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Making the flagship launch game for a new console - a role Killzone Shadow Fall plays for PlayStation 4 - can be a make-or-break moment for a game developer. The opportunity is immense: the world's eyes will be on your game. But there are risks too. You need to make the game on a tight schedule, to a hard deadline, and on shifting technical sands. You're going to have to cut features and corners; the game is probably not going to be quite what you wanted it to be. Just ask Bungie how right this can go. Just ask Rare how wrong.To its credit, Guerrilla Games seized this opportunity with both hands. The Amsterdam team gave themselves just two and a half years to make a game that would not only show the world what PlayStation 4 could do, but rethink what a Killzone game could be. It was a lot to take on, and something was bound to give. It has. However, the result is still a solidly enjoyable and technically outstanding debut for the new system. Take a bow, PS4.
If Guerrilla has let itself down a little - only half-delivering on its brief for a more involving story and game design - then at least it has done Sony proud. If you want to give your new console a thorough workout, this is the game to get; there is clear water between it and even the best of the multi-format games. We can talk numbers: it runs at a native 1080p resolution and at 30 frames per second in the campaign, 60 in multiplayer, with not a hint of screen tear or judder or slowdown, and just a little texture pop-in. Or we can talk feel, which is knife-sharp and rock-solid. Guerrilla's technicians have made this machine sing.
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