Players carry two weapons at a time, but are able to pick up and exchange their weapons at several points during the game by finding a weapons supply area or taking the weapon from a fallen enemy. Players do have a default pistol that they are unable to swap for and do have the ability to melle with enemy players should they become low on ammunition.
There are also some well placed strategic opportunities for players such as the one time I found myself facing a horde of enemy units with only my pistol. Thanks to a well placed shot at an abandoned fuel canister, I was able to dispatch my enemies and reload from the weapons they dropped.
The levels of the game are combined with animated sequences that advance the storyline and setup future missions. There is also a ranking system that provides in mission challenges and awards ribbons at the completion of levels.
Another great feature of the game is the ability to operate vehicles and I really enjoyed the first time I was able to command a tank and turn the big guns lose on enemy infantry and armor. The outdoor missions worked better for me than the indoor ones as even in HD, I found that some of the interiors were a bit to dark for my taste.
I did most of my review on a Test Sample of the game that was sent to me by Sony. I did find some lag and jumpiness in the controls which I attributed to the build I was playing, but I did remember that the original Killzone had such issues so I hope this will be resolved in the final build.
The gameplay was solid and I enjoyed the way that I had to use my Dualshock 3 control at times to manipulate objects, set charges and so on by holding down buttons and tilting and turning the control.
The enemy A.I. was solid but not as good as I had hoped for as some of my opponents did seek cover and attempt to use the lean and peek cover system that I was able to deploy, but many simply charged at me and made themselves easy targets.
As the game went along I found myself enjoying the action, but I was never fully drawn into the story as I have been with some First Person Shooters such as F.E.A.R. and the Half Life series. This is not to say that the game has a bad story, but rather that there was nothing really fresh or compelling. It was the standard storyline of a player taking on an army of bad guys with few twists and turns to flesh out the experience. That being said, for action lovers, Killzone 2 delivered the goods as I was never at a loss for action and the designers focused on giving players the most carnage and mayhem possible.
The game does feature a checkpoint save system which has never been a favorite of mine, as I hate having to repeat portions of a level should you die. I tend to prefer to go in with guns blazing and had to adjust my style to use more stealth than I used to, and use the sites to take down enemies from afar rather than up close.
