Archief - Killzone: Shadow Fall

Although they’ve shared the same planet for 30 years, the Vektans and the Helghast are now on the brink of war. With both factions eager to protect their home and reclaim what they believe is theirs, trust has reached an all-time low. The wall built to separate both sides can no longer contain the enemy.

As a Shadow Marshal you serve under Vektan Security Agency director Sinclair, who has you perform the difficult missions that ensure the balance remains tipped in favor of the Vektans. But Echo, an intelligence operative for the Helghast, has similar orders – and she will stop at nothing to accomplish them.

To bring these two key characters to life, we are very pleased to have secured the amazing talents of David Harewood, who plays Sinclair, and Jamie Gray Hyder, who has taken on the role of Echo.
David is a British actor best known for his role as that other intelligence agency director – David Estes, the deputy director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, in the critically acclaimed television series Homeland. Jamie is a young American actress known for her breakout role as the werewolf Danielle on the award-winning television series True Blood.

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FALL FROM GRACE

In Killzone: Shadow Fall, the touchpad's used to control your mechanical O.W.L companion. Swipe in one of four directions and the O.W.L will either help shoot down enemies, shield you from incoming fire, emit a shock attack or act a zip line to unreachable areas.

It's very easy to reach mid-battle, and we actually found it more intuitive and comfortable to use than the d-pad controls. Here, there were buttons for our health packs and radar to help spot nearby enemies, but these were much more awkward to reach when we were trying to dodge incoming bullets, making it that much harder to sneak in a quick health boost while under siege. It may be because our left hand isn't used to doing such heavy duty button work, but whereas the touchpad was just an easy flick away, the d-pad almost demanded us to pause and take our thumb off the analogue stick.


EYE CANDY

Of course, the most impressive part of the PlayStation 4 is undoubtedly its graphical horsepower. Killzone has always been an impressive-looking series, but Shadow Fall is simply stunning. Improvements to guns and character models are relatively small, but it's the lighting and water effects that really draw the eye.

We started our demo in a wooded forest perched on top of a cliff. A roaring river gushes and froths beneath us and there's a visible mist in the air as it rushes over the edge into a waterfall. A low afternoon sun is streaming in through the trees as well, giving everything in a warm glow. We swipe the touchpad to activate the O.W.L's zip line and jump down on an unsuspecting guard with a palpable slice to the throat. The sun flares and blazes in our eyes as we weave our way through the trees, but it's nothing compared to the blinding light of a sniper's laser shining directly in our eyes.

The transition from bright to low light was even more striking impressive. One section saw us zip lining between two halves of a dilapidated old building and it took a few seconds for our vision to adjust to the dark shadows. The fine detail of our surroundings came gradually rather than all at once, and it made us that much more cautious as we proceeded.

It's not just the environment that makes you sit up and take notice, though, as enemy AI has also received a significant update. Enemies will work together to try and flank you if you're not careful, and while your O.W.L can scout ahead and sometimes wipe out a whole pocket of soldiers for you, there's only so much damage it can take before it will need to retreat and recharge. If there are still a couple of stragglers at this point, they'll hit an alarm that will keep sending in more enemies until your O.W.L has had time to hack and disable it.

Luckily, every time you use a health pack, you get a shot of adrenalin which slows down the action, giving you a few precious seconds to get your bearings and formulate your next move. Some snipers have the ability to teleport, though, so you'll need to be on your guard at all times.

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The Guerrilla Armory returns with a look at another powerful weapon from Killzone: Shadow Fall - the Helghast VC30 Shotgun. If you thought the LS13 from previous games was effective, wait until you get your hands on this baby! As usual, art director and firearms designer Roy Postma answers our questions and concerns about the new weapon.

Unlike its Killzone 3 predecessor, this shotgun has two barrels! Won't that make the VC30 overpowered?

"The cool thing about shotguns is that their large shells allow for many different ammo types. In this case, the stacked double barrel is used to quickly switch between ammo types, which won’t make the weapon overpowered but does make it a lot more versatile."

Stacked-barrel shotguns are usually break-action, single-shot weapons! Won’t such a mechanism make the VC30 underpowered?

"No, the VC30 actually has a classic pump-action reload mechanism. We’ve added two individual tube magazines placed next to each other under the stacked barrels, allowing for 8 shots from each magazine. These can be loaded with different ammo types if preferred. In a sense, the VC30 is two shotguns put together, making it a real Helghast weapon that favors quantity and firepower."

Were there any real-life inspirations for the VC30's design?

"In recent years many new designs for automatic shotguns have surfaced, redefining the concept of the shotgun in terms of looks and functionality. We’ve used some of those designs as inspiration, creating a mix of their best features and then pouring that mixture into a new Helghast weapon cast."

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