Review by: Tracy Erickson

Killzone 2 screams quality. It charts a new way forward with unparalleled quality in design. Rather than seeking transformation by introducing unusual elements, it loads up on the lessons of countless shooters and fires off a near flawless experience. What it lacks in originality, it counters with highly polished gameplay that synthesizes the best elements of the genre with an amazing sense of style.

Killzone 2 continues directly from the events of the first game, in which Helghast forces have been pushed back from the planet Vekta by ISA defenders. Unwilling to give the retreating Helghast military reprieve, the ISA have embarked on the invasion of the enemy home world, Helghan. Sev, a member of the newly formed Alpha Team, has been tapped to be among those who set down on the Helghan surface. His task: locate the leader of the Helghast, Scolar Visari, and take him into possession aboard the ISA capital ship the New Sun. Capturing Visari is imperative in preventing the detonation of a devastating nuclear weapon stolen from the ISA on Vekta. Working with his three squad mates Rico, Natko, and Garza, Sev begins his mission on the outskirts of the Helghan capitol.

The same cinematic panache for which the first game was praised has been amplified in this sequel. From the opening moments of Sev peering into the mirror of his bunk aboard the New Sun building through a long string of hard-hitting action sequences concluding with a rush on Visari's towering palace, it's abundantly clear this is a markedly different shooter. Killzone 2 achieves a superlative level of cinematic interaction. Scenes are portrayed not just with a great amount of detail, but an impressive sense of style. Small moments support grand set pieces in such a way that heightens the action. Twisting a valve with movements of the controller or sneaking through a refinery in the crux of a crucible are as exciting as mounting a massive attack on the Helghast military academy and pushing Visari to take his last stand at the palace.

Scale has a role in creating this epic appeal, yet it comes about more from the masterful way that Killzone 2 invokes atmosphere. Stunning visual craftsmanship lends an oppressive air to Helghan and its people. Fighting in the shanties of Pyrrhus City provides a sense of the hardship behind the masks of the enemy. The Helghast share an indescribable quality with history's most hated villains, the Nazis, both characterized by a sense of maniacal grandeur in their slow marches to destruction. Graphically, this is an amazing game; however, it's extraordinary not because of the high definition detail but rather in the way in which that visual palette is used to infer meaning and characterize the Helghast. Frankly, much of the game is shrouded in darkness, reducing the amount of visible detail. That does more to heighten the visual impact of the game than if every glossy texture were lighted up for display.