There are few wartime scenarios that lend themselves to setpiece game design better than beach landing invasions in the style of D-Day cinematography popularized (some might say perfected) by Saving Private Ryan's opening 20 minutes. Fighting to not only survive but also encroach and conquer against seemingly insurmountable odds makes for thrilling game design opportunities as well as room for memorable scripted sequences that immerse you further into the chaos of combat.
I'd like to discuss games that managed to pull off the "beach landing" archetypal mission design with aplomb in this thread.
While I'm sure many of you will understandably nominate the likes of Silent Cartographer from Halo 1 or one of a handful of D-Day missions from the better entries in the Medal of Honor series, I'm going to use this OP to highlight the opening mission from Killzone 2.
Killzone 2 (Mission 1 - Corinth River)
But now I'm rambling on. Check out the video links below to get a sense of why I'm nominating Corinth River as my all-time favorite beach landing segment in gaming. The entire mission is great, not just the initial landing and beach securing sequence. Few games before or since Killzone 2 have been able to convey such a believably chaotic, violent, and tense warzone sensation. All in this first mission you're introduced to KZ2's strengths one after another. The superb Helghast AI that is legitimately threatening at all times. Gunplay that feels weighty and impactful with enemies and the environment both reacting realistically to every gunshot. A natural implementation of cover mechanics without it slowing down the gameplay to a fault. Top-class sound design and mixing. And of course it's all presented with a level of visual flair unmatched at the time and still very impressive to this day.
Videos:
I'd like to discuss games that managed to pull off the "beach landing" archetypal mission design with aplomb in this thread.
While I'm sure many of you will understandably nominate the likes of Silent Cartographer from Halo 1 or one of a handful of D-Day missions from the better entries in the Medal of Honor series, I'm going to use this OP to highlight the opening mission from Killzone 2.
Killzone 2 (Mission 1 - Corinth River)
I just revisited the opening missions of Killzone 2 this afternoon and was reminded of how superb they were. The buildup to the invasion of Helghan is short but effective, and you really get the sense that these soldiers are thrust into overwhelming odds that they didn't quite expect and forced to adapt and survive. Sure, the cast of characters is a bit generic and not always likable, but they are characterized well here and you really feel like you're descending into a hellish war with your close-knit band of military grunts. The ISA invasion of Helghan is presented in that heavy, gritty type of militaristic sci-fi that evokes memories of Starship Troopers, and I like that.
But now I'm rambling on. Check out the video links below to get a sense of why I'm nominating Corinth River as my all-time favorite beach landing segment in gaming. The entire mission is great, not just the initial landing and beach securing sequence. Few games before or since Killzone 2 have been able to convey such a believably chaotic, violent, and tense warzone sensation. All in this first mission you're introduced to KZ2's strengths one after another. The superb Helghast AI that is legitimately threatening at all times. Gunplay that feels weighty and impactful with enemies and the environment both reacting realistically to every gunshot. A natural implementation of cover mechanics without it slowing down the gameplay to a fault. Top-class sound design and mixing. And of course it's all presented with a level of visual flair unmatched at the time and still very impressive to this day.
Videos:
