BiGBoSSMk23
A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
*let me preface by clarifying that being deemed deserving follows more than the criteria of being critically and commercially successful. Case in point, Killzone 1 -> Killzone 2.
That being said, I just went back to fetch the last few collectable trophies; this time I played the game knowing full well what was coming and I've found myself enjoying it quite a bit more due to a number of reasons:
1. The writing:
While the plot in under cooked and feels rushed, the dialogue between characters is convincing and authentic. It really feels like people from Victorian London exchanging words, which leads into my next reason.
2. The art direction and world building:
This game can't get enough praise for this. The misty cobblestone slums of Whitechapel, the wrought iron and stonework of Mayfair, the brassy, leathery, wooden lab of Tesla. Everything is brimming with authenticity and tangible atmosphere. From the newspaper articles setting the state of affairs in alternate history London, the sounds of people going about town, the solemnity of the Knights and their role in that society. That, which also brings me to my next point. But before...
2a. Man, this fucking graphics engine:
The rendering techniques used to achieve the look and feel of each different material is fucking sublime. Goddamn. It goes a looong way making blasting fools feel fantastic. It really feels like I'm riddling bodies with lead, or mangling flesh and cloth with a coach gun, or frying fuckers with a lightning bolt.
3. There's a lot of lore to tap into:
The Knights obviously weren't a bunch of Van Helsing's, they had access to better weaponry and thus more apt to fight half breeds but that wasn't their sole reason for existence, or if it was, it's still not clear. They were still slave to bureaucracy and politics which made me stop and wonder whether they were actually hunters and persecutors, or more along the lines of protectors and mitigators of nobility and the regular people.
EDIT: In essence, the events of 1886 mark a period of change for the Knights of the Order, a time during which the core principles and duties of the same were being shaken and forced to adapt, as opposed to merely being a run of the mill mission for a group of monster hunters.
Needless to say, I really, really want an expanded sequel to this IP that dives deeper into the lore and obviously jacks up the gameplay and longevity.
Sony would be wise to give it the Killzone 2 treatment, cause there is just so much potential here.
That being said, I just went back to fetch the last few collectable trophies; this time I played the game knowing full well what was coming and I've found myself enjoying it quite a bit more due to a number of reasons:
1. The writing:
While the plot in under cooked and feels rushed, the dialogue between characters is convincing and authentic. It really feels like people from Victorian London exchanging words, which leads into my next reason.
2. The art direction and world building:
This game can't get enough praise for this. The misty cobblestone slums of Whitechapel, the wrought iron and stonework of Mayfair, the brassy, leathery, wooden lab of Tesla. Everything is brimming with authenticity and tangible atmosphere. From the newspaper articles setting the state of affairs in alternate history London, the sounds of people going about town, the solemnity of the Knights and their role in that society. That, which also brings me to my next point. But before...
2a. Man, this fucking graphics engine:
The rendering techniques used to achieve the look and feel of each different material is fucking sublime. Goddamn. It goes a looong way making blasting fools feel fantastic. It really feels like I'm riddling bodies with lead, or mangling flesh and cloth with a coach gun, or frying fuckers with a lightning bolt.
3. There's a lot of lore to tap into:
The Knights obviously weren't a bunch of Van Helsing's, they had access to better weaponry and thus more apt to fight half breeds but that wasn't their sole reason for existence, or if it was, it's still not clear. They were still slave to bureaucracy and politics which made me stop and wonder whether they were actually hunters and persecutors, or more along the lines of protectors and mitigators of nobility and the regular people.
EDIT: In essence, the events of 1886 mark a period of change for the Knights of the Order, a time during which the core principles and duties of the same were being shaken and forced to adapt, as opposed to merely being a run of the mill mission for a group of monster hunters.
Needless to say, I really, really want an expanded sequel to this IP that dives deeper into the lore and obviously jacks up the gameplay and longevity.
Sony would be wise to give it the Killzone 2 treatment, cause there is just so much potential here.
