TL;DR – Killzone: Liberation is a great isometric shooter that showcases what the PSP is capable of in terms of visuals, gameplay and even online functionality. I would have no problems recommending this game, aside from the fact that it is extremely punishing at points and can be incredibly frustrating to play as a result. It’s still a fun game, but definitely one that shouldn’t be treated as a walk in the park.
Quick Note: As of the time of writing (July 2023), Killzone: Liberation has multiple levels locked behind a free DLC delivery service that no longer works. While there are workarounds available, you’ll either need to locate the files and manually install them on your modded PSP or download a specific pre-patched .iso to enable them to work on an emulator of your choice. Unfortunately emulators cannot easily install the DLC due to a bespoke patching system that was used, so if you want to play the final chapter you’ll need to do some digging ahead of time. Alternatively honest and law abiding citizens can buy the shiny new remaster 🙂
Killzone Liberation is a great and relatively unique game in the sense that it manages to feel like a standard Killzone game without taking place in a first person perspective. Instead of following in the steps of other FPS games on the PSP (such as Syphon Filter), the developers at Guerrilla decided to transport the series into a cover-based isometric shooter with generally positive results. Despite only having one thumbstick to play with, the control is by and large perfectly acceptable and camera issues are rare in spite of the scale of the game which features multiple large (for the system) levels. The game itself is set two months after the original Killzone and has you controlling Templar, a captain in the ISA (Interplanetary Strategic Alliance) and one man army in the fight against the Helghast forces on Vekta who are still attempting to subjugate the planet in spite of their losses in the first game. The use of recurring characters and the way that the game is closely tied in to the rest of the series is somewhat surprising for a portable “spin-off” game, even if the plot is largely nothing special. Essentially the Helghast are the baddies, as denoted by the fact that they have nazi-motiffs, brooding commanders and seemingly innumerable hordes of grunts that scream about how they want you to suffer or that they’re going to slaughter you. As for the ISA, they’re a fairly generic sci-fi America with the standard issue amount of quips and allusions to “liberty” and “freedom”. Fans of the series will probably be aware of how these concepts were toyed around with in the other killzone games and media, but for the purposes of Liberation they are played entirely straight which is honestly fine. I can’t imagine anyone picked this game up for the plot, myself included.
Instead most people picked it up for two reasons, the gameplay and the visuals both of which have been heavily refined and hold up pretty well (hence why it got a re-release on PS4 and PS5 relatively recently). Starting with the visuals, they’re surprising good for a handheld system and are light-years ahead of anything that the DS could put out and frankly are seemingly beyond the reach of even the 3DS which came out years later. Now I did play this on an emulator (as my PSP is in my parent’s attic in a box somewhere), but even allowing for the various upscaling and AA that was applied it is still a visually impressive game that seems more akin to a PS2 release than a PS1 game. While some finer details are lacking, the game is able to successfully present a variety of different enemy types and environments while still packing CGI cutscenes and in-engine cutscenes that look great. There are also plenty of nice touches including splash effects for water, glass shattering during shoot-outs and even the visual cues related to the awareness level of enemies (yellow eye-visors for oblivious, orange for alert but hunting, red for actively pursuing you). Guerrilla have always been capable for showcasing the potential visual fidelity that various PlayStation systems have offered and Killzone: Liberation is no exception to the rule.
And while I’ve personally found Guerrilla games to be a bit hit-or-miss in the past, I can confirm that Killzone: Liberation is my own personal exception to the rule as it is in my opinion the most enjoyable game in the series. The reason for this is simple, the isometric gameplay system they’ve adopted is punishing but at the same time highly engaging. As much as I yelled at this damn game and cursed the various people who worked on it, I can’t deny that everything just clicks in a way that so many other developers can’t match. Templar is a one man army, but he is always on the brink of getting overrun and a snap judgement will either save his bacon or condemn him to an abrupt and inglorious end (and you to the load checkpoint screen). The reason for this is simple, you don’t have that much health or that much ammo at any given time and the various Helghast you’re up against are specialised and quite often gluttons for punishment. Even the simple soldier can be a pain to deal with as you’ll need to use up a whole magazine to deal with them, assuming you land your shots (which is finnicky) and that they aren’t in cover and that you don’t get flanked by their comrades in arms. There are also so many types of enemy to deal with that they’re constantly getting introduced throughout the game, all the way up to the midpoint of the final (non-DLC) chapter. In addition, the game utilises elevation and cover to block shots meaning that you’ll need to make use of the R-shoulder button to duck lest you get shredded by the barrage of enemies. These enemies also make use of cover, alongside strategic use of the elevation and melee attacks which knock you on your ass.
Once you add in the boss fights, the dastardly way that the developers just love to screw with you sometimes (e.g. putting bombs in the hitherto safe supply crates) and the fact that the various enemy types can synchronise in brutal fashion you have a real fight on your hands. To give a brief example, the game often likes to send one or two regular goons your way and a specialised trooper (such as a sniper or shotgunner). If you focus on the specialised trooper you’ll get mown down by the regular goons, if you focus on the goons you’ll get flushed out of cover by the specialist or just killed near instantly depending on their type. Oh and there are turrets, mines, tripwires and the occasional vehicle to deal with as well. The Helghast are legion and you’re still trying to be the “One Man Army” for better or (frequently) for worse.
Well that’s not entirely true, one part of Killzone: Liberation that I wasn’t expecting but is actually mainly well handled is the fact that multiple missions have you teaming up with another character from the first game. There are a handful of one-off “buddies” as the game calls them, such as a general packing a revolver and some scaredy-cat VIPs that don’t do much, but you spend around half the game working with either Rico or Luger who put in serious effort to steal the spotlight from you. Rico has a machine gun and a propensity to call the enemy ASSHOLE (seriously he says it almost every time he starts shooting a new enemy), while Luger has a crossbow that shoots explosive bolts. Just be careful as your buddies are so keen to be the hero that they’ll shoot you if you get in the way of their shots and will take damage if they run in front of you while you’re shooting. They’ll even get pissy and punch you if you hurt them too much, apparently oblivious to the fact that there’s a game over screen tied to your health bar.
Both have their own health pool that can be replenished via a healing syringe, and if they’re reduced to 0hp then you’ll need to give them a shot in the arm within 20 seconds or they’ll die FOREVER. Fortunately these syringes are fairly plentiful and so you don’t really need to worry about their health, unless they get stuck directly in front of a turret or are getting bullied by the shield-toting melee Helghast enemy type. They’re invaluable for splitting the enemies attention and can hold their own, while essentially doubling your damage output. Unfortunately they’re never there when you really need them (like in the boss fights) but I guess the developers wanted you to work for that taste of sweet, sweet, victory. One last thing worth noting is that they can also be bossed around via an orders overlay, which lets you tell them to focus on a specific enemy, use their ability to make the level proceed (C4 for Rico, grappling hook for Luger) or take cover in a specific spot. You rarely have to use this, but it can be very helpful to have them distract certain enemies while you flank for an easy kill.
And those kills can be made even easier if you opt to gather the optional collectibles or attempt the various side-challenges which unlock as you play through the campaign. The collectibles themselves are fairly straight forward, each level has a set amount of cold hard CA$H hidden within it in the form of suitcases that are tucked away in wooden crates. As you gather more of them, your total funding increases and more weapons unlock alongside upgraded versions of those weapons should you earn enough. You don’t need to dip into your funding to unlock new weapons or upgrades as they’re unlocked automatically once you’ve reached a certain level of funding. As for the side-challenges, these provide “points” which are used in a similar manner to unlock various abilities such as the ability to hold extra grenades or to have double the amount of HP. These abilities can be very powerful, although your first playthrough of the campaign will be relatively normal as you can only gain these points through challenges which are tied to clearing each act of the campaign. As such you’ll need to have cleared most of the acts to unlock the most overpowered abilities.
And once you’ve cleared most the acts, the game has a few more bits and pieces of content with which to incentivise you to keep playing. Unfortunately the multiplayer servers and community don’t really exist anymore, so the multiplayer mode isn’t much of a draw these days. To my knowledge you will still be able to take part in local co-op though, presuming you can find someone else with a PSP and a copy of the game. This will let you play through any missions you’ve completed in the single player campaign, but with a buddy. Of course both of these modes are still a factor if you pick up the remaster (which is “free” on PS+ platinum) so those looking for the most content might want to take a look at that version. For everyone else, you’ve got the Jukebox to enjoy the OST, the collectibles mentioned above and uh… that’s about it. Therein lies the flaw with the bold new online age that the 7th console generation (and to a lesser extent the 6th) ushered in, namely that a lot of Killzone: Liberation content just doesn’t work any-more. You can’t get the last act of the game (and there are only 4 in the release version), you can’t play online and co-op is more tricky to utilise. As such those of you who stumble upon the game at a very low price for the original PSP version are advised that you’ll be missing a good chunk of the game. Fortunately what’s there is still great and I’d recommend it to any player looking for a challenge, but be aware that you’re not getting the full experience as the developers had intended.
To conclude, Killzone: Liberation is a fun but challenging Isometric cover-art shooter that is a great showcase of what the PSP is capable of. While many of these capabilities have died out, what remains is a visually impressive and faithful adaption of the Killzone series to a handheld system. There are myriad enemies and features contained within the single player experience, and between the (admittedly short) campaign, the collectibles and the challenge modes there is still a healthy amount of content on offer. No doubt the best experience would be to play the remaster, but to my knowledge you can’t own that on disc so as the industry marches on that version of the game will be lost to time. For those of you who don’t own a PS4/PS5 and a PS+ subscription, I would have no issues recommending the base game with one important caveat – this game can be unforgiving and you should be prepared for a short but brutal campaign.
