The Killzone franchise goes portable, and - at the time of this game's release - in lieu of anything much more than a whisper relating to the PS3 follow-up to Sony's hit 2004 shoot-em-up/combat game, we get a rather different handheld instalment.

The action kicks off two months after the end of the original Killzone, and whilst that earlier battle was won, the war most certainly wasn't. General Metrac is still steadily gaining ground in the South and his Helghast troops don't look too rea ... more >>

The Killzone franchise goes portable, and - at the time of this game's release - in lieu of anything much more than a whisper relating to the PS3 follow-up to Sony's hit 2004 shoot-em-up/combat game, we get a rather different handheld instalment.

The action kicks off two months after the end of the original Killzone, and whilst that earlier battle was won, the war most certainly wasn't. General Metrac is still steadily gaining ground in the South and his Helghast troops don't look too ready to pack their bags and head home. The game centres around the city of Rayhoven where Metrac has taken control and, playing once more as Jan Templar, it's your job to evacuate the city and rescue a group of high profile hostages.

The game shares a post-apocalyptic backdrop and similar storyline with it's predecessor, but that's about where the resemblance ends. Rather than just try to cram the contents of the PS2 game into a handheld format, developer Guerrilla has gone back to basics and re-built the game from the ground up. The most obvious difference is that the first-person perspective is gone, replaced by a third-person intelligent camera with zoom to give the most dynamic view of the action available. This gives the game a more tactical look than it's predecessor and allows control over Rico, who's designed to assist either in a strategic capacity or alternatively to help you blow the bejesus out of the Helghast as you dive straight into the action. The game is laid out in four chapters, each comprising four missions. This is another modification designed to make the game more handheld-friendly, facilitating the game as eminently playable in short bursts on the go. Similarly, the developer delivers more intuitive controls than the original to allow more instant accessibility.

So, it's time to 'liberate' your PSP from tired old football management games, classic compilations of old arcade titles and falling block puzzlers and get back in the Killzone. << less