REVIEWS
No one could have suspected that the sequel to 2004's Killzone would be this good. Killzone 2 is a tremendous package, offering an exciting campaign and terrific competitive online play, neither of which create new paradigms for first-person shooters, but rather set new standards in subtle but significant ways. From groundbreaking visuals to well-crafted multiplayer maps, most of Killzone 2's individual elements stand out in a crowded genre, making its meager attempts at storytelling easy to ignore. PlayStation 3 owners looking for a shooter to keep them busy for the rest of 2009 and beyond need look no further: The fierce action will keep you glued to your television screen for some time to come.
What makes Killzone 2's single-player campaign so much fun? First and foremost, the weapons are a lot of fun to shoot, even the standard assault rifles that form the core of your loadout. The M82's effective scope makes zooming in on your target a breeze, yet this rifle is effective at close range as well, establishing itself from the beginning as a formidable firearm. The LS13 shotgun is also powerful and rewarding to fire; though you may only shoot off a foe's helmet with other weapons, you'll watch entire heads explode with a single blast from this close-range powerhouse. The bolt gun is another favorite, skewering enemy soldiers onto surfaces and exploding a short moment later. Though you're traversing a sci-fi setting, your weapons are decidedly modern-day, from the sniper rifle to the vicious flamethrower, with one exception: the lightning gun. This mighty instrument showers enemies with overpowering jolts of electricity, and though it's not available for long, it makes short work of robotic and humanoid foes. Each of these weapons feels just right; fantastic spurts of blood, outstanding animations, exquisitely detailed weapon models, and explosive sound effects fuse seamlessly and give a satisfying sense of impact every time you land a shot.
Although there's a great variety of weaponry, you won't encounter that many different kinds of enemies as you fight your way across the war-torn landscapes of the planet Helghan. As in the original Killzone, your enemies consist largely of Helghast soldiers, yet though this limited selection led to monotony in the past, an assortment of factors in the sequel hold tedium at bay. The action is constantly pushing forward, leading you from one quality scripted event to the next and pitting you against bright AI opponents that have a remarkable grasp of battlefield tactics. These soldiers put up a fight and exhibit authentic behavior as you rain bullets on them. If you set your sights on a soldier peeking from behind cover and fire off a few rounds in that direction, he'll patiently wait until all signs of fire have vanished. Helghast will flank you and shoot blindly from behind cover, and should you toss a grenade in their direction, they'll quickly scatter. You'll normally be fighting alongside a computer-controlled teammate or even entire squads of fellow infantry. Enemy AI is just as concerned with your comrades as it is with you, so you'll never feel as if you have a bull's-eye plastered on your forehead, as is common with many other team-based shooters. As a result, Killzone 2's thrilling large-scale battles unfold dynamically and offer a legitimate challenge while rarely feeling unfair--a frustrating rocket-heavy final battle serving as the only exception.
Some excellent turret sequences and other segments also provide welcome variations on the shooting theme. At one point, you'll climb into a robotic shell and mow down infantry and tanks with machine gun fire and rockets. The way your transparent protective shield exhibits cracks as you take damage and the remarkable fire and smoke effects that light up the screen add to the excitement of the level. In another fun and visually stunning sequence, you'll use an antiaircraft turret to take down squadrons of enemy fighters. Even operating a standard turret is more appealing than you would expect, which is a result of great map design and well-scripted enemy entrances. If you're just using your standard arsenal, missions are diverse and engaging. You'll take aim at tanks (and in one boss fight, a hovering aircraft) using Killzone 2's potent rocket launcher, and you'll fight your way through a besieged air base in which winding corridors and intersecting passages have you battling multiple enemies on multiple levels.
Most levels take their cue from the usual first-person shooter formulas, and though it takes place in the spacefaring future, Killzone 2 feels more akin to a modern-day day FPS by way of its standard weapons and mostly humanoid enemies. It's an interesting blend of two disparate sensibilities that works far better than in the original, and it's further ripened by gameplay touches that feel authentic within that framework. Movement and turning speeds have a real feeling of weight, which is appropriate considering the heavy armor burdening you. This can make the controls feel somewhat sluggish at first, given that you take a moment to gather momentum. It doesn't take long to get accustomed to this sense of overall bulkiness, though, and it's consistently delivered across multiple mechanics. For example, when you jump, the way that you bend into the leap and cushion the landing with another slight crouch feels surprisingly realistic. That weight also informs movement in and out of cover. Killzone 2's cover system is solid, and it never removes you from a first-person viewpoint. Though some objects can obscure your view if you try to take potshots from behind them, sticking to cover and leaning out from behind walls is generally effective and intuitive.
Whether you go for a pop-and-shoot approach or just gun your way through, the mission design keeps you constantly moving from one objective to the next. The quick pace is one of Killzone 2's finest facets; battles don't wear on too long, and they aren't so brief as to be anticlimactic. Like many other shooters, mission objectives often involve turning a crank or pushing a button. In Killzone 2, this may mean rotating the controller to simulate the onscreen activity. These moments feel unnecessary and ironically disrupt the sense of immersion, but as tacked-on as they are, the actions are too brief to be especially annoying. You'll also use your gamepad's motion sensitivity to stabilize the sniper rifle, though the implementation here is subtle and therefore relatively harmless.
It's a real pity that there is so little context for the exceptional action. If you're familiar with the original Killzone, you'll at least have an idea why the ISA (International Strategic Alliance) is attacking the Helghast homeworld; if not, it's clear that as Thomas Sevchenko, you are on the side of the good guys--just not clear why they are the good guys. The dialogue is rudimentary (a discussion regarding sandwiches jumps immediately to mind), the characters forgettable, and the plot serves purely as a thin framework to move you from one environment to the next. Yet the cutscenes are top-notch, and unlike their counterparts in fellow PS3 shooter Haze, there's nothing intrinsically offensive or wearisome about the fist-pumping grunts at the core of the story. The story isn't deep or involving--it's just there, neither enhancing nor diminishing Killzone 2's action.
That action is enhanced by groundbreaking visuals that elevate Killzone 2 to the head of its class. Both technically and artistically, this is a real stunner. You'll first notice the obvious expressions of its technical prowess: environments jam-packed with objects and textured architectural details, pipes and crumbling rebar jutting from dilapidated buildings, and gorgeous lighting that drenches market squares and sandy battlefields with an incandescent glow. As you peel away the visual layers, your appreciation will only grow. Soldier animations are the best in the genre: Enemies move so fluidly during battle, and shift from cover to firing stance so smoothly, it's clear that meticulous attention was given to making each limb move authentically. Even the smallest details are striking. Raging fires react to the wind as it blows through the level, lightning flashes across the gloomy skies, and billows of smoke so thick you could choke on them cloud your view--but never so much as to be a gameplay annoyance.
These visuals coalesce beautifully to give Killzone 2 a cohesive look that relies as much on its art design as it does on its technology. A subtle grain filter, a good amount of motion blur, and deep color saturation give most levels a dank, overcast ambience, and asymmetrical architecture and other small stylistic touches make Helghan feel more like a grim alternate-universe Earth than a completely foreign world. The sound design offers an equally intense palette. Explosions are obnoxiously loud, and the din of gunfire spreads across the map. The largest battles, such as one that rages across a decrepit bridge, sound intensely chaotic, and the crack of lightning bolts on Blood Gracht may cause you to jump out of your seat. The stormy soundtrack rages at all the right moments but gets a bit overwrought, which befits the hammy voice acting more than it does the layered sound effects.
Although the campaign is over in eight or nine hours, many levels are eminently replayable thanks to tough enemy AI and multiple difficulty levels, and the game makes it easy to revisit specific sequences within its mission menu. But what gives this shooter legs is its fantastic online play, a fun and competitive extravaganza that issues a constant stream of benefits. Like the most recent Call of Duty games, Killzone 2 rewards you with bonuses as you play, which in this case can mean new weapons, extra grenades awarded upon respawning, and most intriguingly, entire classes. This is done not only via a leveling system that pushes you ever closer to the next reward, but also with ribbons earned by completing specific tasks, such as getting a certain percentage of your team's kills. These bonuses are earned separately from leveling, which makes for two layers of online play enhancements to keep you ever addicted.
These dividends flow in a seemingly endless current, though they aren't the only facet of online play that will keep you gripping your controller; the team-based gameplay itself is outstanding, which serves as reason enough to stick with Killzone 2. The modes themselves offer few surprises, what with variants on Team Deathmatch (Bodycount), Conquest (Capture and Hold), and Capture the Flag (Search and Retrieve), among others. Rather, matches are unique because these modes are strung seamlessly together, forcing teams to move from one objective to the next with barely a breather in-between. Up to five modes mesh into a single game, which keeps teams on their toes and spreads hotbeds of action about the maps. In a single match, you're likely to band with teammates in an exposed courtyard, navigate tight walkways as battles rage in the artificial gulley just beyond, and defend an objective in a claustrophobic alcove. It's unlikely that you'll have trouble finding players online to join you in one of Killzone 2's 32-player engagements, but should you be so inclined, you can fill out the games that you host with up to 15 AI-controlled bots. You can even practice offline in one-off matches with those same bots if you prefer.
The eight maps included are exceptional, largely because they are flexible enough to make every mode feel like a natural fit for the precise layouts. Aspects such as the varying spawn points of the propaganda speaker in Search and Retrieve, and the vulnerable locations of capture points in Capture and Hold, provide focused hot spots and send you to every nook and cranny of the maps. Be prepared to think vertically because the pathways wind up stairwells, through hidden tunnels, and across balconied walkways. The addition of techniques available to each of Killzone 2's seven classes makes the ensuing action even more dynamic. An engineer's turrets can make Pyrrhus Rise's natural chokepoints even more treacherous, whereas a cloaked enemy may pounce on you as you navigate Tharsis Depot's constricted walkways. All the while, visual flourishes such as floating embers on Visari Hammer and distant artillery fire on Salamun Market keep the mood oppressive.
Additional features flesh out the robust online play. You can join other teammates in a squad, a la Battlefield 2 and Enemy Territory, a feature that lets you coordinate attacks with ease. Full support for clans and clan challenges should make Killzone 2 a natural destination for competitive teams, and you can use killzone.com to schedule clan matches and tournaments. But whether you're a lone wolf or a clan enthusiast, you'll be happy to find a mostly smooth online experience, with only rare and short bouts of visual slowdown and online lag. In light of this extraordinary suite of online options, it's a pity that there is no cooperative play, and the single-player campaign seems ripe for such an addition, given that you're usually accompanied by an AI teammate.
You'll have to look to the inevitable Killzone 3 to find out if developer Guerilla can dig any diamonds out of this series' rough narrative. Otherwise, Killzone 2 is an exceptional first-person shooter, not because it does anything particularly new, but because it does everything extraordinarily well. There's certainly no doubting its graphical superiority, but though its moody visuals invite incessant superlatives, it's the tight, electric action that will make this an off- and online haven.
PREVIEWS
Killzone 2 Updated Hands-On
Because so much of the gaming public's attention is focused on scrutinizing every Killzone 2 screenshot to see whether the graphics will stack up to that infamous E3 2005 trailer, it's all too easy to forget that it's a real, honest-to-goodness game with a real, honest-to-goodness release date not far off. Sony recently reminded us of this by giving us the opportunity to play through the first six chapters of the campaign. What may not surprise you is that, yes, Killzone 2 is an absolute stunner in motion. But if you haven't been following the progress of the game, you'll be pleased to know that it's also an intense and exciting experience with the potential to work alongside Resistance 2 to provide a serious one-two punch of PlayStation 3-exclusive shooters.
Whereas the first Killzone allowed you to play as a number of Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) members over the course of the game, Killzone 2 drops you into the shoes of a gruff soldier named Sev and keeps you there for its duration. Throughout the campaign, you'll follow Sev and his similarly rough-and-tumble Alpha Squad buddies as they push deeper into the Helghast home planet in an opposite scenario of the invasion that occurred in the first game. Sev isn't the most vocal guy in the world, but you'll hear plenty of quips from teammates like jokester Dante Garza and the perpetually vulgar Rico Velasquez. Most of the story unfolds in the heat of battle via dialogue delivered from these squadmates, though occasional cutscenes give you fleeting glimpses of what's going on deep within the Helghast quarters.
One thing becomes immediately apparent when you begin Killzone 2's campaign: This is not an easy game. The first chapter, Corinth River--an area Sony has shown several times before--drops you right into a heated firefight with no shortage of heavily armed Helghast soldiers trying to take you out from scattered perches. It feels like every balcony, bridge, and window has a pair of glowing red Helghast eyes staring down at you. Starting you off like this seems like Killzone 2's way of saying that running and gunning won't cut it; you're going to learn to be patient and deliberate with your targets, and you're going to learn right away.
To do this, you'll need to become good friends with the game's cover system. It's a sticky cover mechanic where you pull L2 to snap right onto nearby walls or low barriers. From there, you have the standard move set that includes leaning into a doorway or popping up over a barricade, with the ability to look down your gun's iron sights to help you get a bit more precise. What makes this system unique and challenging is that you remain in the first-person perspective at all times, so your vision is partially obscured as you stay out of harm's way. In a third-person shooter you can see almost every target thanks to a wide camera, but here you'll need to poke your head up fast and get to shooting even faster--making that initial moment when you leave cover that much more thrilling.
The cover system is less critical in close quarters when you don't have Helghast soldiers trying to kill you from every which way. The second chapter in the campaign, Blood Meridian, trades in Corinth River's expansive industrial shipping yards and warehouses in favor of tight urban alleyways. In this locale you can become a bit more mobile, charging through the narrow corridors with more close-quarters weaponry, such as shotguns, submachine guns, and your trusty infinite-ammo pistol. But before you get too comfortable, Killzone switches things up in the next chapter, Visari Square, by pitting you against a seemingly endless flood of Helghast in a series of prolonged standoffs. One of these is a small, desperate scuffle with you and two squadmates in a small alley trying to fend off incoming Helghast for 10 or so minutes. However, that's quickly followed by a huge battle in a wide-open city square where you and dozens of newly reunited squadmates need to hold down the fort as Helghast foot soldiers, tanks, and walking piles of metal and Kevlar known as "heavies" come at you in wave after wave.
The fire effects, blood-splattered screen, and red enemy eyes really pop from the bleak gray backgrounds. These two moments are a nice little microcosm of the way Killzone 2 keeps you guessing by sharply switching up the scale and intimacy of battles. Later chapters perform a similar trick by quickly altering the setting. The first few hours of the game will be spent running through demolished cities, but later you'll find yourself in different locales like an elaborate Visari palace and a windswept mining town that wouldn't feel entirely out of place in a Star Wars movie.
Fights tend to last a while due to clever AI on the part of the Helghast soldiers. They seem to have attended the same school of cover techniques you have, because they'll be spending just as much time behind crates and walls. What makes things interesting is that their behavior seems to change as the odds of their survival are whittled down. You'll see them get brave in a group and pop up quite often, but when they're in a bad spot they'll stay put and frantically blind fire while defiling your good name.
Of course, you do have teammates alongside to lend you a helping hand at nearly every point in the game. It can be anywhere between one and several dozen at once, but the ebb and flow of battle is something you determine on your own since you're generally taking the lead and letting the others follow you. You won't need to worry about any sort of squad commands, but a bit of teamwork is required when a buddy goes down. In situations like this, you'll need to pull out your trusty medic gun and zap him back to health with a quick spark of life. It's an oddly simple mechanic, but a critical one because your buddies are expert shots who help a lot in battle. Along with constant banter, this helps to provide a feeling of belonging to a greater group despite the fact that you're taking the fight into your own hands most of the time.
Finally, with this being Killzone 2, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the graphics--or more specifically, how awesome they are. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say Killzone 2 is the best-looking console game we've seen. The use of lighting is probably the most impressive of the game's technical feats: with so much of the game taking place in demolished urban centers with gray steel, concrete, and asphalt, those moments when you're flushed with color are extremely striking. This might include an orange street lamp, the blue glow of a faulty electrical tower, or the green haze in a sewer tunnel, but the way it all reflects off nearby objects like your gun and character models looks terrific. Add in sharp textures, great smoke and explosion effects, terrific depth of field, and an ominous sky that looks like the world might cave in at any moment and you've got a combination of technical and artistic brilliance that's hard to understate. Best of all: the framerate does a good job of keeping up, with the only noticeable hitches arriving during an autosave between checkpoints.
If you were to nitpick the presentation, most people's attention would probably fall on the audio. While the sound effects and music are both great, the voice acting could give Gears of War's Delta Squad a run for its money in terms of smoldering, manly rage. In fact, it can often be difficult to separate one gruff voice from another when your vision isn't fixed on a squadmate's face. It's not exactly an abrasive fault, but it does stick out when you consider how stellar the rest of the presentation is.
Small gripes aside, we had a thoroughly enjoyable experience with Killzone 2's single-player campaign. The combat is intense, the visual aesthetics are amazing, and the level of difficulty provides a rewarding challenge. It seems that PlayStation 3 owners will have a lot to look forward to when the game is finally released. You can expect that to happen on February 27.
Killzone 2 Multiplayer Beta Hands-On
While Sony already has Resistance 2 in the bag this winter, there's no doubt that two triple-A shooter franchises are better than one. Insomniac's World War shooter already has its fair share of fans, but the anticipation for Killzone 2 in February is possibly even greater. The long-awaited follow-up to the PlayStation 2 original will finally launch next year, and as is becoming customary for the genre, Sony has issued a multiplayer beta for the game. We got our dirty little mittens on said code, and wasted no time shooting up the other testers who were populating the servers.
The Killzone 2 beta offers a generous amount of what we'll get on the finished Blu-ray, with three of the eight maps and all of the game modes that will ship next year. The beta also offers the first proper introduction to the class system, which allows players to combine skills and specialise in areas that suit their particular playing style. Then there's the ability to group up into clans of four, allowing you to build a team that supports each other with the different abilities on offer. Combined with support for up to 32 players per map, Killzone 2 multiplayer can be hectic but also highly tactical, and it's an encouraging sign for the full multiplayer offering next year.
Like the original game, Killzone 2 has a very distinct feel to it, with environments, characters, and weapons that feel heavy and robust. You start out with a standard assault rifle, which is much more effective than most default FPS weapons, as well as a pistol and a set of grenades. So far, standard FPS, but the game offers little in the way of extra weapons and ammunition on the battlefield. Your only real option is to take weapons from your fallen enemies, or rifle-butt them if you get close enough. The health system is regenerative, but if you do run out of health you have 10 seconds to be revived by a medic, or for the enemy to finish you off.
The class system is Killzone 2's defining feature, and it allows you to specialise the more you play the game. There are seven different classes to set yourself up in, most of which will be familiar to shooter veterans, such as rifleman, engineer, scout, medic, tactician, assault, and saboteur. The rifleman offers better firepower, the engineer can set up automated turrets, the scout can use camouflage, and the medic can revive downed allies. The other classes are slightly different from the standard FPS--the tactician can throw smoke grenades that act as respawn points, the assault class has better armour, and like a similar class in Team Fortress, the saboteur can disguise himself as a member of the opposite team. What's more, you can choose to specialise in up to two of these classes, which allows you to hedge your bets as well as create someone fairly unique, even in a 32-player game.
Developers Guerilla were kind enough to include every game mode from the finished game in the beta. There's a standard team deathmatch mode in the form of Body Count, but it's a shame to see that there's no option for an every-man-for-himself variety. Capture the flag is called Search and Retrieve, with a Search and Destroy variant turning the tables with explosive results. Finally, Assassination mode sees one person given the role of VIP while everyone on the team tries to keep them alive. While all of these game modes have been seen before, the Warzone option allows the host to change game types without ever having to come out to the lobby, and it's this option that's certainly the most popular online.
With support for up to 32 players, Killzone 2 can get fairly hectic, so it's good to see that clan support has been implemented even on the beta. You can group into teams of four, allowing you to share the class types as well as communicate directly with one another over voice chat. It's also encouraging to see just how many matches online reach their full capacity, with little if any impact on the speed of the game. The maps themselves certainly seem built for this number of people, with Salamun Market and Blood Gracht in particular offering some particularly sprawling streets and multiple levels to fight on, while Radec Academy is much tighter and suited to fewer players.
You can group together in clans of four, spreading out skills from the class system and communicating via voice chat. Killzone 2 has a distinctive look to it, but the multiplayer maps don't really give the engine much chance to show off. There are lens flare effects and the weapons have plenty of detail to them, but the environments are very static with no movable objects or vehicles. The sound is impressive though, with some really meaty weapon effects from the standard sidearms and automated turrets. And while we sometimes had trouble getting into multiplayer games, the lobby system was quick and painless, allowing us to get into the action immediately after connecting.
The Killzone 2 beta offers a promising first look at what will be a very important part of the overall retail package. There's plenty to like about the class system, and while the skills themselves are nothing new to the genre, the way in which they're rewarded certainly is novel. We also like the clan system, which looks like it will offer some sense of teamwork in the huge 32-player games. Killzone 2 is due for release in February 2009 on the PlayStation 3, and we're as excited as ever about playing the finished game.
GC 2008: Killzone 2 Multiplayer Hands-On
Guerrilla gave us some hands-on multiplayer time with its upcoming shooter at Leipzig, and we jumped headfirst into the bloodbath.
Killzone 2 was one of Sony's key titles at E3 2008, and at the show details on the multiplayer mode were revealed by the game's senior online designer, Eric Boltjes. Killzone 2 has some interesting options available for multiplayer, including customisable character classes, match settings, squads, and community integration with the game's official Web site at killzone.com.
In addition to being able to tweak match settings, you'll have the choice of five different mission types: assassination, bodycount, capture and hold, search and destroy, and search and retrieve. You can also combine mission types when playing; for example, you might play one round of assassination, followed by search and destroy, culminating in a tiebreaking round of search and retrieve.
Boltjes revealed a new multiplayer feature at Leipzig including AI bots. They'll look like and mimic the behaviour of regular competitors and will be available in offline and online matches. In addition to standard run and gun duties, bots will also be able to complete mission objectives, and have access to the same abilities and weapons as regular players. We got some hands-on time with the game but unfortunately didn't get a chance to see any AI participants in action.
Killzone 2 supports up to 32 players, and has eight maps that are designed for between either 2 to 16 players, or 16 to 32 players. You'll be able to have any combination of players on any map, but be prepared for some fast-paced, close-quarters battles if playing on smaller maps with large teams. There are several spawn points available in each map, depending on the size and once you've captured them they'll be available for your team to spawn to. You'll also be able to spawn directly to your leader's position and straight into the heart of battle (if he's doing his job properly).
The first map we tried was one of the smaller ones, and we joined one of the two five-man sides. The level fit the look and feel of what we've already seen of Killzone 2 with the action taking place in a battle-scarred warehouse. There were several levels in the stage with gantries above us and staircases leading down to several underground basements. We started off as a standard ISA soldier, equipped with an assault rifle and sidearm. The rifle worked effectively at short range and we were able to snipe a few enemies across the way using the gun's sights.
We then moved on to a much larger map, designed for up to 32 players, and the level featured a prominent, central outdoor courtyard. This time around we chose a Helghast engineer but combined his abilities with another class to be able to deploy sentry guns and call in AI-controlled air support. Depending on your class you'll have access to other abilities such as being able to heal others (medics) or repair equipment (engineers). Throwing a beacon directs air support in, and the airship will hover over the beacon's coordinates for a short time, attacking any enemies in the immediate vicinity. Because it needs line of sight it's only useful in maps with outdoor areas. Sentry guns, on the other hand, can be deployed in any part of the map and will keep watch until being destroyed by enemy troops. The objective in this map was to assassinate an enemy soldier, chosen seemingly at random by the game. The target's name and health will be displayed on every player's HUD, which makes the pace of each round a bit more hectic. After each round, the game will randomly select another assassination victim.
There were a further six maps that we didn't get a chance to look at but expect those to offer a healthy range of variety and size. If eight maps doesn't sound like a whole lot to you, Guerrilla told us that more are being planned for distribution over the PlayStation Network postlaunch. If you can't wait that long to get your hands on Sony's upcoming off-world shooter, a public beta program is also planned before launch.
Killzone 2 is on track for a February 2009 release, exclusively on the PlayStation 3.
Killzone 2 Unlockables
Trophies
Complete each condition to get the allotted Trophies. There are 44 Bronze Trophies, 4 Silver Trophies, 3 Gold Trophies, and 1 Platinum Trophy.
| Unlockable | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Corinth Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Corinth River on any difficulty level |
| Blood Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Blood Meridian on any difficulty level |
| Visari Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Visari Square on any difficulty level |
| Salamun Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Salamun District on any difficulty level |
| Bridge Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Salamun Bridge on any difficulty level |
| Suljeva Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Suljeva Village on any difficulty level |
| Tharsis Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete Tharsis Refinery on any difficulty level |
| Cruiser Ribbon(Bronze) | Complete The Cruiser on any difficulty level |
| Pallbearer - Kill 500 Helghast(Bronze) | Kill 500 Helghast Soldiers |
| Undertaker - Kill 1000 Helghast(Bronze) | Kill 1000 Helghast Soldiers |
| Reaper - Kill 1500 Helghast(Bronze) | Kill 1500 Helghast Soldiers |
| Field Agent - Collect all intel(Bronze) | Collect all intel within the game |
| Iconoclast - Destroy all symbols(Bronze) | Destroy all Helghast symbols within the game |
| Babysitter - Revive 25 Buddies(Bronze) | Revive your buddies a total of 25 times |
| Safari Hunter - Kill each enemy infantry type with a melee attack(Bronze) | Kill one of each enemy infantry type with a melee attack |
| Killing Spree - Kill 5 Helghast in 15 seconds(Bronze) | Kill 5 Helghast in 15 seconds whilst on foot and maintaining at least 85% health |
| Bullet Counter - Manually reload 150 times(Bronze) | Manually reload your weapon 150 times |
| Safety First - Shoot off 100 helmets(Bronze) | Shoot off 100 Helghast helmets during battle |
| Berserker - Kill 25 Helghast with melee attacks(Bronze) | Kill 25 Helghast using melee attacks |
| Barrel of Death - Kill 3 Helghast using your environment(Bronze) | Kill 3 Helghast at once using the surrounding environment |
| Professional - 3 revolver headshots in a row(Bronze) | Get 3 headshots in a row using the same clip of M4 Revolver ammunition |
| Fragmerchant - Kill 5 Helghast using a single grenade(Bronze) | Kill 5 Helghast at once using a single frag grenade |
| Fragmartyr - Kill 2 Helghast whilst taking your own life(Bronze) | Kill 2 Helghast at once and take your own life using a single frag grenade |
| Melonpopper - 15 headshots using the sniper rifle(Bronze) | Get 15 headshots using the VC32 Sniper Rifle |
| Blade Runner - 75 kills with the knife(Bronze) | Kill 75 Helghast using the knife |
| Run and Gunner - Kill 3 Helghast with one burst of assault rifle fire(Bronze) | Kill 3 Helghast using an M82 or StA52 assault rifle without releasing the trigger |
| Defensive Fighter - Kill 30 Helghast with an emplaced weapon(Bronze) | Kill 30 Helghast using the StA3 fixed gun emplacement |
| Valor Medal(Bronze) | Achieve weekly online honor rank #2 |
| Valor Citation(Bronze) | Achieve weekly online honor rank #1 |
| Cross-Training Ribbon(Bronze) | Acquire all badge specific medals |
| Veteran Ribbon(Bronze) | Acquire all mission specific medals |
| Expert Ribbon(Bronze) | Acquire all combat specific medals |
| Wargod Ribbon(Bronze) | Acquire all remaining medals |
| Blitzkrieg Ribbon(Bronze) | Win 50 online matches |
| Maelstra Ribbon(Silver) | Complete Maelstra Barrens on any difficulty level |
| Elementalslayer - Kill the ArcTrooper within 1 minute 30 seconds(Bronze) | Kill the Tharsis Refinery ArcTrooper in under 1 minute 30 seconds |
| Giantslayer - Kill the Heavy within 1 minute(Bronze) | Kill the Blood Meridian heavy in under 1 minute |
| Dragonslayer - Destroy the ATAC within 1 minute 30 seconds(Bronze) | Destroy the Salamun Bridge ATAC in under 1 minute 30 seconds |
| Demonslayer - Kill Radec within 20 minutes(Bronze) | Kill Radec at Visari Palace within 20 minutes |
| Stick Around - Nail 20 Helghast to the wall(Bronze) | Nail 20 Helghast to a wall using the Boltgun VC-21 |
| Master Conductor - Electrocute 3 Helghast(Bronze) | Electrocute 3 Helghast with a single burst from the VC5 Electricity Gun |
| Can Opener - Destroy a Helghast APC(Bronze) | Destroy any Helghast APC during battle |
| Spare Parts - Destroy all Leech Pods(Bronze) | Destroy all Leech Pods in The Cruiser |
| Treadhead - Kill 30 Helghast whilst in the tank(Bronze) | Take 30 Helghast lives whilst using the ISA tank |
| Mechspert - Stomp 10 Helghast(Bronze) | Stomp 10 Helghast with your Exoskeleton in Maelstra Barrens |
| Survivor(Silver) | Complete all missions on any difficulty level |
| Untouchable(Silver) | Complete all missions on any difficulty level without dying |
| Valor Cross(Silver) | Achieve weekly online honor rank #3 |
| Heroic Survivor(Gold) | Complete all missions on Elite difficulty level |
| Career Ribbon(Gold) | Achieve an online rank of General |
| Valor Grand Cross(Gold) | Achieve weekly online honor rank #4 |
| War Hero(Platinum) | Collect all Killzone®2 trophies |
Unlock Harder difficulty
| Unlockable | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Elite Difficulty | Complete the game |
Ranks unlock features and weapons.
Unlock higher ranks by earning more points and a higher "Difference" score.
| Unlockable | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Corporal | 30 points, 30 difference, can create squad option |
| Sergeant | 100 point, 70 difference, can create clan option |
| Sergeant 1st Class | 200 points, 100 difference, unlocks Shotgun and SMG |
| Master Sergean | Master Sergeant: 350 points, 150 difference, unlocks the medic badge |
| Sergeant Major | 550 points, 250 difference, unlocks HGH and ISA LMG |
| Lieutenant | 880 points, 250 difference, unlocks engineer badge |
| Captain | 1100 points, 300 difference, unlocks VC9 missile launcher |
| Major | 1450 points, 350 difference, unlocks tactician badge |
| Lieutenant-Colonel | 1850 points, 400 difference, unlocks grenade launcher |
| Colonel | 2300 points, 450 difference, unlocks saboteur badge |
| General | 2800 points, 500 difference, unlocks scout badge |
Medals
Complete certain tasks to unlock medals and rewards
| Unlockable | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Meritorious Unit Award | 10x Clan Matches Won with Clan (Unlocks 1000 Valor) |
| Meritorious Unit Award | 25x Clan Matches Won with Clan (Unlocks 10,000 Valor) |
| Army Superior Unit Award | 50x Clan Matches Won with Clan (Unlocks 100,000 Valor) |
| Black Belt | 5x Close Combat Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Melle Kill) |
| Hawk's Eye | 5x Sniper Specialist (Unlocks Second Sniper Zoom) |
| Head Fetish | 5x Headshot Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Headshot) |
| Quick Draw | 5x Sidearm Specialist (Unlocks M4 Revolver 2nd Weapon) |
| Assassins League | 5x Assassination Kill Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Assassination Kills) |
| Bodyguard Alliance | 5x Assassination Defend Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points per Survival) |
| Bomb Squad | 5x Search and Destroy Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Returns/Disarms) |
| Corpse Counters | 5x Body Count Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Defensive Kills) |
| Defense Initiative | 5x Capture and Hold Defend Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Defensive Kills) |
| Retrieval Corps | 5x Search and Retrieve Specialist (Unlocks Increased Points/Return) |
| Example Soldier | 8x Good Conduct (Unlocks Increased Start Ammo Amount) |
| Natural Born Killer | 8x Kill Count (Unlocks Increased Grenade Amount) |
| Aerial Supportive | 8x Air Support Specialist (Unlocks Combine Tactician 2nd Ability) |
| Defensive Specialist | 8x Turret Specialist (Unlocks 2nd Engineer Ability) |
| Explosives Expert | 8x C4 Specialist (Unlocks Combine Saboteur 2nd Ability) |
| Field Mechanic | 8x Repair Specialist (Unlocks Combne Engineer 2nd Ability) |
| Field Medic | 8x Healing Specialist (Unlocks Combine Medic 2nd Ability) |
| Forward Observer | 8x Spot and Mark Specialist (Unlocks Combine Scout 2nd Ability) |
| Front Runner | 8x Boost Specialist (Unlocks Combine Assault 2nd Ability) |
| Master of Disguise | 8x Disguise Specialist (Unlocks Saboteur Ability) |
| Shadow Marshall | 8x Cloak Specialist (Unlocks 2nd Scout Ability) |
| Spawn Authority | 8x Spawn Point Specialist (Unlocks 2nd Tactician Ability) |
| Trauma Surgeon | 8x Revival Specialist (Unlocks 2nd Medic Ability) |
Ribbons
Complete certain tasks to unlock ribbons
| Unlockable | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Good Conduct | 0 Team-Kills/Suicides are made by the player and they have scored at least 20 points |
| Air Support Specialist | 5 kiils by Air Support called |
| Boost Specialist | Peform 5 Boosts |
| C4 Specialist | 5 kills by placed C4 Explosives |
| Cloak Specialist | Kill 5 enemies while Cloaked |
| Disguise Specialist | Kill 5 enemies while Disguised |
| Healing Specialist | Heal 5 players |
| Repair Specialist | Repair 5 Objects |
| Revival Specialist | Successfully Revive 5 players |
| Spawn Point Specialist | 5 players Spawn on Placed Area |
| Spot and Mark Specialist | Spot and Mark 5 players |
| Turret Specialist | 5 kills by Sentry Turret Placed |
| Close Combat Specialist | 10 kills by Close Combat Melee |
| Headshot Specialist | 10 kills by Headshots |
| Sidearm Specialist | 10 kills by Pistols |
| Sniper Specialist | 10 kills by Sniper Rifle |
| Assassination Defend Specialist | Stayed alive as Target |
| Assassination Kill Specialist | 1 Assassination Target killed |
| Body Count Specialist | 10 kills made during a mission |
| Capture and Hold Defend Specialist | 10 mission points earned Capturing a Point |
| Search and Destroy Specialist | 2 Objectives placed/disarmed |
| Search and Retrieve Specialist | 2 Objectives returned |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment