KILLZONE: SHADOW FALL PS 4 REVIEW

■ Developer: Guerrilla Games 

■ Publisher: Sony


ANOTHER PLAYSTATION, ANOTHER GLORIOUS DEMO

 Killzone is back, surprising no-one in particular but still looking pretty darn nice. Guerrilla returns with what it promises will be a launch title, a new Killzone with, according to game  director Steven ter Heide, “a new world, a new situation and a  new hero.” A fresh start is a great direction for Killzone, a franchise  that has never managed to stand out from the pack and garner a huge following. All eyes were on it at the event, though, and man, it looked pretty. 

                                Flying over a futuristic city reminiscent of Mass  Effect ’s Citadel, some of the lighting effects and models on display were breathtaking, and when shit inevitably goes down and the bullets start fl ying, the graphics still held up. Gameplay seems to be standard FPS fare, with lots of explosions, cover-shooting and nasty Helghast who want to kill you. A setpiece towards the end of the demo where the player hangs from a rope trailing from a speeding helicopter is ridiculous in a great action movie way, just the kind of thing we like to see in our shooters. More of that, Guerrilla, and  Shadow Fall could be one of PS4’s fi rst must-have titles.

  ■  KILLER FEATURES

  ■ SET 30 YEARS after the events of  Killzone 3, this sees two sides – Helghast and the Vektans – divided by a massive wall. A war begins between them.

■   KILLZONE OFFERED ONE of the best looks at the kind of graphics PS4 is capable  of, and boy was it nice. Remember people,  this is early days – it’s only gonna get better.

 ■  KILLZONE HAS NEVER been the best FPS around, but it deserves a bit more of a following than it has. Hopefully Shadow Fall  will grant it some attention. 

■  THE HELGHAST ARE definitely back, as we saw in the trailer, with their scary masks and general antisocial behaviour as they blow stuff up and shoot people. Not cool!

 ■   Just as it did with PS3, Guerrilla really shows off Sony’s new hardware with the Killzone series.

 ■   We can’t help but recall the  Mass Effect series’ Citadel, here.

 ■   A little Mirror’s Edge-style platforming for you to consider...