Killzone Liberation

Though 2004's Killzone for PlayStation 2 may not be the most remembered by sci-fi first-person shooter, Killzone: Liberation for PSP is obliged to make a more lasting impression. For one thing, Liberation has almost zero to do with its PS2 predecessor from a gameplay perspective. It's still a shooter, but the view has been moved to an isometric, top-down view and the action itself has improved exponentially. This is a game that gives a great intense shooting action with a tough enemy opponents that do not lie down and die easily. Throw in an ad hoc competitive multiplayer component and co-op game for the whole campaign, and you've got a thoroughly excellent package.

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For those uninitiated to the Killzone universe, the series takes place in a futuristic society where humanity has taken to the stars. A militant subset splinters from society to form its own government about a planet called Helghan. But over time, this planet these people to something other than human - a race known as the Helghast. In Killzone, you were neck deep in the battle between the Helghast and the human race, fending off a Helghast invasion on a planet called Vetka. In Liberation, you go in the opposite direction. Picking up where the first game left off, you're once again playing as the human soldier Templar. Now the offensive, the human army going after the Helghast, and you will take on a variety of missions, as Templar, to bring down the enemy. In truth, there's not much story progression for the Killzone universe can be found here. The game uses a small amount of time to create the object of each mission, and there is a basic plot involving a pesky Helghast general named Metrac and some key members of the human political and military system is kidnapped. But mostly, the focus very much on the plot of Liberation, and not on storytelling.

Was the action is not so good, that would be a real problem. Fortunately, you will probably be too neck deep in fending off hordes of Helghast soldiers to care why you do it. Even at first glance Liberation resembles a Killzone-themed dungeon crawler, it is much a shooter, and a challenging one. You begin each level with a specific gun - you start out with a weak assault rifle, and as you play through the game you will unlock more powerful starting guns - and a basic mission objective or two. During Helghast will come at you in all forms, from groups of grunt soldiers to rocket-launcher-wielding evil to massive tanks. Killing them is challenging for a number of reasons, not least of which is that they are very smart. Although you will see occasional bad guys stand around in a stupid spot, just waiting to be shot, will most of the time enemies take cover the moment you start shooting at them. They will duck, they will escape, they will launch grenades at you to try and flush you out from cover, and they'll even shoot an exploding barrel if you happen to stand next to one.

Suffice it to say that the Helghast are very good at finding ways to kill you, so you have to be a good shot, as well as attention to the environment. This is not a run-and-gun shooter. You must be methodical in your movements, keeping an eye to cover points, knowing when and where to throw grenades, and basically just do not go into firefights with guns furious.

The shooting mechanics are handled very well in Liberation. There is no specific autoaim function, but when you point your gun in the direction of an enemy, your character will lock onto that enemy. This mechanic works no matter where an enemy is, so if enemies are upon you, will you point up, and if less, will you point there too. Little touches like rocket launchers and tank cannons know how to lock their fire-making aimed remarkably easier, as well.

That's not to say that the game can be a bit frustrating at times. Maybe it's an understatement. Although it is not cheap or broken, will have games on the PSP cause the same level of fury that Liberation's single-player campaign will. Because you need to find out the environment to survive a battle, you will have to do with a big trial and error. You will die in this game ... a lot. On the positive side, the campaign has a great checkpoint system that rarely forces you to play all very much a part of a mission. Of course there will be little consolation to those who are getting decimated by scads of Helghast troops on a regular basis.

Another interesting wrinkle to the gameplay is your ability to command non-player characters. Although you will not be accompanied by a computer-controlled ally on each mission, there are several sections where you want someone who works with you, and in most cases, it is an allied soldier named Rico. By pressing up on the PSP's directional pad, you can download a command menu that shows you exactly what you can make an ally do at this point. In most situations, you can just command them to take a specific firing position, but you can also order them to, for example, attack specific enemies and plant explosives in key locations. The AI does a great job of following orders and you will almost never have to give an order twice to get them to do what you want. Actually, the worst complaint you can say about the allied AI is that they have the ability to shoot you if you get in the way, and vice versa - and it will happen now and then.

As exciting as that can shoot, and so much depth and variety, as there is action, the gameplay is a remarkable failure. Specifically, the core function of design is simply not up to par with everything else. It's not that they are bad, as much as they are very linear and generic. It's a lot of getting from point A to point B scenarios, basic escort missions, and gameplay of this ilk. The basic level designs are good, but it is usually too clearly where to go at all times, to the point where the investigation is largely unnecessary. The only times you might get confused is when you mistake a part of the scenery for a hurdle when it is actually the way to the next area.

All told, the single-player campaign is very entertaining, but also fairly short and lacked a decent conclusion. If you're good, you can get all the way through in about four hours (though in real time, it will probably be more like twice the amount of post-death restart you have to do). But the campaign is good enough to play through multiple times, especially if you have a friend nearby to play it with you. Each time you complete a mission in the single-player, this mission to unlock the cooperative mode. Co-op play is not too terribly different from the single-player experience. The game does not try to ramp up difficulty by throwing more enemies at you, even if it does not give you more ammo pickups, meaning you'll have to be more careful not to waste it. Still, everything is funnier with a friend, and be able to go through the entire campaign willingly is a nice bonus.

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Further modes include a single-player Challenge Mode, and competitive ad-hoc multiplayer. The challenge mode frees a number of challenges each time you complete one of the campaign chapters. Such as basic target shooting and timed demolition missions are the norm here. These are well funny on their own, but by filling in and scored high on these missions, you earn points that go toward character upgrades in the campaign. During the initial screen where you choose your weapon, you can choose up to three of the unlocked upgrades to fight with you. Increased health, extra grenade slots and unlimited ammo bonuses are just some of the possibilities. What's especially cool about this is that different missions require different abilities, so that could change up which upgrades you use from mission to mission is extremely helpful.

The competitive multiplayer should be the best aspect of this game, but unfortunately it is limited at present. There are four player types: deathmatch, team deathmatch, assault, and Capture the Flag. For anyone who has played multiplayer shooters in the past decade or so, should these conditions be pretty straightforward. Functionally, the case is identical in multiplayer as it is in single-player, with the same weapons, same targeting functions, and the same strategies. It is designed for up to six players to play at once and you'll basically need as many people as possible to make the game fun. Play multiplayer with only one or two people are not as exciting as the maps are a little too big for such a small number of players. But what is unfortunate about multiplayer is that it is not online. The game only supports ad hoc play and game-sharing option allows no more than a few single-player demos. There is a download option that will allow you to get new content to the game, although the specific conditions and the availability of this substance has not been announced. According to the game's developer, will be more cards to go along with the six that come with the game, as well as a downloadable patch that will add infrastructure multiplayer to the game.

Ad-hoc multiplayer can be a lot of fun if you have enough people to play with.

Liberation presentation may not look like much at first, with its zoomed out camera and seemingly bleak setting, but as you get into the action, it warms up on you very quickly. Character models and animations are top-notch. The simple act of seeing characters running around and shooting is appealing enough, but watch them fly through the air after getting blown away by a large explosion is immensely entertaining. The game uses rag-doll physics to good effect. Occasionally you will see the bodies cut through areas they should not, but it is one of those rare cases where the rag doll look less ridiculous and more realistic. All throughout the game, frame rate keeps up, too. Especially large explosions tend to make it drop a bit, but overall the game runs quite smooth.

The game's audio is also very impressive. The soundtrack consists of the typical military march score as you would expect and it's actually a bit repetitive, but the sound effects are fantastic compared to what you normally find on the PSP. Guns sound great, and explosions sound even better. There are also some solid voice work from the supporting players. Mostly it's just Helghast soldiers screaming orders at each other, or just scream because of impending death, but the dialogue from your human cohorts is very good as well. The only thing slightly off is Rico. Seriously, how many times you shout, "Eat Lead, a ******!" before the words lose all meaning?

While the single player campaign is ultimately too short and devoid of history, and the multiplayer suffers from the lack of infrastructure plays, Killzone: Liberation is still an excellent and engaging shooter. Its tightly woven shooting mechanics and tough enemy opponents create some of the most intense battles you'll find in a game on the PSP and its great presentation and multiplayer modes duo gives it lots of longevity. Some people may be put off by the difficulty and the brevity of the game, but most will find a thoroughly unique and enjoyable experience in Killzone: Liberation.