Whether it's the stunning impact of last year's unveiling of Killzone 2's gameplay at E3, or our recent forays into single-player action, Guerilla Games' long-awaited FPS sequel aspires to reach the heights of what a console shooter can be. We're rather excited for it, but the details surrounding its multiplayer elements have been unknown until today. During a private meeting with Sony and Guerilla, we got a rundown of just how Killzone 2 will take the action on Planet Helghast and bring it to PlayStation Network. We won't get to play it for ourselves until Games Convention in Germany next month, but the Dutch developer's ideas sound fascinating, since they seem to marry successful mechanics in intriguing ways.
Senior online game designer Eric Boltjes ran us through a quick but detailed overview of what you can expect next year when it releases. He promised a 32-player experience that looks identical to the campaign mode. He then laid out the key goals of the Killzone 2 team: creating a game that everyone can enjoy online, letting gamers play how they like, fostering teamwork, and building community. Initially, we thought that it was a lot of number-slinging, but after he demonstrated his ideas through short video segments of beta testers, we started to see what he and the team are aiming for.
Boltjes wants to implement an easy system for players to jump in and join. Player progression is a big part of that. Killzone 2 will feature 12 ranks that will unlock new features, as well as 46 ribbons and medals (not all are tied to trophies, however), plus over a hundred stats (kill/death ratio, kill types, time played, etc.) to track. Ranking up will unlock new features. Sound familiar? Call of Duty 4's functions are just an inspirational piece of Killzone 2's greater parts, it seems.
We then discovered exactly what "playing how we like" meant, and it perked up our ears. Perk is just the word for it, too. You'll be able to not only choose from six character classes (Boltjes calls them "badges"), such as assault, snipers, and medics, but you can fuse them. When we mentioned this feature to the RPG fans on staff, their eyebrows raised and mentions of FF Tactics' job system were made. Each badge has two special abilities, and once you fuse them, you can create unique classes. Your primary badge will give you the core perk and default weapon of that class, and the secondary class will give you the alternate perk. Boltjes cited the merger of a Medic-Engineer as having the Revive perk and a secondary Repair ability. It's intriguing stuff for an online shooter.
Playing how you like isn't just about melding badges, either. It seems that the game customization moves beyond the typical "host picks maps, modes, weapons, and character classes" for something more. Sure it has those options, but it lets you micromanage details such as the time cost for defusing a bomb, placing a bomb, and respawning during a game of demolition. Boltjes then discussed how Guerilla plans to "inspire team play." If you're playing with a squad, you'll have the ability to not only pick a spawn point, but strategically decide on one that's right next to a living teammate. He then described Killzone 2's dynamic mission structure. Basically, if you finish the objective from one mission, you can switch to a totally different game type on the fly, mid-round. Yes, that means that you can move from Search & Destroy to a game of Assassination as soon as you finish the S&D objectives. It's all totally customizable.
