E3 2007 Preview
Sony hosted a little fete at the sushi bar known as Sushi Roku on Tuesday night,
the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Santa Monica. On the surface, it
was a nice little restricted invitation affair, with an open bar and open sushi
bar. While both were definitely a draw, the star of the evening was Killzone 2,
featured in a private screening venue.
Most of the 30-minute segment was consumed by someone playing the game, and
showing off the richness of one of the game’s levels. It should be noted that
the game, because of the size of the levels, is utilizing the PlayStation 3
gaming console’s Blu-ray technology. Why? The level shown was, size-wise, in
excess of two gigabytes.
The game itself promises to be a very intense, visceral experience, replete with
destructible environments, excellent rag-doll physics with point of impact
dynamics, and an auto save feature. There were some pauses in the action during
the demo, but the developer representative – on hand to show off the title –
stated that when the game is ready to release, it will stream for no discernible
transition from area to area and no game-save pulse.
Killzone has been known for its art style and the second title in the franchise
is no different. Smooth character animation will drive the unique art style and
benchmark visuals which will feature Hollywood-grade special effects (and
full-screen anti-aliasing). Cutting-edge 7.1 audio will help with the immersive
nature of the game, which seeks to place players firmly in the chaos and
intensity of a theater of war. The enemies promise to be both smarter and
scarier. In addition to the single-player elements, the game will also have an
extensive multiplayer game – though details were not forthcoming at Tuesday’s
event.
Killzone 2, from the brief view delivered Tuesday, looks to be a benchmark
first-person shooter title for the PS3. Even thrown onto a huge screen (by
gaming standards) the textures were amazing and the game was a tactical
challenge and visual treat.
