Demo impressions triple tag team! - Killzone 2, FEAR 2, Halo Wars

Killzone 2

The first thing that's worth saying is that Killzone 2 is probably the best looking thing ever to appear on a console from a purely technical standpoint.  The high level of detail genuinely brings atmosphere to the world, particularly the grit and grime, with dust in the air and surfaces realistically worn and chpped away. It lends the game a very brutalistic fell that's matched by the gameplay.  The chunky, realistic weapons, the decidedly non sci-fi settings and the slow paced combat, complete with a nicely clunky cover system conspire to make the pace of the game quite slow and the feeling very far away from the 'one man army' approach of supposed competitors like Halo.  Overall, it's fun to play but the whitewash of genericism, plus the reports coming in that the story is utter rubbish probably means I'll put off grabbing this one for some time.

FEAR 2: Project Origin

I was a huge fan of the first FEAR (full stops omitted because I'm lazy). I loved its spooky premise, its insane weapons and the gorgeous slow-mo combat that saw enemies pirouetting away in a hail of bullets, blood and masonry.  From this brief demo all those things seem intact, but there are a few caveats.  The graphics are certainly shinier, and the scares more sophisticated, but the truly outlandish aspects of the first game have been played down.  The shotgun, which was a god weapon in the first game, seems nerfed, which is probably a good thing if you're sensible, but I miss being able to dismember people with it.  And why have all the enemies suddenly turned into space marines? The mech section also feels hopelessly out of place to me, and overall although it's scary I miss the grim gritty tone that made the first FEAR (and the underrated Condemned) so compelling.  That being said, there was still lot's of good stuff in here, so I'll probably pick this one up in the late spring drought.

Halo Wars

I've always been a firm believer that the RTS is one of the genres that has no place on anything that doesn't have a mouse and keyboard.  Halo Wars has partially solved these problems howeever, by eliminating a great deal of the depth.  This is very much RTS lite, with base building stripped back to an absolute minimum, and the prevailing tactic once again being the rush (something which is acknowledged by the existance of a 'select all units' button).  But these are actually all good things, with the trade of instead being an emphasis on action and spectacle that fits nicely with the console platform and Halo license.  The two levels in this demo, are nicely packed with spectacle, hammy cutscenes and neat map design, and since I do tend to like my RTS's less complicated I think this one might be on my radar also.