Part 2: Corinth River

• Chapter 1, with Blind Sally and nine-gear crow
  
• Chapter 1, no commentary

Time for some actual gameplay! The level divisions for Killzone 2 make a lot more sense than Killzone 1. Rather than having chapters that have anywhere between 2-4 stages that lasted anywhere between 3 - 20 minutes, they do a better job of segmenting them into single stages that generally take between 15 - 20 minutes to complete. So, yeah, it's not quite as erratic. Unlike the first game, there's also a lot of great ambient noise, background music, and dialogue throughout. Therefore, I will be including commentary and no commentary versions of each stage for those who want to hear all the gunfire and yelling in its proper glory--and the sound design and voice acting for this game is phenomenal.



No longer a spectator, the game opens up with us in Tomas Sevchenko's shoes. We're waking up from, hopefully, a restful sleep, about to join to invasion force. Note, we are part of the second invasion wave. The forces we saw in the opening cutscene that were blown to pieces? Yeah, they're not us. In fact, those poor souls didn't even make to ground. ISA High Command keeps it under wraps that they needed to hire a mercenary group, the Phantom Talon Corp, to clear out those initial anti-air arc cannons. Ah, well, such is the nature of war, no? Anyways, the way has been paved for the second wave, Battle Group Mandrake, to take the fight to Visari.



This opening imagery is great. Everything is bright, and clear, and white. It's all hopeful and triumphant. It's great! Truly, the ISA does have some of the most advanced military technology in Alpha Centauri--they're not expecting this war to be a long one. Also, the ISA Cruisers themselves sort of resemble daggers or swords, hovering, waiting to be plunged into their victims.

I love it!

Also, since Garza brought it up, I'll talk about it. Captain Narville is being name-dropped, so he must be important, but I like what they did with the Convoy names here. Knowing what we know about the Vektans already--specifically, their thirst for vengeance considering Earth told them to back off--it's fitting that they give their convoys names like Avenger, and as we'll see later, Punisher and Nemesis. The Vektans really do see what they're doing here as righteous. That doesn't necessarily make it right, or even good. That whole idea of Guerrilla dissecting the concept of the "good guy" and the "hero"? They sort of danced around it in Killzone 1, but they're not going to be shy about it here.

Moving on, remember how these cruisers are nuclear powered and have massive laser cannons? There's some great sci-fi stuff going on within them:



Specifically, big, purple, glowing energy shafts. Killzone has always been a sci-fi action series, but this game does a lot better job at hammering home that point than the first game did.



Anyways, regardless of whether or not you've played Liberation, the game makes it clear right out of the gates that the Helghast have stolen ISA nuclear weapons. Evelyn Batton, a character from Liberation, is here specifically to help track them (she helped develop the weapons). The player is given this moment to know that a) the Helghast have nukes, and b) Rico and Evelyn are characters in this game. Afterwards, Garza encourages you to move on.

HOWEVER

If you hang around, Rico and Evelyn continue to talk. This conversation isn't subtitled, so it's sort of a nice little hint of things to come for those players that stick around. I've transcribed the conversation here:


So, things to take away from that conversation:

• The objective is to capture Visari alive, in order to secure the Red Dust nukes.
  
• Rico is an asshole.
  
• Captain Narville is leading Avenger Convoy, is kicking ass, and we're going to be tasked to him.
  
• We need to support Punisher Convoy as they land at the Corinth River.
  
• Colonel Radec is leading Visari's defenses, and thus we're in for a world of hurt.

I find it interesting that our PRIMARY OBJECTIVES are set here as window dressing. Why aren't they in the forefront of the game? Why isn't Guerrilla Games shoving them into our face? Simple. We are grunts. We are cogs in the machine. Unlike in the first game, when Captain Templar was privy to privileged information directly from General Vaughton, Sergeant Sevchenko is not so fortunate. Colonel Templar speaks directly to Rico, who then filters down orders to us. The separation between the ground troops and their superiors, though present in the first game, is even more important here. Therefore, most players are going to just run ahead, eager to get to the shooting. After all, that's what we're here to do. Our superiors know what's going on, all we need to know is where to shoot (to paraphrase Pvt. Vasquez, from Aliens).

As an aside, you can eavesdrop on the other little groups of ISA soldiers in this room to catch snippets of their conversations. Nothing terribly interesting, so I haven't transcribed it. Most of it is people talking about the intensity of the Helghast's defense, or some generic space-mechanic jargon. Metrac and Lente get name-dropped in a conversation about their replacement, Radec, and there's conversation around difficulties regarding the new ISA Exo weapon--so there's a couple of hints to come.



Anyways, we are quickly introduced to the squad's dynamics in this cutscene. Rico is Rico. We know him. We love hate him. Garza and Sev appear to be friends, happy to joke around and hang out. Natko appears as an outsider. Making off-colour jokes and generally being a dick-head, but not in a way that endears us to him. Keep this all in mind, because these dynamics will be important to the game's story.



This image I kept purely because I thought it was funny that Jan's hand clipped through Rico when he patted him on the back. Killzone physics



Here's some cool sci-fi imagery. I mentioned how the ISA Cruisers have an automated Intruder deployment system, right? Well hot damn, this is awesome.

(As an aside, FoolyCharged pointed out that the first wave of the Vektan invasion looked surprisingly similar to Starship Trooper's invasion of Klendathu. I don't think they're wrong).



These things look cool. Look at these massive rails that bleed dozens and dozens of Intruders off the cruisers. I'd feel remiss if I didn't again point out the fact that the ISA Intruders don't seem to care too much about the safety of Vektan soldiers. Again, the Helghast dropships are basically flying tanks. They are pretty damn awesome for sci-fi VTOLs. The Intruders are a mess. Seriously, did anyone think about Vektan trooper safety? There aren't even seatbelts!



Thanks, Rico. Add that as another drawback of the Intruder, you get to breathe the exhaust of missile propellant as you are deployed from the cruisers.



Aaaaand, speaking of Vektan troopers flying off of Intruders, nameless ISA mook.



Sorry to jump around a bit, but I also want to revisit this remark. Almost as a throwaway gag, Killzone 2 does that thing that many bad stories do where they tell and don't show. We don't know what Sorin is. Presumably, another planet. Presumably, Natko saves Garza. Who cares? We don't see it. The moment Natko utters this remark we've already forgotten about it. What I find interesting is that this line is given to Natko to deliver. Natko is introduced with a "your mom" joke. This guys is, if anything, a bigger idiot than Rico. Seriously. We meet Shaun Natko, he makes a "your mom" joke, and does the whole "tell, don't show" thing. Why? Why, indeed. I don't think the player is supposed to like Natko. There seems to be a certain amount of contempt that the characters show towards Natko, and I believe the game is doing its darndest to make the player feel the same way. It's clever, and I like it.



Moving along, welcome to beautiful Helghan. Right away we're introduced to some important aspects of the planet. The fact that it has its own alphabet, for example:



Now, the Helghast speak, read, and write English. Hell, they've got English accents. As far as we're concerned, they're all a bunch of disgruntled Englishmen. That said, when Visari fanned the flames of nationalism, he also pushed for the creation of a specifically Helghast alphabet. It's largely a cipher for the English alphabet, but whatever. Many Helghans can't actually read or write the Helghast alphabet since it's still relatively new. In fact, some of the propaganda posters around Helghan translate to gibberish. Still, it fits the whole nationalistic theme and is reminiscent of America creating its own dictionary after freeing itself from Britain. Webster would be proud.




Helghan is also home to a lot of brutalist architecture. Note, that brutalist architecture doesn't come from the word 'brutal', but from the fact that concrete is the primary ingredient. Also of note, is that the Helghan buildings, much like the Helghan alphabet, takes a lot of queues from North Korea:



Also, speaking of the ISA Cruisers sort of looking likes swords?



Yeah. Pretty ominous stuff.

Moving along, we start to see what Killzone 2 does really well: make you feel like a part of a bigger force.



Alpha Squad is a group of four highly-trained elite military lifers. As I mentioned in the video, they are finely tuned killing machines, competent in a variety of weapons and explosives, able to drive all sorts of vehicles, ships, and spacecraft, on reserve to handle the most difficult of problems. Does this sound suspiciously like the main character in a FPS video game? I like that Guerrilla sneaks in lore reasons to justify the fact that the player character is going to be the most competent soldier on the battlefield. Anyways, our first task is to secure the beachhead so that the ISA Regulars with Punisher Convoy can land.

I like that the main focus is on the convoy itself. Alpha Squad is there as escort only, and it's up to us to clear the way. While the convoy is working its way in more or less a straight line, Alpha Squad is climbing all over the place, zig-zagging to make sure the road is clear. Take, for example, the abandoned Pyrrhus open-air market:



After clearing out the enemies, we can peer over the edge and see the convoy and its soldiers travelling along the route. Look at the road itself, at the grating--



--only moments later we find ourselves underneath it. Whether we're above or below, or on either side, our task is to make sure the Helghast aren't going to harass that convoy. While it's not that different from most FPSes that require you to go to a location and hit a button or go to a location and shoot a bad guy, the repeated focus on the convoy, over the comlink, and visually in the game, really helps ground you in the action.

Moving on, let's talk about action movie tropes:



Never give a side character a name. Never do this. Not ever. It just means they're going to die tragically/pathetically. In this case, poor Jeffries winds up stamped out under the boot heels of the Helghast.



This image I've pointed out because, although I like Garza and he seems like a decent guy, this idea of wiping out the Helghast is a recurring theme with the ISA. I mean, on one hand, this is a war and hurrah and all that. On the other hand, this invasion is one of vengeance, is against Earth's orders, and has been done in the hopes of making the Helghast more easy to control. These are our 'good guys', folks. It was easier to buy it when the Vektans were the ones being invaded, but the whole black and white morality thing is beginning to get a whole lot greyer.



To cap off this update's analysis, I just want to point out the game's art direction. I hesitate to condemn Killzone 2 as just another muddy sci-fi shooter, because Guerrilla appears to be doing something different here. It'll be more obvious in future games, but it's beginning to occur here. This game is largely black and white. Granted, much of Pyrrhus City is just shades of grey, but really, this game is primarily monochrome. The colour that we do see are just highlights here and there: the red from Helghast eyes, banners, and blood; the blue from ISA uniforms and arc cannon bolts; the green from gun sights; and the orange and yellow from explosions. These are the colours we see. Why? Hard to say. I have some thoughts, but I wont speak on them until we've seen more of the game.



The gameplay in Killzone 2 is much improved. It's a heavy game, in that the character feels very weighted and controls are rather sluggish compared to the twitch shooting style of Call Of Duty, but some people really like that. Some don't, which is why Guerrilla released a patch with Call Of Duty-style controls. For the most part, though, you feel rather weighted, giving the feeling that your character has some substance, helping to connect the player with the world of Killzone 2.

All the basic mechanics of Killzone 1 return, the shooting, aiming, crouching, and so on. Only, they feel a lot better. In addition, we no longer have to wait for prompts to appear to navigate around the game world. Instead, we have a jump button! Ground-breaking, I know. Guerrilla didn't include a jump button in the first game to add that sensation of weight to the player. Under the pressure of popular demand, they add in a jump button, and while it helps improve the experience, they manage to still make playing as Sev feel like it has some substance to it, so go Guerrilla Games!

They also do away with prompted melee attacks, allowing you to melee at will like in Halo or Call Of Duty. This is a very welcome change.

Also, we get this:



Cover and lean mechanics! As far as I can tell, Killzone 2 is one of the earliest FPSes to include such mechanics. When you crouch against cover, such as chest-high walls or corners, Sev will 'snap' against it. Think Gears Of War. From there, you can move against your cover. If you push forward on the control stick, you will lean out of cover and can fire upon enemies. Similarly, if you push towards the furthest side of the corner, you will peer around it. It's a fantastic mechanic simply because it's there. You do not ever have to use cover, but if you choose to, you can, and it's useful. The fact that it's not necessary to beat the game, though, really makes me happy because it means players can play according to their play-style and don't have to be forced into using a mechanic that doesn't work for them.



Guerrilla has also implemented a clever way of dealing with the problems of invisible walls. I mean, having an AI character open a door for you or hack a console to get to the next area isn't new. However, I like that there's such a focus on team-work to overcome physical obstacles. Having Garza gift you a leg up a high wall and then pulling him up? Gameplay-wise, it's just to prevent you from going ahead in the level before dealing with a current problem, but it's a great way of grounding the player in the game and making you rely on your team-mates. Without Garza, we quite literally wouldn't be able to succeed in this level. It helps that we actually see our character's hand reach out to help along our buddy.




Voiced by Ryan McCluskey, who was in the first Resident Evil film, and did bit parts in games such as Crysis 3 and Enslaved: Journey To The West. Also, an animated Dr. Who TV series with David Tennant, I guess?


Dante Garza is a pretty laid back kind of guy. He's not great with the whole military procedures thing, but he's good at what he does and is loyal to his allies. Garza's skills in Alpha hinge on his abilities with technology and accuracy with a rifle. As a result, he generally does the hacking and sniping. His skills and intelligence come from the fact that Garza came from a wealthier and more privileged background compared to the rest of Alpha--a fact he tries to hide by being purposefully disheveled and carefree.

Since Garza and Sev are old friends and work together so well, they will often be paired up when Alpha Squad needs to divide its forces.


Voiced by Noah Lee Margetts, a fellow who has a number of small roles in films such as Batman Begins, 1408, and Buffalo Soldiers. He has also done voices for the Vietcong series of video games.

Shawn Natko is a tool. I mean, okay, maybe we give him more flak than he deserves. He is also Alpha Squad's most experienced demolitions expert and probably their best hand-to-hand combat guy. That said, his constant "your mom" jokes and overall shite attitude really drags him down. There's not much to his backstory either. He's a military lifer, he has no aspirations to high command, and while he's more than happy to defend himself in combat, he doesn't share the same vitriol for the Helghast that other ISA soldiers have. For him, war is just a job, and he's there to follow orders--often while swearing and complaining about it because oh god shut up Natko.

That aside, Natko is extremely competent at what he does (as evidence by being on Alpha Squad) and occasionally shows acts of empathy and humility that would be otherwise surprising.


No! Don't give him a name! Don't do it! Aw, you offered to buy a main character a beer? You're only signing your own death warrant!




Helghast Tracked APC

No where near as sophisticated as the Hover APCs we saw in Killzone 1, but these tracked variants are still a force to be reckoned with. Their powerful forward armour has earned them the nickname 'The Bull', because the can bulldoze through concrete walls without much trouble to transport their troops--incidentally, it appears as they might have once been mining vehicles that were only fitted for combat due to the looming ISA invasion. We'll be seeing these in and around Helghan quite a bit.

I love the lore reason for why there are no hover APCs on Helghan. Apparently, the Helghast were so sure of their victory on Vekta, that they gave Lente's Third Army all the best and most advanced technology. Whatever was left is what we see on Helghan. What a waste, too, since Lente's Army turned out to be a gang of incompetents.


ISA Amphibious APC

Solid and reliable machines, with a decent amount of armour. They have machine guns to defend them, like their Helghast counterparts, but otherwise they lack the advanced armour that let the Helghast APCs bulldoze through concrete walls. Unlike the Helghast Tracked APC, where troops deploy from a frontward ramp, the troops on the ISA AAPC deploy from a rearward ramp.



ISA Archer Tank

The ISA Lancer tanks from the first game were great for getting around urban terrain, but not much else. The Archer tanks' treads improve their potential mobility over various rough terrains. Also, they're pretty damn powerful anyways, so regardless of terrain, they can get around pretty quick. It can keep up a solid 70kph on paved roads, and nearly 50kph on rough terrain. Not bad, not bad at all. Armed with rocket pods, AA guns, and a mounted machine gun, this tank is really meant more as an anti-personal vehicle. It's high speed and amphibious nature comes at the price of it lacking heavy armour, and against sufficiently armed foes, it doesn't fare well. Fortunately, ISA High Command intelligence revealed to them that they wouldn't be facing the heavy weaponry of Helghan Hover Tanks, so there was nothing to really fear!

Also of note, the Archer tanks have less direct firepower than the Lancer tanks, but are a simple to control two-person rig, which explains why Sev was easily able to handle most of the operations of the tank when the driver died at the end of this first video.


Helghast Tank

Similar to the Helghast APC, this vehicle is also modified mining machinery. The rear of the vehicle is lightly armoured compared to the rest of it, so it is deployed in conjunction with ground forces to make up for its deficiencies. Similar to the ISA Tank, is has twin multi-rocket launchers, a machine gun, and occasionally a mounted machine turret.



_{Returning weapons:}

A quick note on these weapons, since we've seen them before.

• The Helghast StA-52 is slightly more accurate, but lacks the shotgun secondary fire and has a slightly smaller ammunition capacity. It's no longer the most commonly found gun on the battlefield, and the presence of more ammo for other weapons means it's no longer necessary as a back up, slightly weakening its overall utility.
  
• The ISA M82 is more accurate and has an increased rate of fire. However, it also lacks its secondary function. Though whereas the StA-52 doesn't suffer too much from the loss of a single shotgun shell, the lack of the underslung grenade launcher is a big blow to this rifle. That said, it's still a brilliant gun, and remains incredibly useful despite its reduced lethality.
  
• The ISA M194 Fragmentation Grenade has a much faster cook time. Oh, thank goodness. Whereas its role in the first game was a bit of a novelty, it's actually a truly important component of our arsenal here.
  
• The M32 Combat Knife is the same one we saw Luger use in the first game. However, it's much more useful here, since we also have it as a melee option aside from beating people with the butts of our guns. The big difference here is that is does massive amounts of damage and no longer needs a melee 'prompt' to trigger. Note, that it only damages human targets. You cannot kill a tank with the knife nor can you blow up an explosive barrel with it. That said, this knife is so overpowered that it makes it possible to break certain segments of the game and shatter otherwise difficult battles.

I also enjoy the touch added to assault rifles when they are low on ammunition: as your clip nears empty while you are firing, you will hear a loud clicking noise just before you run dry. This clicking noise signifies that your gun will need to be reloaded soon. I'm not sure if this is a feature in real-world guns, but I love it hear as a nice aural reminder of your weapon's state.



StA-14 Battle Rifle

A classic Stahl Arms weapon that has been around for over 50 years. Long used in the service of Helghan (and also in the service of terrorist groups), it is seen as an honour to carry such a classic firearm into battle. It's accurate, pierces armour, and sports the same stylish helical barrel that is seen on the most iconic of Stahl Arms guns--

--but I don't like it. I don't like the iron sights, I don't like the rate of fire, and I don't like the way it handles. I won't be using this gun, because it doesn't mesh with my playstyle. That's not to say I always dislike it, because I rather like it in Killzone: Mercenary. However, this is not that game. So I do not use it.



VC9 Rocket Launcher

Manufactured by Visari Corporation, this is the Helghast's answer to the ISA's M80 Rocket Launcher that we saw in the first game. However, whereas the M80 will eventually get an upgrade that gives it lock-on capabilities, the VC9 pretty much always remains as a single-shot dumb-fire weapon. Not to knock it, or anything, as it's effective at what it does, but there's just nothing particularly special about it. We'll always have this gun when we need it in the game, but otherwise it's not something to get too excited about.


M4 Revolver

Manufactured by the ISA. It's a six-shot .357 magnum revolver. It deals heavy damage but suffers from a slow rate of fire. This gun is standard issue side-arm for the ISA forces invading Helghan. This gun is okay. I use it in single-player, because the weapon system in Killzone 2 constrains you to one rifle-type gun and your side-arm, rather than the three guns of whatever you want in Killzone 1. However, its slow fire rate drives me up the wall, and I'll swap out for the faster-firing Helghast Pistol whenever I come across it. That said, this gun works well enough and the fact that it has infinite ammo boosts its utility. It's quite devastating in multiplayer, though, as it only takes two or so shots to kill a player.


Emplaced StA-3 Light Machine Gun

The Helghast equivalent of the ISA MOMAG we saw in the first game. As this gun is emplaced, it's more accurate than StA-3s usually are--you may remember the StA-3 as my favourite Helghast LMG in Killzone 1. Anywho, the addition of infinite space bullets and bulky armour plating means it can overheat. However, you can also take cover behind the plating to heal or wait for it to cool down! It's not 100% effective, though, so Helghast can still shoot you if they attack from the right angle.

I'd have more positive things to say about this gun, but it's actually more of a deathtrap than any real benefit in the game. I mean, if you're playing on Recruit or Trooper mode, it's fine. Once you get up to Veteran and Elite difficulty, though, it just makes you a massive target. Also, it's bugged. Seriously. While mounted on the gun, your screen will not turn red or blur as you take damage. Also, since you'll be laying down the gunfire, you won't be able to feel the controller vibrate while you take hits. Therefore, you have no real way to tell if you're taking damage while on the gun, meaning you'll often die before you can identify any danger and dismount.

The more you know!



Alpha Squad concept art:





Also, crow noted that Disney apparently still existed in the far flung future. That comes from Natko's line here:



It's a paraphrase of this particular Disney song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bWyhj7siEY

Uh. No further comment.