Killzone: Liberation, Developers Q&A

We have given you some screenshots of the Guerilla Games-developed venture, Killzone: Liberation, these past days. Now, to make our update of the game complete, we will top it of with a Killzone: Liberation Q&A, participated by the games’ developers. The developers gamely answered questions with regards to Liberation, its multiplayer functionality, and the future of the Killzone franchise, among many other things.

The PSP version will make you reprise the role of Jon Templar, only this time, you are not assigned to prevent a global attack by the enemy, but you are tasked to rescue prisoners and hostages behind enemy lines. With all that said, what are we waiting for? Let’s jump right to the Q&A.

Q1: What is the background on Killzone: Liberation? How did this game come about?
Killzone: Liberation is the follow up to Killzone for PlayStation2. Like its predecessor, it is an action-packed tactical shooter game that has been developed from the ground-up specifically for PSP system. There are many upgrades and improvements in the latest installment of the franchise, such as enhanced visual style, intricate storyline and new function modes.

Q2: Was Killzone for PlayStation 2 originally planned as the first of an expanding franchise?
With any intellectual property, it is always the developer’s goal to create a game and story that can continue to grow and expand. Of course, sequels always depend on the performance of the game, as well as media and consumer response. The original Killzone is now a PlayStation 2 Greatest Hit and has sold two million unites worldwide. It only made sense to continue the story and give the fans more.

Q3: What is the storyline for Killzone: Liberation? Does it pick up where the first one left off?
The game’s story continues two months after the end of the original Killzone for PlayStation 2. Set against a postmodern war, the battle against the evil Helghast rages on with most of South er Vekta still under their control. The fleet has arrived but the Helghast troops, led by General Metrac, are still gaining ground in the southern provinces. Returning as the Templar, players are on a mission to save hostages captured by Metrac, while ISA troops continue the fight for liberty.

More questions and answers await after the jump.

We have given you some screenshots of the Guerilla Games-developed venture, Killzone: Liberation, these past days. Now, to make our update of the game complete, we will top it of with a Killzone: Liberation Q&A, participated by the games’ developers. The developers gamely answered questions with regards to Liberation, its multiplayer functionality, and the future of the Killzone franchise, among many other things.

The PSP version will make you reprise the role of Jon Templar, only this time, you are not assigned to prevent a global attack by the enemy, but you are tasked to rescue prisoners and hostages behind enemy lines. With all that said, what are we waiting for? Let’s jump right to the Q&A.

Q1: What is the background on Killzone: Liberation? How did this game come about?
Killzone: Liberation is the follow up to Killzone for PlayStation2. Like its predecessor, it is an action-packed tactical shooter game that has been developed from the ground-up specifically for PSP system. There are many upgrades and improvements in the latest installment of the franchise, such as enhanced visual style, intricate storyline and new function modes.

Q2: Was Killzone for PlayStation 2 originally planned as the first of an expanding franchise?
With any intellectual property, it is always the developer’s goal to create a game and story that can continue to grow and expand. Of course, sequels always depend on the performance of the game, as well as media and consumer response. The original Killzone is now a PlayStation 2 Greatest Hit and has sold two million unites worldwide. It only made sense to continue the story and give the fans more.

Q3: What is the storyline for Killzone: Liberation? Does it pick up where the first one left off?
The game’s story continues two months after the end of the original Killzone for PlayStation 2. Set against a postmodern war, the battle against the evil Helghast rages on with most of Souther Vekta still under their control. The fleet has arrived but the Helghast troops, led by General Metrac, are still gaining ground in the southern provinces. Returning as the Templar, players are on a mission to save hostages captured by Metrac, while ISA troops continue the fight for liberty.

Q4: Why did you decide to stray from the first-person perspective of the PS2 version for the third-person view in place for the PSP title?
We wanted to create a new perspective and different experience that takes place in the Killzone universe. A new viewpoint provides us with many interesting options such as a more tactical overview, more graphical details and nice parallax effects. For the third person viewpoint, we developed an intelligent camera system that captures all of the intense action, giving players the best perspective and enabling them to make tactical decisions before engaging in a firefight.

Q5: Tell us about the multiplayer functionality of Killzone: Liberation?
Because this is a PSP game, we wanted to take full advantage of the handheld’s wireless capabilities. The multiplayer functionality in Killzone: Liberation has two distinct styles of game play: 1) Two player cooperative game play in the single player mission 2) One to six player games over six multiplayer maps.

Q6: How is the game different for the PSP? Does it have unique functions and what makes it mobile-friendly?
The multiplayer modes are an intrinsic part of the game. We use the PSP’s Ad hoc feature to connect two players in Cooperative mode. Killzone: Liberation will also feature a mode where players can share demo levels of the game with other PSP owners. Additionally, we divided the game in 15 minutes intervals or blocks, which are designed to be played in quick short bursts. Combined with the intuitive controls, Killzone: Liberation truly is a pick-up-and-play game. Within minutes, after just a couple of button presses, people are drawn into the game and immediately know the basics. From there, players can concentrate on discovering the additional mechanics and truly master the controls.

Q7: Tell us about the gadgets, weapons and cars in Killzone: Liberation.
In Killzone: Liberation players will have a wide variety of new weapons including crossbows equipped with explosive tipped arrows, a new rocket-launcher, a flame-thrower, remote detonated mines and sniper rifles. The game features very cool drivable vehicles, as well, including hovercrafts and tanks. Another plus of the multiplayer is that vehicles can even be driven simultaneously by two players in Co-op mode.

Q8: Where did you pull inspiration for the look and feel of the postmodern war depicted in the Killzone titles?
The post-apocalyptic look and feel in Killzone: Liberation is very much a part of the franchise art-style and reminiscent of the previous PlayStation 2 title. Although the war against the Helghast takes place in the future, the setting is obviously evocative of the wars of our past. Some of the elements and war tactics in the game such as trench warfare are pulled from those tactics used in Vietnam and WW2. Additionally, Killzone: Liberation features weaponry and vehicles inspired by modern military equipment and the unique graphical style truly showcases the pure grit and realism of famous wars of our past.

Q9: How is Killzone: Liberation different from other shooter games out there?
Killzone: Liberation has many new features, such as the Depots where players can replenish health or swap weapons, which are important elements for the multiplayer modes and make this game different from any other game. There is also a strategic element, which is not common to the shooter game genre. The new third-person camera provides the player with a broad overview of the battlefield, allowing them to play the game strategically. And at specific points in the game, players will be able to use a new Tactical Command System to give orders to an AI buddy during frantic firefights. We designed the game so that the player is encouraged to make good use of this system.

Q10: What’s next for the Killzone franchise?
The franchise is not done yet. The Helghast shall return! We are continuing the Killzone story for PLAYSTATION 3, but that’s all we can say for now.