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Sony has done it again! First it was Killzone 2 and now it is God of War III that is being unleashed on gamers three days in advance of the US release date, six days if you take the European release as Indian release dates coincide with that. Sony realizes the huge demand for the third game in the series, so much so that imported copies have already started showing up on the Indian shelves, threatening to eat into Sony-India’s profits. So advancing the release date by six whole days makes perfect sense for Sony. Obviously gamers are not complaining. Those who have pre-ordered the game from their favorite retailers have already started getting the calls that the game will be available today. Those who haven’t booked a copy yet should better get ready to stalk out the game stores when they open in around another hour or so.
OK, so, not a lot of people made it to the Street Fighter IV launch party at The Living Room last week. Probably because they were busy spending quality time with their friends and loved ones, telling them how important they are when you’re living life at 120 mph. Or they were probably in bed, sipping on a cup of hot coffee, or pounding on a controller, or maybe both. (Ahem!) Oh, I remember now! It was because it was on a freaking Friday evening where the Satanic bosses at our workplace were going, “Just a couple of more hours before these in-bred SOBs go home for two days to nurse their bruises and their egos, so let’s push them harder. And yeah, send that database warehousing tub-o’-lard into my room. I’ve got a couple of fluggaenkdechioebolsen reports that I wanna go over with him!” (WARNING: That linky’s totally NSFW, so beware. And kids, stay away for your own good, at least until you’re older!)
But anyway, that was Street Fighter IV, so let’s talk about Killzone 2. You’ve read about it. You’ve seen all the videos. Maybe even participated in a few forum wars about how it’s the next best thing to hot garlic bread and cheese dip. Well, now is the time to check it out for yourselves. If you were one of the unlucky few who still hasn’t got the game or the fence-sitter minority, The Living Room is the place to be this weekend. Starting tomorrow, gaming folks who manage to wander over to The Living Room in Bangalore after 1 PM will get to spend three days in the company of the numero uno shooter for the PS3, Killzone 2. Like Niko Bellic hoped, maybe this time, things will be different. Or whatever, I don’t know, click on the ad for more details. Me, I have just one question – “Will there be Red Bull?”
(Click image for a high-res photo of the Killzone 2 swag)
Welly, well, well! Looks like contest season has started again here. For all those folks that had their brians (yes, that was deliberate) aching from all the disuse, here’s something that should get those little grey cells firing wildly. Say hello to our Killzone 2 contest, where five lucky blokes will be able to snatch up aKillzone 2 artbook (yes, the same ones you’d have gotten if you got your press kit or placed your Steelbook copy order at GI), a Killzone 2 cap that should serve for protection from the harsh sunlight (if this contest were held on Helghan, we could have given you gas masks, but you’re on Earth, so tough luck!) and a nifty skin to deck out your PS3 and profess your love for all things Killzone 2. Without further ado, happy hunting, and oh yeah, don’t forget to check out our ossum-possum review of Killzone 2 while you’re tearing your hair out! 
Contest Details / End-dates / Terms & Conditions / Winners List
Food, water, air, shelter, Killzone 2 – which seems to be the new updated list of what people need to stay alive and not curl up into a tight little ball and die from heartbreak and neglect. Just as news comes pouring in that the most eagerly awaited game of all time on the PS3 has officially broken street date and is ending up on game shelves everywhere in Dubai and Pakistan, we get some shocking news of what’s happening right in our backyard. With tensions running high between India and her next door neighbour, obviously, we can’t have them lording it over us about how they’re playing Killzone 2 and we aren’t. Well, fear no more, for India has followed suit and is breaking the street date as of right bloody now, with copies of the game being made available in all major cities starting from today.
And the best part is, it’s all official. With gamers in the country beating down the doors of the regional SCE distributors and threatening to cancel their pre-orders and take their business to the gray markets, Sony India and Milestone Interactive have done pretty much the only thing they could to save their business – break the street date officially and get the game out to starving fans a day or two before they’ll be available for sale in teeny tiny stores in a crowded alleyway. Talk about flipping the gray market off big time! Although we knew about it as soon as news of the Dubai leaks reached us, we were asked to keep our mouths shut until an official press release could be whipped up explaining what the heck was going on. Which, incidentally, also explains why we rushed to get our single player review of the game out the door a week before schedule.
Hit the jump for the official press release.
E3 2005 – the defining moment when Sony and Guerilla Games (GG) almost convinced me to pick up a PS3 as soon as the shiny piano-black console with the Spiderman font would become available, southbound credit lines be damned. The now-infamous trailer blew the collective gaming world away – jaws dropping and tongues doing a very wet red-carpet routine with the realisation that the sky will soon be the limit, thanks to the almost-mythical power of the Cell processor quietly purring away under the hood of the sexy black beast. Unfortunately, heartbreak soon followed with the disclosure that contrary to what Sony had claimed, the trailer was, in fact, prerendered CG, created to show off what would it should look like when it would finally launch, provided things didn’t get screwed six ways from Sunday from now till then. Most PS3 fans felt cheap and used after all the emotional trauma they suffered at the hands of the Xbox 360 and Wii fans after defending the trailer across message boards all over the internet – sort of like marrying the gorgeous girl they’d dated for ten years only to find out she was a transvestite on the wedding night. Soon after, Grand Theft Auto 4 hopped on top of the Xbox 360 bandwagon and before long, I was putting my money on the Redmond giant’s offering, signing the contract in blood without reading the fine print about how it would occasionally keep reminding me of a reddish hell, which would happen, predictably, when I found myself completely getting drawn in by some game.
Fast forward to late 2008: GG and Sony jump-start the hype train once again with preview builds of Killzone 2 starting to show up on game-show floors all over the planet. This time around, PS3 fans, confident in the knowledge that the PS3 finally had its “killer app” squarely in its sights, pulled up their pants, reset their passwords and stormed forums and message boards worldwide with a new found vigor. The following months saw me wading through N4G-melting previews and an acute overdose of animated GIFs explaining visually why Killzone 2 will be the second coming of Jesus and how GG was all set to pull off a Kratos by kicking God out of His Almighty Throne and setting up a bitchin’ LAN party right there in the middle of heaven. Whoa, did I back the wrong horse there by siding with the Xbox 360?
After being royally ignored countless number of times, Bangalore finally got its first and much deserved gaming expo in a long time. After wowing the gamers in Mumbai, the PlayStation Experience (PSE) in Mumbai, it moved down south to Bangalore, much to the delight of us gamers here. Held at the Kormangala Indoor Stadium, PSE boasted of an impressive set up that allowed the general public access to a lot of PS3, PS2 and PSP titles, some already out in the market and some just waiting to hit the shelves. The show floor was divided into different zones showcasing different genres of video games from the PS3’s roster.
More information on Killzone 2 coming through, straight from the developers themselves.
Story:
Two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta, the ISA is bringing the fight to the enemy’s home world of Helghan. Taking the role of Sev, the battle-hardened veteran of the special forces unit known as the Legion, players will embark upon a mission to the planet Helghan to capture the Helghast leader, Emperor Visari, and bring the enemy’s war machine to a halt. For Sev and his squad, the invasion of Helghan is just the beginning. Tasked with securing Pyrrhus, the Capital City, the team quickly discovers that the Helghast are a formidable enemy on their home planet. Not only have they adjusted to the planet’s hostile conditions, they have also harnessed a source of power from the environment that can be used against the ISA. Sev and his team soon discover the fight is greater than simply addressing the enemy forces; the Legion must also learn how to handle the effects of the fierce enemy planet.
Features:
With an extensive, story-driven single-player mode and thrilling multiplayer mode, Killzone 2 offers a host of new elements that caters to both hardcore and casual gamers alike. The game features highly atmospheric environments that respond accurately to weapon fire as players storm through the world of Helghan. The harsh climate and conditions of Helghan are also a factor, forcing players to adapt new tactics to survive. Proprietary tools and technology such as deferred rendering techniques are implemented to create advanced effects, such as ultra-vivid and detailed character animations and environments. Advanced cinematic effects are used to provide unprecedented visuals, including motion blur, internal lens reflections, and depth-based color grading that will let players experience gameplay that is sharp, detailed, and vibrant. Additionally, Killzone 2 supports 7.1 surround with location-specific audio, providing players the opportunity to experience sound and music that are not only dynamic but in context to indoor and outdoor locations.
Check out the developer interview, the first screenshots and concept art after the jump.
For those that have been following the news, it looks like a select group of people were invited to the first playable demo of the much anticipated (and much maligned) Killzone 2 game. While the demo was certainly playable, no one but the developers were allowed to play the damn game, but that’s nitpicking, considering this game blows every other game at E3 out of the water. After the seemingly lackluster press conference by Microsoft a couple of hours ago, the attendees at the Killzone 2 preview could only watch with mouths agape as the developers ran through an entire level in this interactive “violent theater of war”.
Featuring fully destructible environments, a seamlessly disappearing HUD like in Gears of War, and breathtaking lighting and shadow detail, Killzone 2 seems to best its awesome predecessor on the PS3, Resistance: Fall of Man in every way. With the Helghast wielding weapons that controlled and unleashed the weather upon the players in terrifying ways, the players are well warned to watch the weather as well as the battlefield as you could find yourself facing the wrong end of a lightning bolt if you are caught unawares. Of course, with such a brilliant looking game, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind as to why the PS3 needs BluRay media. The single level was supposed to take up 2GB of data and one can see why. The game is also touted to have multiplayer components that link to home and Killzone2.com, just like the PSP version of Liberation, but more info on this aspect wasn’t forthcoming from the developers.
We can’t wait to see the HD version of the trailer hit the PlayStation Store in a couple of hours. In the meantime, for those without it, I guess they’d have to camp out at the E3 page on GameTrailers.com.
Read Kotaku’s impressions about the game >>
Hit the jump for the awesome trailer. Can’t wait to get this in HD!