive,‭ ‬among them Sgt Tomas‭ ‘‬Sev‭’ ‬Sevchenko‭ (‬you‭) ‬and his loyal squad,‭ ‬are‭ ‬greeted by further blasts of technical wizardry on the beach below.‭ ‬Then some more,‭ ‬and then some more.

Helghan is quite the cesspit,‭ ‬so awash with toxic particles you’d think someone‭ ‬made a snowdome from an ashtray.‭ ‬The Helghast,‭ ‬invisible behind their anime-Nazi armour,‭ ‬are products of the most advanced performance capture and procedural technology in gaming‭ – ‬and it shows.‭

With each wave they give a masterclass in squad-based tactical warfare,‭ ‬suppressing,‭ ‬flanking,‭ ‬f-ing and blinding with nary a breath in between.‭ ‬Your only choice is to hug the nearest surface‭ (‬with L2‭)‬,‭ ‬lean out‭ (‬with the right stick‭) ‬and snipe‭ (‬R2‭) ‬until your cover’s blown,‭ ‬be it by a new line of sight,‭ ‬a mischievous grenade or the ballsy athlete‭ ‬who spikes you with his blade.‭

mart and nimble,‭ ‬the Helghast like nothing more than someone foolish enough to hide.‭ ‬This intimate,‭ ‬sizzling combat feels a lot like that of FEAR,‭ ‬but is actually more like another game of the time:‭ ‬Criterion’s Black.‭

It shares that laudable desire to see you through a level without fuss,‭ ‬hindered only by the constant fear of a fatal mistake.‭ ‬A gun game in the truest sense,‭ ‬its bullets and ragdolls offer a literal take on the‭ ‘‬theatre‭’ ‬of war,‭ ‬a rare pleasure since GoldenEye.‭

And it gets extraordinary mileage from piling lots of bodies into simple spaces,‭ ‬letting cutting-edge AI do the rest.‭ ‬A quasi-tactical shooter,‭ ‬its action rivals any in Stalker or COD4.

But without the first game’s ambiguities,‭ ‬a sense of humour or even an ounce of‭ ‬intrigue,‭ ‬its story stinks.‭ ‬It’s so slight you could play the levels in random order to‭ ‬little ill-effect,‭ ‬and it assumes knowledge of everything and everyone,‭ ‬not once recognising the real-world echoes of its premise:‭ ‬an allied invasion of an enemy‭ ‬the allies themselves created.‭ ‬Instead,‭ ‬it settles for the opening act of Starship Troopers via Aliens and Saving Private Ryan,‭ ‬as if they were somehow fresher than Long John Silver’s toenails.‭

The fraught team dynamic is gone,‭ ‬as is Killzone’s neat trick of having a Helghast operative fighting by your side.‭ ‬The dialogue is functional,‭ ‬the motives obvious.‭ ‬And too much time is given to Rico Velasquez,‭ ‬the ISA’s version of the Cole Train.‭ ‬He’s rotten company,‭ ‬so foul-mouthed that you’ll wonder when gaming will overcome its‭ ‬latest obsession.‭

His squadmates,‭ ‬to their credit,‭ ‬hold him in equally low regard,‭ ‬his courage vastly outweighing his commonsense.‭ ‬But still,‭ ‬he’s infinitely harder on the ears than the Helghast,‭ ‬who aren’t exactly choirboys themselves.‭ ‬One day,‭ ‬technology like this will produce a performance worthy of an Oscar,‭ ‬maybe even Jean-Claude Van Damme.‭ ‬But not today.

Worst of all,‭ ‬Killzone‭ ‬2‭ ‬doesn’t just default to the genre’s worst impulses some of the time‭; ‬it does so whenever the fateful question’s asked:‭ “‬What now,‭ ‬Sarge‭?” ‬Answers include:‭ ‬get on that turret,‭ ‬marine‭; ‬grab that bazooka and take out that tank‭; ‬man that mech‭; ‬watch out for those sentry bots‭; ‬and rendezvous with Alpha Team and secure that LZ.‭

Sentry bots‭? ‬You must be joking.‭ ‬If you can’t think for yourself after so many millions of dollars have‭ ‬been spent,‭ ‬surely it’s common courtesy to make your clichés interesting.‭ ‬Not here,‭ ‬it seems,‭ ‬where half the chapters feel like multiplayer maps full of bots and random waypoints.

In fact,‭ ‬few story-driven games have been so much more dramatic in multiplayer.‭ Freed of its narrative shackles,‭ ‬Killzone‭ ‬2‭’‬s deathmatches openly celebrate the tight controls‭ (‬jumping now included‭)‬,‭ ‬hand-made environments and technical beauty of a‭ ‬game that is,‭ ‬almost exclusively,‭ ‬about popping someone in the face or blowing them to kingdom come.‭

Separate development of the multiplayer modes has paid dividends,‭ ‬the badge and perks systems adding distinctive RPG flavour to a uniquely hardcore team-based experience.‭

First impressions might be that everyone’s dying all of the time,‭ ‬but perseverance pays off.‭ ‬Thanks largely to its online play,‭ ‬Killzone‭ ‬2‭ ‬should find itself a fanbase no one can overlook.‭ ‬In singleplayer,‭ ‬it’s a testament to craft and imagination,‭ ‬if only because one is so immaculate while the other barely exists.‭ ‬It fights a great battle,‭ ‬it’s just a shame about the war.

7/10