KILLZONE

[Phantomfist]

I just picked this up the other day and boy is it fun!

Even though the story has a few nice twists to it, it essentially is another "bad guys(Helghast) invade, and a rag-tag group of good guys(humans) try to stop them". So if your looking for a really strong story line, look elsewhere.

Everything else about the game is pretty much a 10. The graphics are smooth and lush. The sounds are realistic. And the action is pretty damn intense most of the time. Plus, for once, I didn't even have to reconfigure the controller! Wahoo!

You start off with only one character. As you progress through the game, you unlock 3 others. At the beginning of each level, you get to choose which of these 4 characters you want to play thru that level. If you want to replay that level with a different toon, then you can. The remaining characters always tag along with you automatically.

Each character also brings something unique to the equation. The first guy seems to have better 'control' of the other characters. They seem to shoot better and are overall more deadly.

The chick has infra-red goggles which are extremely helpful on some levels. Plus she's smaller than the others, allowing her to enter certain places the others can't.

The tank guy has a really badass chain gun and can take a lot more damage than the others. But he's slow moving.

The final guy is a half-breed which allows him to bypass some Helghast security measures. This also let's him enter a few places the others can't.

Each level is broken up into smaller sections. Some of these sections have checkpoints, too. So when you die, and you will often, you restart either at the beginning of the section or at the last checkpoint.

Some of the levels are set up so you can only go 1 way. Others are more free roaming in nature. They range from being in the city to the jungle to the seashore to desert type regions. At least that's as far as I've gotten.

And each level is pretty damn big.

One of the nicest things is the way the Helghast react when shot at. Instead of them all knowing instantly where you are, they duck behind objects and they look around for you. I've cleared out whole areas with the sniper rifle and they never spotted me once. Even when you shoot one of them, it doesn't always know where you are. Often it takes several shots before it figures out where the shots are coming from, unless you are out in the open.

If one is chasing you, you can duck behind a rock and then hide in the weeds so it won't be able to figure out where you are. They just don't auto fire on you no matter where you are. It makes it far more realistic.

Sometimes they'll chase after you and you can ambush them. Other times they won't leave their cover and will jump out and fire a few rounds at you before ducking for cover again.

You always have to look out for snipers, too. Some of them will hide in dark areas and surprise the hell out of you. Others will be up in some rocks or debris and will take pop shots at you before hiding or moving to a new location nearby.

Just when things seem clear...BAM!

The multi-player options are also pretty cool. I don't have an internet account so I can only play the 2-player versions. They are a lot of fun.

So if you like FPS, then you will probably love KILLZONE.