PAX 2010: Impressions and Opinions by Nathan Rohr

Killzone 3



I admit, I was one of those sticks in the mud that couldn’t handle the control scheme of Killzone 2. Good news for me then that the latest instalment in the franchise, due to hit stores next February, seems to have addressed that very issue. The demo I played also looked pretty sharp given this game is still nearly six months out and the developers over at Guerilla definitely seem to have taken some cues from Modern Warfare 2 when it comes to the way the game handles. So combine the sharp visuals that have always been a hallmark of the series with the sharp controls and fast pace of other modern shooters and the result can only be some manner of good.

The other touted feature they were showing off was 3D, and here is where I have less than glowing things to say about the game. Now, it may just be due to my relatively poor eyesight and the complications of placing 3D glasses over regular glasses but I found the 3D to be kind of fuzzy, disorienting and not especially visually stunning as I’m sure its meant to be. I felt no more immersed in the world and was a little dizzy leaving the demo, even though I had them on for maybe ten minutes at most. I cannot see this as being a viable means of playing the game in its entirety, but I guess your mileage may vary in this department.

The levels they were showing off seemed to all be set in some kind of icy wasteland, with the requisite snow and fog one would expect from that setting. The weapons were all fairly commonplace shooter standbys, including a pistol and an assault rifle, in addition to a mini-gun utilized in a set-piece action moment where you are flown around a base full of Helghast. Everything felt right, the sound effects were solid and the frame-rate stayed consistently smooth. Basically, no nasty surprises were encountered in my time with the game.

While the 3D side of things isn’t looking so hot, that is really only a concern for crazy people with ultra-expensive televisions, so the rest of us can still anticipate Killzone 3 being a sharp-looking, easy to control FPS when it lands in February.

The “Deadly Premonition” Conundrum by Nathaniel Rohr

I cannot recall any budget title in the history of the video-game industry ever garnering the attention that Deadly Premonition has gained since its release in late February. Not only that, but the way it grew from literally nothing to one of the most hotly debated games out there is truly miraculous. Funny now, in retrospect, that the eagerly anticipated Heavy Rain was released that very same week and it has almost completely faded from my memory. The same may be said of other devoted game enthusiasts out there, I can’t be sure, but let me make this absolutely clear: I believe Deadly Premonition to be one of the defining releases in the history of the medium. It has single-handedly changed my perception of the entire industry and drawn to light hypocrisies in both game reviewers and the people that read these reviews. Don’t agree? Well, I hope you shall take the time to consider the following observations.