Killzone: Shadow Fall Reviews
Killzone: Shadow Fall is not a perfect game. It has design flaws and the story is lacking, but it's a whole lot of fun and a great showcase for what the PS4 can do.
Most of the time Shadow Fall is confident about what kind of game it is, and it's when it leaves players to decide how they want to fight it shines.
While the gameplay was OK, there were just too many things in the campaign mode that bugged me. Multiplayer is much better, however, with a solid mission-based experience and smooth interaction.
By no means a bad game, Shadow Fall instead feels consumable, there to be experienced and then forgotten. Enjoyment is there in spades, although each moment of awe is fleeting with no lasting impact. Killzone has finally become part of the Sony legacy - not as a franchise of compelling depth, nor in delivering iconic gameplay. Instead its legacy will be one of visual fidelity - a legacy that Shadow Fall attempts to rise above but to which it seems eternally bound.
Killzone: Shadow Fall is not only a technical showcase for the PlayStation 4, but it also manages to provide a intriguing single player campaign backed up by a strong multiplayer component. However by playing it safe, Guerrilla Games have taken the franchise a few steps back.
At the end of the day you will find a 7-10 hour campaign within Killzone Shadow Fall. The only reason to replay it will be for the visuals or the story, as Battlefield 4 will certainly cast a deeper/better shadow in terms of first-person shooter gameplay when you're trying to decide between Killzone or it. BF4 will also outshine the multiplayer aspect of Killzone Shadow Fall, which features huge levels, good modes/matches to play, but dreadfully slow gameplay that keep it from being the reason to purchase KZ over other FPS titles at launch. Having said that, it's Killzone and it will fight nicely with the other Killzone games on your shelf. It still brings some of the most intense campaign gameplay in comparison to other FPS titles at launch, and brings some unique elements (enemy A.I. and the OWL) to make it worth your time and money.
Killzone: Shadow Fall will be best known for the visual showcase on day one of the PS4's launch, but looking past the graphics, the game boosts a very solid multiplayer experience and lengthy campaign. The campaign can be frustrating at times and the pacing is inconsistent, especially late in the game where it feels like you are defending a room against waves of incoming Helghast soldiers every 20 minutes.
For all its many flaws, Killzone: Shadow Fall deserves kudos for being such a spectacular early example of the PlayStation 4's technical potential, and the game's stunning visual design goes a long way towards offsetting the generic action, silly plot and rage-worthy bottlenecks. I wouldn't want to marry it, but I'd definitely love a hot, short-term relationship.
Shadow Fall's multiplayer singlehandedly makes it a worthwhile purchase. A couple of things keep the mode from being truly great, but given the state of the competition this year, Killzone's multiplayer deserves to carve a wider niche.
The future of first-person shooter looks an awful lot like the past.
With Killzone: Shadow Fall, developer Guerilla Games has given early PlayStation 4 adopters an entertaining shooter that doubles as a great-looking tech demo. However, by resting on its laurels, the European developer has once again failed to deliver greatness, opting to release a tried but true experience instead of anything revolutionary.
When compared to past Killzone titles, we found Shadow Fall to have one of the better campaigns. There are some tedious tasks found during the latter half of the game that hurt the game's flow. Regardless, Killzone: Shadow Fall is a quality first-person shooter, making it a definite play for PS4 early adopters.
Killzone: Shadow Fall offers up incredible presentation and a better-than-average campaign narrative that's unfortunately more boring to play than it should be. The exciting multiplayer mode injects some greatness into an ultimately good game.
Killzone: Shadow Fall serves up decent sci-fi themed first-person-shooter action complete with teases of what the new console generation has in store for us. It's not particularly inspired, nor is it anything to write home about, but as something to make your early adoption feel justified, I think Killzone does the trick.
Warzone multiplayer rounds out the Killzone: Shadow Fall package, and is exactly what you would expect from Killzone multiplayer. Gameplay-wise it resembles that of Killzone 3 very much, and isn't that big of an evolution for a next-gen title. Warzone matches are highly customizable, leading to some fun or hectic situations. And there's a great active community of Killzone players just waiting to start playing and occupy those servers, which have been very stable thus far.
As it stands, Killzone's foray into the next generation with Killzone: Shadow Fall is a good one. Though the game is held back by a lackluster story and certain missing features, it does deliver a fun experience and it is the only first-person shooter of its kind currently on the PlayStation 4.
As a whole you can't go wrong by including Killzone: Shadow Fall as part of your next gen PS4 package. It might be lacking in true next generation gameplay mechanics but it really shines when it comes to the new generation of graphics. Sony and Guerilla Games will surely continue to develop the franchise and I can honestly say without hesitation that the path they're on is the right one.
If you have a PS4 and you enjoy a more methodical FPS and want to see some really pretty visuals, Shadow Fall is a good choice.
Despite being beyond brilliant at times, Killzone: Shadow Fall misfires in many of the same areas as previous entries. It undoubtedly does an exceptional job of demonstrating the power of Sony's next generation system, but the single player pacing issues and narrative flaws let it down. These issues are accentuated by the fact that the core combat and multiplayer is outstanding – even if the lack of voice chat augments an unnecessary obstacle when communicating with your team.
In its attempt to iterate on Killzone trademarks, Shadow Fall comes up short of greatness, but has enough tight action and expanded lore to please series enthusiasts.