Killzone: Shadow Fall Reviews
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.
That absence of meaningful evolution might be Killzone: Shadow Fall's biggest sin. For all the next-gen bluster of its visuals and the repeated blunt-force attempts to ram a message home, Guerilla's first shot on the PS4 retreads shooter cliches, and poorly. In a launch lineup crowded with shooters, Killzone: Shadow Fall sits at the bottom.
The first couple of hours of Killzone: Shadow Fall hint towards a game that might just play as well as it looks. And it looks phenomenal. But sadly, the game falters and falls rather quickly, crushed under the weight of its own ambitions, and it retreats to the safe banality of staid FPS conventions for a second half that's all filler, no killer. It's a great game to show off the power of the PS4, a magnificent spectacle, and its Custom Warzones hint towards the possibility of a bright future, but it's just not that fun to actually play.
If you're looking for a single player shooter, then this isn't the one to get, but if you're looking for a solid multiplayer, in which you can have some serious fun shooting dudes with an arsenal of weaponry, then Killzone: Shadow Fall might be a justified purchase at £50 in this rather limited and safe launch line-up for the PlayStation 4.
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.
Pretty yet uninspired. Killzone, then.
Ultimately, Killzone: Shadow Fall once again falls short of the lofty expectations placed upon it.
The campaign is a real drag, but Shadow Fall's multiplayer props up the package with its fun, configurable action.
The gunplay is uninspired and the multiplayer has been detrimentally cut down, but the presentation is truly something to behold for console gamers.
The multiplayer's fairly addictive in its own right but it's up against some true big-hitters at launch that unfortunately look like they are not just hogging the limelight but the player count as well. Still, for what it is it's an enjoyable enough experience that should help you get a bit more life out of this package, which is more than can be said for some of the single-player campaign.
Killzone: Shadow Fall is a pretty game, gorgeous even. But the demand for moments to punctuate trailers or demos forced a sacrifice of story that it never quite recovers from. The OWL will find its place in history as one of the few controller-based mechanics to actually entertain, while the time spent in free fall may make players actually consider a plummet-related death. You find a stride in the minute-to-minute gameplay before drudgery sets in, and the multiplayer suite remains solid, if with a few new tenuous bells and whistles.
Single-player and multiplayer combined, this is a good package, and certainly one of the highlights of the PS4 launch titles. Unfortunately, it's also a highly typical launch game, in that it does little to actually provide a truly next-gen experience.
Although this review has felt rather negative towards the campaign, there's a lot to like there, too — for the first half at least. And once you're done with that you can always jump into the always brilliant online arena. As far as launch games for new consoles go, Killzone: Shadow Fall isn't bad by any means. Just don't expect anything revolutionary outside of dust particles in shafts of light and you'll be fine.
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.
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.
I can't speak for veteran Killzone players, but as a series newcomer I expected more from Shadow Fall. The PlayStation 4 represents the new generation of gaming, but it seems Guerilla Games may have been stuck in the past with Shadow Fall. There just aren't enough "next-gen" moments worthy of being the poster child for the PS4.
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.
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.
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.