Killzone Shadow Fall Preview: A Solid Shooter With A New Paint

Killzone: Shadow Fall was first unveiled at the PlayStation 4 reveal back in February. The Killzone franchise was always well-known for it’s visual fidelity and addicting multiplayer ever since the release of the Killzone 2 and 3 on PlayStation 3 a few years back. However, the series biggest issue is the linear pace and gameplay of the campaign that dragged the fun into the boring zone. So how does Killzone: Shadow Fall feel and play, as opposed to it’s previous predecessors? Let’s find out.

Presentation

The game is set 30 years in the future after the events Killzone 3. Two major factions are divided by a wall in a middle, however, a war breaks out between the Helghast and the people of Vekta, and this is where the story starts to take place. Since the game is set 30 years in the future Killzone: Shadow Fall presents itself in a totally new different way by introducing futurstic sky scrappers and floating buildings scattered across the planet. It’s an interesting vision and definitely gives the game’s a unique world of its own.

Killzone: Shadow Fall has a very distinct style, right away you can tell that the game has its own look and feel to it. Also, what’s nice about the visual presentation is that the developers have decided to move away from the dark and gray color pallet that Killzone 2 and KIllzone 3 carried and instead they introduced more vibrant and colorful universe. Even though Killzone: Shadow Fall has changed its art-style completely the game still looks and feels as a Killzone title, which is a good thing.

I have to say that Killzone: Shadow Fall is undoubtedly the prettiest game on the PlayStation 4 along with Infamous: Second Son. When I first saw the game reveal demonstration my jaw hit the floor due to the epic scale that the game manages to pull off, beautiful visual art-style and gorgeous particle effects such as explosions and bullets flying everywhere.

The only unfortunate thing is that the game will not be running at 60 FPS, but instead Guerrilla Games has told me they will try to get it locked at 30 FPS. This is a first-generation title for the PlayStation 4, and it looks amazing, so it’s quite scary to think or even imagine what later-generation games will look like after developers have truly mastered and harnessed the power of the PlayStation 4.

Gameplay

The playable demo that was at E3 let players take part in a jungle/forest level. The forest level was gorgeous, plenty of trees, military bases and of course Helghast to kill. The demo introduced a couple of new game mechanics and also showed-off how the game is more non-linear in terms of gameplay choices.

While the game still asked you to get from point A to point B the way you’re able to get from one place to another was much more open. How are you going to tackle the bad guys in the upcoming area? Are you going to use your drone to stun them, engage the enemy from a vertical stand-point, flank them on the side or are you going to run’n’gun straight in? This is the way the game is less linear, you have more choices on how and where you engage your enemies from as opposed to the two previous games where you just move from corridor to corridor.

One of the new interesting additions to the Killzone: franchise was the drone that follows you wherever you go from the beginning of the game all the way to the end. The drone can be assigned different commands such as putting up a shield in front of you to defend yourself from oncoming bullets, stunning enemies in an area with an EMP, direct assault and hacking terminals. The drone adds strategic freedom and more fun elements to the pace of the game.

I am happy to say that if you’re worried that the game has lost its “Killzone” feel in terms of gameplay I can safely reassure you that it hasn’t. It still feels like a Killzone game but with more choices, varied environments, strategic elements, beautiful visuals and best of all a large improvement to the gameplay. The weapons in Killzone: Shadow Fall felt great in terms of weight and power, I can’t wait to try out all the alternate attacks for each gun that the game has to offer.

My only few complaints during my play-through of Killzone: Shadow Fall was the loss of frame-rate in certain areas and controls that got a bit confusing due to the many new functions in the game such as assigning drone commands and launching a zip-line to platform across throughout the level. However, the developers did reassure me that the game will be optimized and locked at 30 FPS at launch, and the controls are still being worked on.

As far as the multiplayer goes, nothing was introduced or talked about in terms of the multiplayer details. However, the developer did tell me that the multiplayer is an immense component for Killzone: Shadow Fall with many new features and surprises that will be introduced at Gamescom on August 21st.

Conclusion

I was satisfied with Killzone: Shadow Fall and I am looking forward to playing the game when it launches later this year along with PlayStation 4. If you want to impress your friends with beautiful graphics and show-off the power of the PlayStation 4 then Killzone: Shadow Fall would be the perfect title. However, there are still many details that we don’t know about the game such as the multiplayer component and will the overall campaign play-out once the game is released. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for our review of Killzone: Shadow Fall in the coming months. For now, though keep your eyes peeled for more information and updates.