Back in 2005 Sony decided to show off a CG movie of Killzone 2, calling it game play, to demonstration the power of their upcoming PS3.  If you ever saw that video it was very impressive back in 2005 but over time has not been as awe inspiring.  Now that it's 2009 and Killzone 2 is finally in stores people can actually see how it plays and compare it to the AAA games we've seen this generation.

Now Killzone might have disappointed the PS2 fans in it's initial attempt to usurp Halo 2, it clear that from a straight FPS perspective Killzone 2 is probably a better game than Halo 3.  By far Killzone 2 is the best looking FPS I've played this generation with game play that matches.  So far I've completed just about half of the single player and I have been very impressed with how fun this game is to play.   The game has a good enough story but has great level design and quality encounters that does a good job of mixing in a balance of corridor shooting and big set piece encounters.  It is very clear this game has been polished to the extreme to make it the best game you can get for the PS3.

I tend to believe that you have to judge any FPS based on their online multiplayer.  This is were Killzone 2 will keep me turning on my PS3 once I've finished the campaign.  Instead of breaking the multiplayer into four or five objective based game types they just merge them all into one game.  When joining a game you will only play team based games of search and retrieve, search and destroy, capture and hold, assassination and body count.  In all you'll play seven matches with seamless transitions between match types. 

This online mode is extremely casual gamer friendly since there really isn't much time between matches for people to comment or rip on people.  You get to join a match and just play in what ends up being a time consuming match.  I can see playing just one or two matches and being content for the night.  The game also comes with an offline bots mode.  I haven't explored this mode yet since I find playing online a lot of fun in this game.

Now Killzone 2 is not all roses and sunshine, there are some issues.   So far I have not been very happy with the default gun and the controls.  The developers designed Killzone 2 to be more of a strategic FPS which I interpreter as meaning the guns have too large of a dispersion area.  I prefer the circle aiming reticule in my shooters and Killzone 2 used the cross reticule which adjust depending of your running, walking or crouching.  I tend to think the aiming reticule in Killzone 2 is horrible.  It's very hard to know where you're aiming unless you are crouched and looking down the gun's sight.  Add to it the fact the reticules are very small and tend to fade into the background of the game makes aiming extremely difficult.  I've decided that running in like my hair is on fire is the best approach to playing this game because the aiming is so horrible. 

I can't knock Killzone 2 for this but it's my opinion that the PS3 analog stick are horrible for playing first person shooters.  There analogs are just too floaty to give you a good feel for aiming your gun.  This is a serious issue when you're forced to look down a scope to snipe some guy.  Part of this might be my preference to play my Xbox 360 more but I think it's the controller's fault.

In the end I think we finally have a PS3 game that justifies ones purchase.  This is by far the best game I've played on the system.  It's hard not to knock Sony for showing off the game so early but the game does live up to my high expectations.  I highly recommend people pick up this game despite the controls.  I just might consider looking for a PS3 modded controller that uses the 360's form factor.