As one of only two exclusive Playstation 4 launch titles, Killzone: Shadow Fall has a lot of weight of expectation on its shoulders. Sony have been trying for a while now to make Killzone their Halo, and it's never quite taken off in the way that they'd wanted it to. So here we have a good news/bad news scenario. The Good News: this is the best Killzone game to date, with some next-gen visuals that will have you staggering at their beauty. The Bad News: it's still not the must-own game that the new console obviously so desperately wants it to be.
Following on from the explosive finale of Killzone 3, you play a soldier on an alien planet that has been divided up between two cold war-ing populations, as well as a massive bisecting wall. Things are obviously tense, with an imminent planet-wide war on the horizon, and it's up to you to hopefully put a stop to it before it's too late.
Visually, this is exactly what the Playstation 4 needed from a launch title, not to mention the Killzone series itself. It's fantastically beautiful, from the shiny glass and steel futuristic city-scapes, to the gorgeous scenery to be found within the forests, you'll never be less than in awe at what you're seeing.
Gameplay-wise, things have been switched up a bit too, with the single-player mode injected with a more open-world approach to the levels. Not everything is a do-this, shoot-that gameplay, with many options given to each aspect of the mission, allowing you to play smart and stealthy, or guns blazing, depending on your preference. Multiplayer is a lot of fun, too, with plenty of arenas and differing gameplay options to make sure that no two bouts of gameplay need be exactly alike.
But once you've finished the single player mode, there is no real incentive to go back and play through a second time. You could, to check out the alternative paths you didn't take first time round, but you probably won't. The weird platforming sections and the sometimes nonsensical actions of the enemies will gnaw away at the fun you're having, and while the multiplayer sections are diverting, they – just like the series – are no Halo-killer.
Developer: Guerilla Games
Platforms: Playstation 4
Genre: First-person shooter
Rating: 18+
Presentation: 5 out of 5
Gameplay: 4 out of 5
Replay: 2 out of 5
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
