Killzone: Liberation Review

Killzone Liberation attempts two things, the first is that Guerilla Games can make a good game after how much of much of a mess the original game was and to prove that the PSP is capable of putting out killer apps and a killer shooter at that.

I will start with the good, the game has some of the best controls for a PSP shooter I have ever played, sure it doesn't use a traditional third person camera but at the same time, this top down perspective makes great use of the singular analog stick the PSP has. It never felt like I wished the controls were better or I needed a 2nd stick because the game's design with the controls compensates for it so well. Sure you are relying on auto aim but it most of the time it track the targets well enough. You only need to be precise on a few occasions which is targeting the spider mines, the explosive barrels and the boss fight with Cowbar. Other than those instances, the auto aim mixed with the top down perspective and singular analog stick makes for a shooter on PSP that feels like it was specifially made for the system in mind. The game checkpoints extremely well, it can be challenging at times but it never feels like my time is being wasted by repeating lots of content, I used save states sure, but I actually used save states in tandem with the checkpoints since it was hard to know when a hard shootout was coming up so I don't when to save state so the game checkpointing often came in handy. The sounds for firearms and the damage animations all feel solid giving you good feedback. Killing multiple enemies with grenades is also really satisfying like it is in Killzone 2 and 3. The enemy AI is also solid and it helps make up for the fact that the arenas are small and the enemy count isn't that big due to the small screen. Enemies will throw grenades, move around, flank you and run away so it makes firefights more dynamic despite how small scale they are. The enemy variety and designs for a hitscan shooter where you fight "human enemies" is pretty solid. There is assault rifle users, revolver users, rocket launcher launcher users, grenade throwers, flamethrower enemies and they all have disntict designs letting the player know which group of enemies you have to deal with compare that where you fight traditional human enemies where everyone looks the same. The cover system is one of the better implementations of one in a video game, since it feels like an extension of the game's mechanics which is crouching rather than sticking on to a waist high wall and playing hide and seek with enemies behind that sticky cover.

Now on to the bad, I wish the game lets you hold medkits, since I feel there is just too many supply depots scattered everywhere, I would prefer there to be less supply depots and the game giving you a two weapon limit since it makes those moments where you need to use rocket launcher and sniper rifle less of a pain in the ass since there will be moments where you need to use the rocket launcher but can't so you need to switch by going to a supply depot, that and I would prefer to have a sniper and shotgun with me at all times instead of having it be my only options since it allows more decision making during combat. Another issue I have is that enemies take too much damage, while I get why this is here to show off the enemy AI and to make up for the lack of a high enemy count, I find it questionable when enemies can take 2 or possibly 3 shotgun or sniper blasts since it makes those weapons feel underpowered, and since both are situational weapons where the game has lets you hold one gun, I don't want to use either of them as a result. If if the game found a way to lower the amount of damage enemies take by 30%, it could make the cheap moments where you are swarmed by multiple Helghast less aggrevating along with the other suggestions I made. Final issue is that explosive spider mines and mines in general can be very random when triggered, some spider mines can be hinding behind boxes even though they wouldn't logically hide behind them and the explostion radius for mines can be cheap since I swore I was far away from one just to be hit by it.

This might be an issue for some but the game barely has much of a story here at all. It works for the portable nature of the game, and I feel like there is a charm to the lack of story cutscenes especially considering so many shooters around this time had an emphasis on plot since it gets straight to the action more. If you never liked the story and writing in the Killzone games, this might be a selling point for you.

Overall, KZ Liberation is a solid portable "sequel" of sorts to the original Killzone, it helped proved that Guerilla Games can make a good game and it's one of the best shooters you can find on the PSP, if you can get past some of it's odd design quirks, there is a lot to like here.

Chapter 5: Root of Evil:

Finally got access to this chapter thanks to the Playstation Premium which now makes that version the definitive version of the game since it comes installed with the game rather than downloading seperately through the PS Store.

Overall, this chapter is great, it's everything great about the first 4 chapters but more. You got one larger wide open areas with the first level and the enemy count is larger too which is the first thing I noticed, then you got a well designed sewer level with a decent amount of backtracking and exploration where you need to find multiple switches to progress through the levels as well as fighting enemies that can call in reinforcements and jetpack enemies, ladders are also introduced too, then you have Rico backing you up and it even handles endlessly respawning enemies as well too mainly because they spawn at a slow race to the point where you will have enough time to blow up their spawn points with C4, you also get a higher enemy count the game has had towards the end where you need to hold off a destroyed road and face a tank with a flamethrower, then it ends with a very visually appealing final level where you fight through enemies and get to the final boss, it's the most straightforward of the levels but it does have a decent of amount enemies that are higher up than you and it ends with an okay final boss if kind of annoying final boss that does a decent job at tying into Killzone 2. My big issue with the Stratson boss is that it requires you to dodge super fast in order for you to avoid his flame grenades.

Still, this DLC is fantastic stuff and is worth playing if you were already a fan of the game but had a hard time obtaining it.

Also, I played KZ Liberation again due to the Premium version having you to play the game again in order to play Chapter 5 and here are some additional thoughts:

What I dig about Killzone Liberation now that I think about it over other Killzones is that it actually requires you to explore the enviroment to find switches, kill enemies to find keycards, find C4 to blow up doors, and the levels have some degree of exploration despite their small size, Chapter 5 might have some of the best level design in the game from what I played of it. You get a map but it's useless. It surprisingly has a good sewer level. Liberation might not have the over the top specticle that 2 and 3 has but I do like how it tries to be more engaging in different ways since it was on weaker hardware.