Wow. This game blew me away. The presentation is just astounding. Graphics are gritty and very, very good for the time. Killzone 2's dev cycle was lengthier than most games of its generation spanning about 5 years and the final product clearly shows that. It still retains the rawness of the war against the Helghast although now the ISA is launching a full-frontal assault on their home planet. The feel of the gameplay is much heavier and meatier than its predecessor. Weapons and projectiles have quite a feel to them.

It can take a bit to get used to if I am honest but the Gunplay is fun and satisfying. The AI is smart! Sometimes you'll shoot at them, and they will immediately take cover and start blind firing. I played on the standard difficulty and even then, they still pose a challenge with their deadly aim. On the technical front, it’s truly impressive like I said. Still, there are some little hiccups like having load in parts of a level or maybe the AI partner can't quite sit still but even then it did not hinder my experience.

The story is something I was looking forward to the most since I thought the characters from the first were returning. And well... they do return, well some. Admittedly, I was bummed about since I thought there was potential to develop a relationship between all of them, especially the half-helgan. However, he is nowhere to be seen in this game. Rico and Templar are the only ones to return and Templar is no longer a squad mate since he has been promoted to Colonel in the aftermath of the first ame. Instead, it’s mainly focused on the new guy Sev and Rico. Not gonna say much about the story but I did come to grips with it and thought ending was good due to its realism in the grand scheme.

Overall, a much, much better game than the first.