Killzone 2 has already broken pre-order recods for a PS3 first-party game, and we also know that the title will have Home support on launch day. Killzone 2 already has a huge buzz of excitement around its release and it is almost here. I was able to score an interview with Steven Ter Heide, the Senior Producer over at Guerrilla Games, and I asked him all the questions I still had about the graphics, the game's multiplayer, and his opinions on working exclusively with the PS3.
Read on for the interview:
1. What excited you about bringing Killzone 2 to the PS3? What does the PS3 have to offer that the PS2 didn’t?
We have set pretty ambitious goals for ourselves from the start, even with Killzone. We were not quite able to deliver completely on our vision for Killzone as we were simply trying to do too many things. With Killzone 2 and the PS3's abilities we were able to get a lot closer to what we always had in mind. For us the 'density' was real important. At any given time there is a lot going on in Killzone, anything from background 'theatre of war' to post-processing effects or audio occlusion. Added to that a lot of systems and mechanics that help the gameplay along, e.g. AI, physics, special effects, animation blending. It is layer upon layer of systems and mechanics. The PS3 allows us to run everything at once, offloading certain processes to the SPU's and generally making sure we can maintain a steady framerate while doing all these things. So i'd have to say power is primarily the thing that we now have plenty of on the PS3. Aside from plenty of storage capacity, sixaxis, etc.
2. What are some of the new features that fans of the first Killzone can expect in Killzone 2? Jumping ;) I think we took the sense of immersion we started in Killzone even further in Killzone 2. We keep everything in first person, not just the ladder climbing but also our lean and peek cover system (that we borrowed from Liberation and made into first person), or our buddy assist system and even most of the cutscenes. Some of the newer additions are things like out hit response system to have that satisfying feeling that every bullet has an impact.
3. What is it about Killzone 2 that will put it in the league of great shooters like Halo or Gears of War?
It is a great honor to be named alongside those games. We hope people will pick up on the sheer intensity of Killzone 2. The sweaty palms at the end of playing a level, or dying and having to rethink your strategy only to find out that the AI has also rethought theirs ;)
4. What is it about Killzone 2 that sets it apart from all other shooters?
Basically what we did is go back to the basics. What does it mean to be a 'first person' and 'shooter'. Ensuring that all gameplay elements, visual and audio tricks are all geared towards creating a better first person experience, a sense of immersion, being there in the middle of a large scale war. And at the same time rethink what 'shooting' should feel like, not just from how the gun models look or feel but also what your bullets do to your surroundings and your enemies.
5. What is some of the feedback you received from gamers about Killzone 1 that you have taken into account for Killzone 2?
First and foremost that we had to deliver on our ambitions and their expectations. Creating a game that runs at 30fps all the time, improve the AI, work on the speech, include jumping. We took on board a lot of the comments from both reviews and the community and will continue to do so through Killzone.com.
6. Do you regret showing that very first CG video for Killzone 2 because now people expect that level of graphic fidelity for Killzone 2? Will Killzone 2 be able to live up to those graphics?
It was a blessing and a curse at the same time. We produced this internally to make the vision clear to the team, and of course when it got shown to the outside world and people really picked up on it we now had to deliver. The pressure was on, but was a great motivation for us at the same time. The hardest part was having to work in silence until e3 2007 where we for the first time were able to show how close we were getting to our vision. Only recently I looked at the movie again, and noticed how much better I liked the game visuals. The sense of depth and scale and level of detail in everything is much better.
7. Why do you feel Killzone 1 was not the “Halo-killer for PS2” like everyone expected it to be?
We certainly did not put ourselves forward as the 'halo killer'. But for our team and the project at the time, I think we were a little too ambitious and still had to learn a lot.
8. Resistance 2 has eight-player co-op and 60-player online competitive multiplayer. How does Killzone 2’s multiplayer stack up to that?
We went for a different experience. A feeling of always being on the frontline, similar to what you would experience in our single player. While at the same time making sure it fits with everyone's playstyle, that you could customize to suit your abilities or tastes but also being as competitive as you would like to be through leaderboards, clans or tournaments.
9. What do you think recent shooters such as Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2 have done right? What have they done wrong?
To be honest I haven't played them a lot, been kind of busy finishing our game. I think they both have settled on a certain direction that offers a different experience from ours. I couldn't really comment on their strengths and weaknesses yet.
10. Killzone 1’s multiplayer was pretty ordinary and basic. Will Killzone 2’s multiplayer be more robust this time around?
Certainly! We have taken on board the comments from our community and put a lot of effort into making sure we have something that is accessible, every bit as intense as the singleplayer, fully customizable and you can be as competitive as you want to be. It really is 50% of the whole game, and through downloadable content, the multiplayer is what we hope will bring a lot of longevity to the title.
11. What are your plans for downloadable content for Killzone 2 in the future?
We unfortunately can’t talk specifics yet, but we are already hard at work. Keep your eyes on Killzone.com for more information, or better yet, tell us what you would like and we'll see what we can do.
