Review: Killzone 2: Flash and Thunder Map Pack

Not too long ago Guerrilla Games gave Killzone 2 players their first map pack called Steel and Titanium. The two maps were based off of the levels found in the campaign mode. For their second map pack, Flash and Thunder, they wanted to give Killzone players a blast from the past. The two new maps are remakes of fan favorite maps from the original Killzone on PS2. The remakes of Southern Hills and Beach Head both have interesting environments that lead to the name of the map pack. Flash for the nuclear explosion that hits Southern Hills and Thunder for the severe thunderstorm hitting the Helghan Beach Head. Both maps were slightly tweaked from their predecessors to coincide with Killzone 2’s gameplay style. How do these remakes hold up to the standards of the current maps? Here’s the breakdown of the two new maps.

Beach Head

Beach Head is hands down the best looking map on Killzone 2. The mix of gusting winds and hard rain falling down on a war torn beachfront makes this map one of the most graphically intense maps in the game. This map is also one of the smaller maps that are found in the game but because of the many trenches and the buildings at the ends of the map, it feels bigger than it actually is. Like always the small maps play best in an 8v8 or 12v12 setting but you can go up to 16v16 if chaos is what you are looking for. The two sides have completely different bases and it’s really a fight for the center of the map. The ISA base is heavily fortified with many exits and sniper vantage points. The Helghast base on the other side of the map consists of two smaller bases with turrets on top of each base. Since the map doesn’t offer much cover, Deathmatch games can turn into a firefight in the middle of the map. There are some trenches and some sand bags to hide behind but it wont be long before someone finds you with a nade or an airbot starts shooting at you.

If there seems to be no on fighting in the middle, it’s because the game has turned into Helghan spawn camping session. Its easiest to spawn camp the ISA base for two reasons, there’s only one area to spawn in and they don’t have turrets to defend themselves like the Helghan do. Spawn camping can be a problem in Killzone but you can create your own spawn points to avoid this. The problem now is with the recent update you loose the second of invulnerability you used to have when you spawned, more on that later. Because of this change it’s harder to prevent spawn camping on this map. Definitely something that can be very frustrating.

Other than Deathmatch, the objective based games don’t play well on the map simply because the layout makes it tough to complete the objective. The ISA has an advantage when arming and defending the bomb but the Helghast has the advantage when playing assassination and search and retrieve. Capture and hold (territories) is the only game that plays well on this map because the territory areas are small so you have to work as a team to capture them.

The only reason to play this map is to experience the stunning graphics. If spawn camping doesn’t occur, Deathmatch can be really fun. But the lack of fluid objective base games really cuts into the enjoyment of the map. Its disappointing that the best looking map in the game just doesn’t play well at all but a quick fix to how the spawn points work might bring this map back into the rotation for some players.

Southern Hills

Southern Hills is a much bigger map than Beach Head and plays well with any number of players. This map has two identical bases with multiple levels and a center base with three levels and turrets facing each base. There is a lot of space on this map outside of the three buildings but most of the fighting occurs in the middle structure. This is because of one thing, a big nuclear bomb that occasionally goes off killing everyone that cant find cover. A siren will sound letting you know when the nuke will drop giving you time to find a hiding spot. It’s an eerie feeling after the bomb goes off and there’s a moment of dead silence before you hear the guns firing again as people leave their safe houses.

As much as this sounds like just another gimmick, it’s actually a great addition to the classic map. It forces you to be aware of the bomb while you are fighting or when playing an objective game. If you are trying to defend or arm a bomb you might want to stay out there just long enough to arm the bomb or sacrifice yourself to stop them from arming it before the nuke goes off. Creating your own spawn points are more important than ever since you’ll want to get right back into the fight if you happen to get caught in the blast. The only issue I have with the nuke is the siren sometimes can’t be heard when you are in the middle of a huge firefight. This is something they definitely need to fix. Even with my surround sound I can barely hear it.

Most of the objectives and fighting will occur in the middle base. There are three levels to this building with turrets on the second and bottom levels. These turrets are great when you want to keep your enemy from leaving their base but you’ll have to watch out for snipers and there will be a lot of them. No team really has an advantage in terms of any of the objective games because the map is incredibly symmetric. The two arm spots are just as easy to arm and defend for both sides, search and retrieve areas are by both spawn areas and capture and hold takes place in the middle building and the two respective bases.

Spawn camping really isn’t an issue here because the map is so big you can’t concentrate fire on any one location. The flow of the game leads to lots of fighting in the middle of the map but that structure is big so it doesn’t get too chaotic. As always this map looks amazing and the nuclear blast looks just as good. This map is easily the best DLC map available and already is in many players normal rotation of maps.

One week before the map pack was released a big update hit Killzone 2. Update 1.27 brought many changes and additions to the game; most notably in controls and the spawn point I spoke about earlier. A “High Precision” mode is now available in the controls options, which fixed some issues people had with the controls. From what I noticed you can turn a lot faster now making the controls feel a lot more like Call of Duty. The other change was with the invulnerability when spawning on a spawn grenade. In the past you could spawn on the created spawn point and kill anyone who was near you without the fear of dying. So they took this away and now people can camp those spawns. Because there is smoke that appears when you throw the spawn nade everyone can tell where your spawn is. They’ll throw down C4 or even just sit next to hit constantly hitting the melee button so as soon as you spawn you die. Seeing as the only way to prevent spawn camping on certain levels (Beach Head) is to create these spawns, Guerrilla Games really needs to re-think the change to the spawn nades. I think they should either remove the smoke so your opponents don’t know where the spawn is or make it so you are invulnerable when you spawn but you can’t shoot anyone until that wares off.

Issues with the update aside, the new map pack and the fixed controls should have you playing more Killzone than before. Even though Southern Hills is the only good map in this pack, Beach Head will occasionally provide some enjoyment. The strength of Southern Hills is what really carries the Flash and Thunder Map Pack and makes it worth purchasing. Once again the price is only $5.99 and comes with 12 more trophies to obtain. Though Guerrilla Games does a great job patching the game based on community feedback, one of these days they have to start offering more than just new maps with their DLC. The Killzone community is still looking for that co-op campaign mode.

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Amazing graphics as always.- Beach Head is the best looking map in the game.- Southern Hills nuke makes you change the way you play.- Southern Hills offers great gameplay for all modes. - Once again a great price for the map pack.	Doin’ It RONG:- New patch causes some issues with spawn killing on Beach Head.- Beach Head doesn’t play as good as it looks.- We need more than just two new maps every couple of months.- Trophies are the same from last map pack… Too easy to obtain.
FINAL SCORE: 7 / 10