As this was my first Killzone experience not having played any on the PS2/3 or 4, as a portable game and not a fully fledged console game I was pleasantly suprised by it. I particulary enjoyed that your character was a mercenary for hire. So for all your kills and the miraid ways of doing them is what gained you money throughout the game which you would then use for your new weaponry and armour.
Overall for on the go gaming from back in 2013 the graphics and gameplay were all top notch. The use of the touchscreen and rear pad is pretty nifty and aids in the overall gameplay. I’d argue it does this better then most new switch games which is largely a forgotten option.
At the simplist form it’s your typical shooter game. The missions are well designed, which allows for some good duck and cover shooting, or optional stealth with melee kills if you are able to be super sneaky, which for the most part I failed miserably at. The interstellar war between ISA and Helghast is highlighted fairly well, with all the different futuristic landscapes you pass through as you have shootouts in skyscrapers or trying to save royalty in crumbling mansions, or even slinking round giant flying labratories. The campaign itself isn’t anything impressive storywise nor the longest, with most missions lasting around 20 minutes. But they are fun bitesize missions, which if you wanted to play in the go commuting you wouldn’t ask for more. The touchscreen which can be used for swapping guns, using grenades, locking on to enemies. As well for the variety of the melee kill that will be performed, interragation to gain intel, planting bombs and the hacking minigame.
The missions are bare boned, you have your objectives you hit throughout the level and move on. As for difficulty it can be shifted to the different contracts modes unlocked on first time completion. In which you gain additional objectives making for a slightly harder time, such as only use certain weapons, time constraints etc. What makes for the most change to each playthrough is what sort of weapon you use, with; machine guns, shotguns, LMGs, RPGs and snipers at you disposal. With over 30 different weapons and gadgets, to be slotted into your primary, secondary and gadget slot, there is a fair chunk of variety to be had.
The online multiplayer which isn’t massively active nowadays but is still live, which was not expected at all. So I only managed to get a couple of games with a full lobby. It comes with three different modes the standard free for all, (mercenary warfare), team deathmatch, (Guerilla Warfare) and objective based deathmatch (Warzone). It’s no full fledged COD or Battlefield up to 1 when it was still good. It still contains one of the best crossover features form the single player campaign comes in. This is blackjack, your friendly shadowy arms dealer. All money earned over every mode allows new weapons to be purchased and can be used in either mode. With further rankings unlocked with exp for more loadouts to be saved for an easier transition which can be swapped at any dealer crate for a small fee, luckily these are amply dotted around every mission.
Certified 7/10, Positively Tasty.
Quick fun, simple misisons, with high replay value that is perfect for on the go even now with the Switch and even mobile gaming. And it still can be played online for a decent online shooter experience if you can get into the right lobby.
Sony PS Vita 6th September 2013.
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