Great graphics and gameplay, with some big annoyances
Customer Rating: 
Without a doubt, Killzone 2 is one of the best looking games for PS3 and if you don't already own it, you should definitely pick up a copy. It's worth owning for every FPS fan, now that it's been out a while and the price has halved.
As far as gameplay goes, there's really nothing new or revolutionary here. It plays like every other FPS on the market, including Halo, COD, and Gears of War. For certain tasks like arming explosives and turning valves, you have to rotate the controller, but this is really just a gimmick.
The single-player levels are varied, if not terribly inspired. They're well-done and great looking, but they're the same kind of stock locations you see in every sci-fi FPS, including base interiors, inside your fleet's flagship cruiser, a refinery, a rocky wasteland local, etc. Some levels are easier than others, with the last one being insanely difficult. It took me more than 5 hours to beat on Veteran. Now, on to the annoyances:
- You can only carry 2 weapons (not counting the combat knife): a large gun and a pistol, which has infinite ammo. Every game I can remember, if it restricts you to 2, you can toss the pistol and pick up another large guns. Not here. You cannot toss your revolver and have 2 large guns, so really, you only have 1 choice of weapons at any given time. This feels like a step backwards in the evolution of the genre. The weapons are mostly variations of real-world guns found in military shooters like Modern Warfare and others: assault rifles, a shotgun, SMG, LMG, grenade launcher. Some weapons, like the shotgun, only allow you to carry a ridiculously low amount of ammo: 24 shells. Coupled with the slow rate of fire, it's usually more trouble than it's worth. The grenade launcher is also pretty useless. It doesn't detonate unless you score a direct hit, giving enemies the chance to run away from the time-delayed projectile when it lands. There are some really fun ones like the electricity gun (unlimited ammo), but you only get it for 1 level late in the game. When a new level starts, you revert to whatever the level starts you on, so if there's a gun you like, you can't keep it between levels.
As a major plus, though, the guns feel and sound powerful. The amount of muzzle climb and spread feels right.
- Next is the immature and cliched dialog. Your squad is by far the most annoying thing about KZ2. They just don't shut up. The endless cursing, constant trash talk, and childish banter is similar to the cornball scripting in Gears of War 2. Soldiers don't have to talk and act like testosterone-fueled meat heads.
- Idiotic squad AI that's often a hindrance than a help. Your squad members will sometimes just stand right in front of you, blocking your path. Rico is nearly useless. He runs into gunfire and needs constant reviving. During many of the later levels, I found myself cursing at the idiotic AI. Enemy AI is passable. Nothing spectacular.
- Lack of unlockable items and bonus content is really a sore point. No weapons gallery, character profiles, rotatable models, or other features that we've come to expect from today's games. There are hidden medallions to shoot and intel to collect, but these are just for trophies. They don't unlock any hidden content (because there isn't any).
Overall, KZ2 is fun for a quick fix. Campaign mode is rather short, but entertaining. The graphics are certainly very polished and pushes the PS3 hardware, but it feels rushed. There's no co-op mode or local multi-player if you want to have friends over and play split-screen.
