Killzone: Shadow Fall Reviews
It's a dazzling game to behold, but does it have that special magic that will turn it into a hardware-selling blockbuster?
Frustrating and generic gameplay rounds out an otherwise technically impressive package. Killzone: Shadow Fall should have been another solid entry in an above-average franchise, but instead it succumbs to all of the usual launch game pitfalls, and a decent though unimpressive multiplayer suite can't save it from mediocrity.
Killzone: Shadow Fall is the most beautiful next-gen console game on the PlayStation 4, and while it does wonders with its presentation value and impressive new levels of visual fidelity, it doesn't do enough to innovate on its campaign story and gameplay offerings.
There's no doubt that Killzone: Shadow Fall is far and away the best PlayStation 4 launch title. It feels fresh and innovative throughout – after playing it, we checked out Call of Duty: Ghosts on the PS4, which felt one-dimensional and strangely old-fashioned – looks stunning and through its beautifully fettled multiplayer side, offers infinite replay value. It towers above previous versions of Killzone in terms of quality and taking a much more interesting approach. All of which makes it the one must-buy exclusive in the PS4's launch line-up.
In the current crop of offerings on the PlayStation 4, Killzone: Shadow Fall is one of your best choices.
While you shouldn't be fooled by its good looks, with the sense of familiarity with this year's Call of Duty and various issues facing Battlefield 4's online component, Killzone: Shadow Fall could be a fitting multiplayer alternative for the PS4's launch.
: Killzone: Shadow Fall is not going to win over the masses, especially those who never cared for the series to begin with. It is, however, a fine shooter with a fun story, and a multiplayer mode that fans can sink hours and hours into.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The future of first-person shooter looks an awful lot like the past.
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.