SCEA Judges Day: Killzone 2 interview

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As a lifelong gamer, attending last week’s E3 Judges Day was definitely an exciting time for me. Games we’ve been hearing about for months (or more), like Motorstorm 2, PixelJunk Eden, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, and SOCOM Confrontation were just sitting there at the ready, waiting to be played. And play we did.

I wanted to share, as best I can, the experience of being at an event like this, so out came the Handycam. From reading the comments here on the Blog, I’ve gotten the impression that a few of you might be interested in Killzone 2. ;-)

Fortunately, Steven Ter Heide, Senior Producer at Guerrilla Games made the long trip in from Amsterdam to show off the game’s second level. I was able to corner him for 10 minutes or so to ask him about how the game is coming along, on living up to the expectations established by that E3 trailer, what will distinguish Killzone 2 from the other shooters on offer this year, and the first-person cover system.

Even if you don’t care about what we’re saying, I set up the shot so that you can watch pretty much the entire demoed level being played between Steven and I.

As far as the game itself is concerned, I played through the demo 3 different times. While I really, really liked it, you’ll probably be more interested in what outlets like Gamepro, GamesRadar, and IGN had to say about it.

As I mention towards at the end of the interviews, I know you readers will have questions. While Steven is back in the Netherlands now, go ahead and ask them, and I’ll save them for the next time I see him (E3 or Leipzig, most likely).

In the meantime, I’ll bring you more Judges Day videos in the coming days.

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51 Comments

5 Author Replies

  • awesome, gonna check that video…

  • Freaking awesome! I can’t wait till this game comes out!

  • Jeff!! You are one lucky dude. Killzone looks incredible! Excellent choice, putting the tv screen between you, I watched the video twice just to catch it all. Of course, you had to mention Metal Gear as well, get me all excited and sad, for how poor I’ll be when I have to buy all these amazing things.

    Thanks for all this awesome coverage, keep it coming!!

  • The game looks amazing, now I hope the spend the rest of time making it FUN to play.

  • Always good to hear/see more of Killzone 2. Feb. 09 seems a whiles away but from what I’ve seen so far, it’ll be very much worth the wait!

  • Jeff Rubenstein you friggin genius you, great camera set up / interview. A few questions will there be another KillZone installment on the PSP once KZ2 is released? I forgot the term but when you shoot the enemies in the same place will it be the same movement or does each spot (not different spots like he said) have several different moves or just one in general. Ex: If I shoot several different enemies in the head will they all do the same move or will they have several different ones.

  • OH PLEASE JEFF, i don’t mind killzone, but i have a craving for little big planet. extreme craving. i NEED it. this game, i could have bought a ps3 had someone told me this is the only game coming out for it….wait let me double check….well, maybe, its definently a console seller (although my console seller was uncharted) BUT OMG, LBP FTW!

  • looks awesome! but will this game feature co-op?

  • I have the typical questions:

    1.How long is the main campaign?

    2.What’s the multtiplayer going to be like?

    3.Any co-op campaign?

    4.Any unlockables that will promote replayability?

    5. As far as the story goes, will it be necessary for new players to have played KZ and Liberations? Will a summary of the events leading up to the story in KZ2 be offered?

    • We will have lots of information on Killzone 2 to share with you all in the coming months. The judges day event was the first of many steps, but please rest assured that multiplayer, co-op, story weapons, etc will be covered in the many steps to come.

      If you have questions about what was shown or that we have talked about publicly, we are reading and will pull them together for the guys at Guerilla to answer.

      Thanks-

      ron

  • Looks great, I beat Killzone and played tons of Killzone online (it was my first experience with a fps online) can’t wait for # 2.

  • Gametrailers.com has complete play throughs of the demo available. people should check them out.

    If you’re taking questions, please oh please ask about multiplayer. Gametypes, number of players, vehicles and all that jazz…

  • Yeah, um multiplayer and vehicles, what type? I already saw the tanks. BTW nice job Jeff.

  • nice i think this game will be awesome dont you think?

  • Thanks for the interview. Awesome.

  • thank you so much that was brilliant. I do have a question for you Jeff, will Home be present at this years E3(at least a new trailer the one on the ps store is ancient)If you see Steven Ter Heide again tell him the game looks amazing already and that we cant waite to get the final product next year.

  • I played through Killzone 1 and Killzone: Liberation.

    Basically, the story goes from personal conflict (Killzone 1 to epic (Killzone: Liberation) to extremely epic (Killzone 2)!

    There is a user who uploaded all the cutscenes for Killzone one on YouTube and they’re a great watch since the story was pretty good.

    But by the looks of it, I don’t think the previous story is important. Just know that Vekta was attacked in a blitzkrieg (“lightening” warfare) by the Helghast from Helghan and they were drove out of Vekta City in Killzone 1.

    In Liberation, the remaining Helghast in southern Vekta get wiped out.

    In Killzone 2, the humans take the battle straight to their home planet, Helghan.

  • Man it’s good to be a multi-console gamer. So much good stuff to look forward to this year. I only wish the frikin bills would go away.

  • hehhe nice camera work, Jeff-

    just got back from vacation and I see this sneaky vid- great job getting us the goods on that one- undercover blogger!

    and the handycam captured the game pretty well, could get a sense of the smooth FPS..

    (good choice on camera brands-another fine Sony product- lol! Jeff probably would have gotten in trouble if it was filmed on a Hitachi..)

    It’s posts like these that remind why i love this blog.

    (I guess it’s sad we are so starved for real details about hush hush topics that this is so entertaining…enough with the secrecy already! I say more info is better! It helps get people hyped and pumped for the games!)

    thanks for this vid man.

  • how do I get a job like this..seriously

  • I need this, not want, need

  • Good good stuff. Great to be able to watch the demo as you guys talked. kudos to Sony and Guerrilla Games for taking the time to put a quality title out, especially with so much worthy “competition” from the other PS3 shooters.

  • Ahhh! I cant wait for this game! I’m not a big fan of 1st person shooter but this one it’s somethign else, it is beautiful and looks very fun!

    I really hope that the February release date is set in stone and wont change, I’ve been waiting for this game and FF, sure there are way more games that looks fun but these 2 will be awesome!

  • where’s metal gear monday???
    I don’t care about kill zone 2

  • Hey man, great stuff! Would love to get my hands on this game. :)Quick thing, Jeff… If you ever get a chance to interview Steve again, I had a question I’d love to get an answer to. Will the controls in K2 be fully customizable like they were in Killzone 1? This would be very important for me to know. Thanks in advance and keep up the great work, guys and girls.

  • Dubbedinenglish

    Awesome stuff, and a good lengthy interview.

    BTW Jeff we see you playing Resistance 2…I have proof here (3:18)!
    http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18918

    Will we get an interview up as well for Resistance 2?

  • There’s no sound?

  • Sweet. Can’t wait for this game. I need to rent Killzone 1 and rent Killzone Liberation like NOW.

  • The original Killzone is one of my favorite PS2 games and one of my top 5 FPS games available.

    Killzone: Liberation is my favorite PSP game, even when compared with God of War, Syphon Filter, and Crisis Core.

    Needless to say, after having devoted hundreds of hours of my life (through play sessions, forum discussions, fan-fictions, “editorials” on my blog, FAQs across numerous websites, video and image editing, etc.) to this series, I’m more than excited for Killzone 2’s release. (one might say that it is the #1 of many reasons for my purchase of a PS3)

    Thank you very much for the interview, and I look forward to the game’s next showing (which will hopefully include multiplayer)

  • Dubbedinenglish

    Great interview! Honestly I don’t think I’ve seen a game thats crushed my expectations (in a good way) every time I see. Killzone 2 is my most anticipated title coming up.

    Jeff now don’t be sneaky we caught you playing some Resistance 2 (3:18).
    http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18918

    Will we see more interviews and specifically Resistance 2.

    • Jeff Rubenstein

      Hmm, I think that\’s Sam Kennedy (EGM) you see there. I\’m taller :-)

      But yeah, I did get some quality time in the MP, and think I did pretty well.

      As far as seeing more specifically on R2, you\’ll be seeing a lot more, directly from Insomniac, on the blog soon.

  • I have a few questions I would like to know about and would like to know if you can pass them on to Guerrilla.

    1. Is there any chance Secondary fire will come back in the game. Like even if the secondary fire has to be limited it would be better to have it in then not.

    2. I heard there are only 20 weapons in the game yet there are so far 24. Why are all 24 not in the game.

    3. Will the Granade tail be taken out. I think it looks fake so if that could be changed it would be great.

    • I will forward these on, however Steven did say during an interview with GameTrailers that there would be no secondary fire.

  • Nice interview Jeff……i have a very good question

    I’ve always dreamed to see my teammates in a little box in the corner of my screen (like GRAW2 did in the single player campaing) using the Playstation Eye….Could it be possible to see that or something similar in Killzone 2??

    PD: sorry for my english….

  • Will KZ2 run in true 1080p HD res? Or will it be upscale or just a 720p title.

    30fr or 60fr?

  • Can you plllleeeeaasseee confirm if theres going to be Campaign co op?!

    PLEASE! I beg you!

  • Yes, I would also like to be sure that there will indeed be co-op.

    I think you kind of jumped him with that “what will set this apart” question- that or he simply wasn’t ready for it ’cause I can already see several things, including (duh) the amazing graphics.

    Also, Jeff, if you could, look through the Socom Friday updates- there’s a guy “PsychoEddie” or something that’s been spamming for a couple weeks now but something always ends up bumping the update down the list before it can be brought to anyone’s attention.

    I look forward to anything and everything on Killzone 2. (And any RPG-related news as well- I’d really like something on that front, potentially from the near-mute Square Enix.)

  • Hey Jeff, appreciate the updates. I was wondering about the original cast from Killzone 1, will they be making any appearances? I wouldn’t mind seeing Hakha again and his take being on Helghan. Since summer is rolling around I’m gonna play The original again and buy another copy of liberation since mine was stolen at a hospital of all places!

  • Awesome stuff! Excellent work Jeff. :)

    Only one issue – MGS4 is not a shooter! :P

    • Jeff Rubenstein

      I\’ve played MGS (first 30 mins or so) – and I played it like a shooter. You can do that, if you so choose (I do).

  • cant wait for this game. i like exatcly what he was talking about. when you shoot the helghast the way they move to each bullet looks awesome. and the happy accidents sounds very cool. cant wait for this game.

    will there be a demo for Killzone 2? I’m guessing there will be one around Christmas. whats a better present sony can give us

  • I think that everything released so far on Killzone2 is just astounding. I can’t believe how it looks. Looks amazing. Best FPS graphics in my opinion and can only get better with 9 more months of development. Great job GG. Keep up the good work. Hope to see more soon

  • Mekuro Gear Solid

    damn… the soldeir when revived shruged off the helgast that was ontop of him this game sounds amazing the potential in ps3 is unbeleivable bluray cell and rsx is a wonderous beast haha ive accually always been stoked for this game i was always stoked for killzone 1 but yeah… shoulda been so good :( oh well this will make up for it and im really excited for resistance 2… #1 was an instant classic but most of all mgs4 omg… the best series will come to an epic finish and ps3 will come of age… now i just need sony to unveil at least that one secret amazing game they are working on.. i dont get the secrecy in these times you would think the quicker this could be shown to the public the better it would be to build momentum
    my one question is kind of unrelated but would it be possible to just clear up why all the secrets? ive known about the huge upcomming secret sony title a while ago but recently this psn firmware update secret is bugged me why cant i know what my update improved!? lol like i duno i dont see that image being good for sony n i want sony to beat micros**t to the ground so everyone can play ps3 like ps2 before it but just saying at the very least keep that stuff 100% off the radar if you cant release any knowledge whatsoever

  • Will it have 4 player off-line split-screen mode with Bots??? I doubt it will, but KillZone on PS2 did and i loved that game ;)

    The Game looks AMAZING!!! ;-P (Looks like the Original Video!)
    Can’t wait to play it! ;-P

  • I have waaaaay too many games to buy this year… I’ma’ be completely and utterly broke… haha!, no I’m not complaining, keep em’ Rolling Sony! and company, Everything looks fantastic.

  • My question is short and sweet, will there be co-op?

    I know that it was mentioned as a sure thing towards the beginning of development but we haven’t heard much about it since then, and it seems to be begging for it given that the player seems to be with another soldier in all the videos shown. I really hope that at the least, offline co-op is included, preferably online co-op. It makes the experience so much better playing through it with a friend.

  • Great interview Jeff, and nice job on the camera placement. I can’t wait to see what they do in terms of polish for this game, as it already looks amazing.

  • I forgot to ask some thing in my last post.

    When ever you get to talk to Guerrilla again can you ask if you will be able to give out commands/orders like in KZ:L.

    Also any chance KZ2 will get another delay to November of 09 instead of Feburary. I want to know before I get my hopes up. So I would like to know if Guerrilla or Sony are thinking about delaying it to the Holiday season.

    Also I never even knew that was you Jeff taking the interview. like listening to the radio you start thinking what that person looks like and now I know you are not really Sly Cooper so that was a shock.

    That being said it is finally nice to put a face to you Jeff and I hope you will do more interviews like this one again.

    • Just wanted to add a quick reply on the \”delay\” of Killzone 2 to Feb 2009. To be clear, there is nothing wrong or causing a delay to the development of the title. We (SECA) had to look at the fall calendar with SOCOM, LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, Resistance 2, plus some PSN titles and make a decision where each game should come out. Killzone 2 was moved to Feb 2009 to make sure we didn\’t have three shooters in the marketplace competing for retail dollars during the same holiday season. The game will be great and it will be out in Feb 2009 in both Europe and North America.

      Hope this helps – alot of times we gamers read delay and think something is wrong, in this case, it was a pure management decision.

      ron

  • Jeff,

    What a cool post. This is exactly the sort of thing we need on this blog. Overall, I think the coverage from the judges day was excellent, and this interview is right up there with my favourite coverage.

    Great job, and keep up the good work. We want more info!!!

  • i love killzone on the psp.so what i want to ask is will killzone 2 on ps3 had some kind of support for the psp? Will killzone 2 have new weapons?As for online i would like to know if we can play as the enemy and get to control the weather ?

  • I am really, really looking forward to this game. Based on what I have seen Guerrilla has really learned its lessons from Killzone on PS2.

    I appreciated the care and effort that went into making Killzone:Liberation such a kick*** game.

    From what we have seen so far, they really are going the extra mile to ensure that the little details and polish of the game come across to set it apart from other FPS in the genre. Please make sure you guys concentrate on enemy AI. I want to really see the AI do some interesting things :D

    I liked the narrative in both Killzone titles so far, does the team plan to do anything new on the storytellig front?

    How much emphasis of the story will be placed on conveying the epic conflict depicted in the in games “world”?

    I felt that, while good, the original KZ lacked a little in the story telling dept. I would have loved to be able to find out more about the plight of the Hellghast and the allies via ingame cutscenes, left behind “journals” or anything to flesh out the world and its inhabitants a bit more.

    Keep up the great work, and please post an HD video of this on the PSN. :)

  • I love the interview, it came out nicely. Also thanks to this review we finally got to see the intro of the level, since we all started watching when the game was already playable.

    I like how Steven is looking for solutions to the AI, I think it should be interesting if your fellow AI could kill certain amount of enemies that are not your target and are shooting at you. Yet it should be also cool if they run out of ammo, then you and your friend AI have a conversation, something like: “Damn… I run out of Ammo! How much do you have left?!” and then your character responds something depending on how much ammo you have and you are given the option of keep the ammo or actually give some. It gives a sense of team work IMO, specially if the Enemy AI is challenging and hard to kill.

    Oh well, this is just something I thought while seen the interview, I hope to see this game running in my PS3 when it comes out! Props for the great interview and to Guerrilla for this great game!

  • My biggest question is will there be offline campaign co-op and possibly online co-op would be nice as well. But seriously this game needs offline co-op. I dont know why alot of developers nowadays are making shooters just single player. Its better playing with a friend sitting next to you in my honest opinion.

  • Excelent Jeff…be honest is always great. I’ll be waiting for Feb 09….i’ll be waiting for Killzone 2

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