So much so that I have to wonder why Guerrilla thought taking so long to put a gun into your hand and let you out of your tutorial-laden cage was a good idea. And though enemy AI is occasionally lacking, as Helghan foes at times don’t practice self-preservation or seem to even “turn on,” it’s normally up to par, and firing your weapons into them is a blast. Mercifully, that mystifying sluggishness is long gone, making Shadow Fall faster and snappier than Killzone has ever been, making way for a shooter that feels, at its core, a lot more like Halo than Killzone 3. More Must-See PS4 Launch Content: Also eliminated is one of the most well-known and divisive components of the franchise: its incredibly heavy-feeling movement. And while it doesn’t always run at or near 60 frames per second, Shadow Fall performs nicely, with motion blur slyly hiding some of its rough technical edges. It’s easy to lose track of time staring off into Vekta City’s impressive skyline, or run around looking at the plant life in the forest alongside the wall that keeps the two sides away from one another. Shadow Fall’s environments are gorgeous, diverse, and have a tangible feeling of scope, and it’s the pristineness of many of them that make them special. The wake of endless war - and the invasive industrial feel of previous entries - have stepped aside for stunning, colorful cityscapes, lush forests, and abandoned space stations. This becomes immediately evident as soon as you begin the single-player campaign. This story has allowed Guerrilla to explore different, more subtle themes, in turn letting the team flex its artistic muscles in ways it never had a chance to. It takes place decades after the catastrophic events at the end of Killzone 3, with the conflict between the two sides turning into a bona fide cold war as a result of once again living on the same planet.

Play Killzone has always been a bleak-looking game, a product of its equally bleak story surrounding two factions of warring humans, the Vektans and the Helghast, but Shadow Fall one makes a welcome turn for the colorful.

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