It’s not really a sequel … not really. The original Killzone was on the PlayStation 2 console and was an entry into the first-person shooter market. Killzone: Liberation is on the PlayStation Portable and is a third-person shooter seen from the isometric perspective.

The game takes place a couple of months after the events in the original game and centers on a single character in a battle against the Helghast forces. The elusive general, Metrac, has begun a campaign of terror and it is up to the player to counter with a series of missions that advance along a linear storyline. The missions themselves, which make up the stages of the game, will have you venturing across maps to clear zones for landing craft, or rescuing those in danger of kidnapping. You will get help along the way, and will be tasked with escort duty as well.

There are booby traps to avoid, vehicles to drive and mazes to navigate. Mazes? Yep, each of the levels is like a maze and it is your job to go from point A to point B (and sometimes points C and D), and occasionally return from whence you came. It’s really not that hard to do. The game does have a linear feel to it in that you cannot advance along the campaign path unless you accomplish the specific tasks and there seems to be only one way to do it.

The game does have an arcade-like feel to it in that as you go you will have to find supply depots, large crates that can hold health recovery items, weapons, ammunition or explosives. You may need to go through a certain order to find the supply depot that has C4 to blow up the entry to the next part of the level. To use items like C4 or to disarm a trap, you approach the location and get a pop-up image that require you to hold down the X button. You may find yourself under attack at this time and you can trigger traps in creative ways – like lobbing in a grenade and blow an enemy into the trap. The rag-doll physics look very good in this regard, and bodies tumble about in a rather eye-catching way. There is a drawback to this, though, in that sometimes a body will move without impetus on the part of the gamer. Seeing a corpse spinning circles or moving a few feet on its own is a little eerie.

The game does have some nice features, like the lock-ons which glue the guns to the enemy, or the ability to crouch behind a barrier and pop up with the press of one button to shoot at the enemy. You can even lock on to a barrel of flammable gas and blow it up – along with any enemies that happen to be near it. Issuing orders is simple as well. You use the D-pad to activate the options and then are presented with a series of choices. You can have an NPC go into follow mode, or – when you are with Rico – you can order them to attack a certain object.

As you move through the game you will encounter objects that are resistant to small arms fire – like tanks. Sometimes you will find your own tank that you can jump into (the turret is rotated with the shoulder buttons) and move through a level, but even tanks can take damage and if you are in one when it blows up, time to restart from the last saved point.

Liberation is rather good in that regard. The game does have an auto-save function that will checkpoint progress through a level, alleviating the need to restart from the beginning.

And as with most arcade-type games, after you complete the level (there are 16), you are graded out on how you fared.

The sound is solid and the graphics do a very good job. Multiplayer – this was an advance copy, not in release at the time of the review so finding someone to play with was … well … non-existent – will feature two-player cooperative through the single-player missions and player-versus-player action on multiplayer maps.

Ok, so the game is linear in nature and you can get through a zone – depending on your difficulty setting – in a relatively short period of time if you ignore all the pick ups, but to really advance your character, you will have to spend time in the challenge modes. This will enable you to earn enough points to unlock better weapons. This also provides much more depth to the gameplay experience.

Killzone Liberation is a nice step forward for the franchise and it really works well on the PSP platform. This is a solid shooter that not only looks good but plays well. Get past the linearity of the game, boost the challenge by upping the difficulty and you will have an enjoyable time.

Gameplay: 8.1
The control scheme is well suited to the PSP format and while the game is tiny on that screen, it still manages to bring out the action and a fair amount of tension. Some elements (mines) might be hard to initially see, unless you are looking for them, but generally the pacing is nicely realized.

Graphics: 8.7
The explosions and rag-doll physics are very well done. Aside from a non-scrolling map, and the locked camera, the game does provide a good view of the battlefield and you can, more or less, see what you will be up against before you actually start taking fire. The animations are also well done.

Sound: 7.8
Best heard using the ear buds, the sound still features most of what is expected from the game.

Difficulty: Medium
There are a range of difficulty settings that should appeal to any player of any level.

Concept: 8.2
The control scheme is well designed and the challenge levels add to single-player campaigns by presenting an arena to test skills for viable in-game rewards.

Multiplayer: N/A
Adhoc is available for up to six players with infrastructure available at a later date.

Overall: 8.1
The maps have a tendency to feel similar and the game has a very arcade-ish feel to it, but the action is solid and the game’s sounds are also fairly good. The single-player missions are rather linear but the gameplay mechanics create an environment where players won’t be fumbling with controls, but will be able to experience the game for what it presents.