Killzone: Liberation

Killzone: Liberation is a shoot 'em up action video game for the PlayStation Portable, developed by Guerrilla Games, and is the sequel to Killzone. Killzone: Liberation was released on October 31, 2006 in North America, November 3, 2006 in Europe and November 8, 2006 in Australia. The game chronologically continues two months after where the first game ended. Killzone: Liberation is the only PSP installment in the series, and was followed by Killzone: Mercenary on the PlayStation Vita.

Killzone: Liberation
European cover art
Developer(s)Guerrilla Games
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)Mathijs de Jonge
Designer(s)Mathijs de Jonge
SeriesKillzone
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable
Release
  • NA: October 31, 2006
  • EU: November 3, 2006
  • AU: November 8, 2006
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

This game features a top-down isometric view in contrast to the original Killzone game for the PS2, which was a first-person shooter. The resultant game can be seen as a mixture of a shooter and a dungeon crawler.

The player can only control Jan Templar, although he can board and control several vehicles: heavy machine gun turrets, a tank, a hovercraft and a jetpack. During some levels a 'buddy' can be ordered around (although some are unarmed). These 'buddies' are normally teammates (Rico and Luger) or people that have to be rescued (the three VIP's in the third mission, first chapter and Evelyn in the third mission, fourth chapter).

By collecting various pickups in the form of money cases, the player unlocks new weapons to use in the game. These weapons can be found in various weapons caches in certain levels. After enough money is amassed, the V2 upgraded weapons become available. The weapons in the caches are also converted into the V2 upgraded versions. The unlockable weapons are: The ISA Assault Rifle, Helghast Assault Rifle, a Helghast machine pistol, a Helghast sniper rifle, an ISA shotgun, a Helghast revolver, an ISA crossbow and a Helghast chaingun (the ISA assault rifle is the default weapon). After downloading chapter five updates for the ISA flamethrower and Helghast rocket launcher are available to unlock.

The player can also unlock upgrades to Templar's abilities by completing challenge games within certain limits (such as shooting X number of targets without shooting the 'civilian' targets). These are ranked in bronze, silver and gold. Upgrades come in the form of carrying more items, hitting harder in close quarters combat, performing actions faster, unlimited ammunition or upgraded health.

Multiplayer

Infrastructure online multiplayer servers have been shut down since the game's release, though it was widely praised by critics and players. Players can play via ad-hoc. Players can choose a team (between ISA and Helghast) and also choose a character in the multiplayer menu. There are a variety of game modes, including Deathmatch (where player kill one another regardless of team), Team Deathmatch (where teams kill one another), Deathmatch Duel (where a slightly smaller portion of the map is cut off by barbed wire so players have a smaller area to maneuver in), Capture the Flag (where teams try to get the enemy flag and bring it back to their flag) and Assault (where the Helghast team has to plant 3 charges of C4 around an ISA beacon and the ISA have to try and stop them). (Note: Deathmatch Duel is available after chapter five download). Infrastructure was only made available for download as DLC, and is not initially available for "out of the box play." The game features headset compatibility for online play.

Plot

There are five chapters with 4 levels in which players eliminate the Helghast resistance (the fifth and final chapter was made available to download).[1]

In Killzone: Liberation, two months after the events of Killzone,[2] the Helghast have been dealt a hefty blow from the last game, but the war is far from over. The enemy still controls large parts of the planet Vekta, and though the ISA armies are fighting hard, they are losing ground. The rules of war have been cast aside with the sadistic Helghast General Armin Metrac, employed by the Helghast Emperor Scolar Visari to use brutal measures in order to seize the initiative after their past defeat and strengthen his position further. Metrac and his right-hand man, Colonel Cobar, are planning to capture three key figures of ISA, and their plan ends up successful.

Returning as Jan Templar,[2] players are sent on a covert operation to save hostages captured by Metrac, while ISA troops continue the fight for liberty. Rico Velasquez, Jan's friend on the battlefield, often assists him on his way through the enemy lines. Shadow Marshall Luger, another of Jan's partners, also helps him.

As Metrac captures ISA Minister of War Heff Milcher, scientist Evelyn Batton, and ISA General Dwight Stratson, Jan is sent on the rescue mission. After a set of military operations, Templar is closely following the trail of hostages and pursues Cobar, who has taken Milcher and Stratson. Milcher is then killed by Cobar, but Jan is nevertheless successful in defeating him, even though Cobar was piloting a personal walking tank. Cobar reveals that there is a traitor in ISA command who is helping the Helghast, but is finished off by Stratson before he can say who the traitor is.

The next step for Templar is to assault Metrac's mountain fortress and rescue Batton. Luger aids him on the mission. There, he fights many of Helghan's elite warriors (including a giant cybernetic unit) before encountering and killing Metrac in a final showdown. Afterwards, Templar locates Evelyn and escapes with her just before the fortress is destroyed. The game's outro marks the beginning of Killzone 2, as we hear Visari speaking of nuclear weapons which he intends to use on ISA forces.

In the fifth, downloadable chapter, Jan is sent on a mission to the Vektan capital city. Even though Metrac is no more, the enemy forces are still coordinated and fighting well. ISA believes that the unknown traitor is supplying Helghan with information. The only suspect is Rico, Jan's friend. Battling his way through the war-ravaged city, Jan finally finds Rico, who reveals that the traitor is, in fact, Stratson, who not only sold the planet to Helghast, but has become the shadow commander of the remaining Helghan forces. Jan proceeds to the capital building of Vekta, where Stratson is located, battling hordes of Helghast and even Stratson's personal elite guard on his way. There, he engages the general in combat. However, Stratson is well-prepared and uses his armored mecha against Jan, but is ultimately defeated. He, wounded, is then arrested by ISA forces.

Development

Housemarque provided coding support for the game.[3]

Release

The game was originally intended to have downloadable content (DLC) on its release day, but due to technical difficulties, the downloads promised were initially undelivered. On May 30, 2007 the free downloadable upgrade was released. The upgrade included two additions:

  • Online multiplayer support including two new multiplayer maps and a new multiplayer game mode.
  • Chapter 5 of the single-player campaign which concludes the game storyline.

As of 2011, the two DLC files are no longer available from the Killzone website. In June 2011 because of the "Welcome Back" operation, Guerrilla published again the DLC in US and EU version. https://www.killzone.com/de_LU/blog/news/2011-06-06_kzl-welcome-back.html

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4]

411Mania gave it a score of eight out of ten and called it "a game that provides a great deal of intense shooting action, with tough enemy opponents that don't lie down and die easily. While the challenge does mean you're going to die an awful lot, you won't have to backtrack much. Throw in an ad hoc competitive multiplayer component and co-op play for the whole campaign, and you've got a thoroughly excellent package".[19] The Sydney Morning Herald gave it a similar score of four stars out of five and called it "A smart and challenging blend of action and strategy that is a welcome addition to the PSP's growing arsenal of titles".[18] Detroit Free Press gave it three stars out of four and stated: "The biggest flaw? The single-player game is too short. And there's no online mode. But if you can find a friend with the game, the multiplayer maps make for explosive fun".[17]

The game also received IGN's award for Best PSP Offline Multiplayer Game of 2006.[20] In 2018 GamesRadar+ ranked it the 24th best PSP game of all time.[21]

References
  1. "Killzone: Liberation Preview". Yahoo! Games UK. April 20, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  2. GN staff (September 15, 2006). "Killzone: Liberation Interview". Gaming Nexus.
  3. Kauppinen, Jukka O. (May 9, 2007). "Housemarque tekee ensimmäisen suomalaisen PS3-pelin - Super Stardust HD". Muropaketti (in Finnish). OtavaMedia. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  4. "Killzone: Liberation for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  5. Edge staff (December 2006). "Killzone: Liberation". Edge. No. 169. Future plc. p. 83.
  6. EGM staff (December 2006). "Killzone: Liberation". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 210. Ziff Davis. p. 156.
  7. MacDonald, Keza (November 21, 2006). "Killzone: Liberation". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  8. Reeves, Ben (November 2006). "Killzone Liberation". Game Informer. No. 163. GameStop. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006.
  9. Long Haired Offender (December 2006). "Review: Killzone: Liberation". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. p. 122. Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  10. Dodson, Joe (November 9, 2006). "Killzone: Liberation Review". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  11. Navarro, Alex (October 30, 2006). "Killzone: Liberation Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  12. Graziani, Gabe (December 5, 2006). "GameSpy: Killzone: Liberation". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  13. "Killzone: Liberation Review". GameTrailers. Viacom. November 22, 2006. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  14. Lafferty, Michael (October 5, 2006). "Killzone: Liberation - PSP - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  15. Castro, Juan (October 16, 2006). "Killzone: Liberation Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  16. "Killzone: Liberation". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. December 2006. p. 128.
  17. "Killzone: Liberation". Detroit Free Press. Gannett Company. November 12, 2006.
  18. Hill, Jason (November 20, 2006). "Blast the Helghast". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  19. Struck, Shawn (January 5, 2007). "Killzone: Liberation (PSP) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on January 20, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  20. "IGN Best of 2006: Best Offline Multiplayer Game (PSP)". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  21. GamesRadar staff (September 10, 2018). "The 25 best PSP games of all time". GamesRadar+. Future plc.
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