[Vic Viper]

Thursday 17th July 2003 EXCLUSIVE: KILLZONE SECRETS UNVEILED! Why wait for the official announcement? Get your juicy info on PS2's biggest game right here... 16:39 It's the game everyone's talking about that, let's be honest, no-one really knows a great deal about. Killzone (formerly known as Kin) in development at Guerrilla (formerly known as Lost Boys), has been the subject of crazed speculation ever since we revealed the existence of the game back in March.

What we do know is that it's a first-person shooter, featuring full online play, and the poor quality scans doing the rounds on the Internet give a reasonable indication of graphical style. And, of course, Sony insiders have been referring to the title for months as PS2's "Halo-beater."

But with Sony Europe on the brink of unveiling the game to the world, we've managed to pin down some hot info on what PS2 gamers can expect from the massive triple-A title.

Firstly, Killzone is set to offer a highly compelling, deep storyline with the action character-based. Four unique playable characters are believed to be included, but the story won't be the far-out sci-fi of Halo. Instead, Killzone is thought to be based in a more traditional Earth setting, in the tradition of well established war-based FPSs.

As a result: "The game actually plays more like Medal of Honor than Halo," according to one development source, speaking to us anonymously. And we can also reveal that the name 'Killzone' is a specific reference to an element of twentieth century warfare, where one side surrounds the enemy, creating a 'killzone' in which they are highly vulnerable to attack.

It's thought that the player begins the game in a 'killzone'. And we've further learned that the gas-mask wearing enemies seen in scans are ominously referred to as 'Helgarth Commandos'. Oo-er.

But one of the biggest elements of the game is full online play, and this is where the title will go head-to-head with console heavyweights like Halo 2. Our source told us: "Killzone will make full use of the SOCOM USB headset for online communication, but beyond that, the online side of things will be doing stuff no-one's ever seen before."

"Woooah yeeeeaaaah!" As Macho Man Randy Savage might say. We're literally shaking in anticipation and all signs point to Killzone being the essential system-seller insiders have been hinting at for months. With an official announcement due any day now, all we've got to say is: just show us the bloody shots!

from: computerandvideogames