Sony's blistering space shooter returns after a two year hiatus and - aesthetically, at least - the gestation period has yielded visuals nothing short of staggering. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the incoherent plot, introducing us to a roster of fresh heroes and villains (voiced Brit thesps Ray Winstone and Malcolm McDowell) in the Helghan and ISA universe whilst never quite fleshing them out.
However, if eye-candy is your thing then rest assured, Guerrilla has eked every last ounce of graphical prowess from Sony's black box of tricks, delivering a game that's likely to rope in a few artsy gaming gongs come the 2012 award season. You'll traverse everything from glaciers, to junkyards and neon-soaked jungles battling amber-eyed Helghast minions as a two-man hero team in a series of increasingly bombastic shootouts. Co-op, bizarrely absent from Killzone 2, makes a long overdue bow but doesn't quite reaches the same dizzying heights as say, Epic's Gears Of War, and not just because it's offline only.
Alongside a series of staple multiplayer modes that have been given a player-progression overhaul (unlock points obtained at each new level allow you to open up new abilities), the game can be played with Sony's PlayStation Move and in standard-setting 3D, which means there's plenty of wow-factor (and reasons for replay) outside of the single player campaign. Breathless, brutal and impressive stuff wounded by a weak story.