Another round of Killzone 2 DLC, another round of Jimpressions. This is the third (and perhaps final, for a while) map pack for Killzone 2, Napalm & Cordite. Featuring two new maps and two new guns to pick up and dispense death with, this new map promises to be more action packed than the last two.
So, how do these new maps fare? How have the new weapons affected play? Why are spawn grenades so effing worthless now? All this and more, as I provide my first Jimpressions of the Napalm & Cordite map pack.
Once again, I want to preface this article with similar sentiments I shared on the last article. I absolutely hate the new updates Guerrilla has added to the game. Thanks to the removal of spawn point invulnerability, people are now spawn camping everywhere, something that wasn't a problem in the game before. I grant you that spawn points could turn the tide of battle when players were invulnerable for a time, but that was the point! It was a risk for a Tactician to get a spawn grenade in the right spot, but a risk that was rewarded. Now there's no reward, since freshly spawned players basically walk into a meat grinder now. Spawn points have become free shooting ranges, and it's irritating as Hell.
I'm not even going to mention spawning on top of grenades, which is still a big problem if my last play was anything to go by.
Another import preface is the fact that, wherever these new weapons are, I can't find them. I've had to be quick with my Jimpressions this time, so I don't have an hours to search for them, but it seems that on the Arctower Landing map, nobody else found them either. Luckily, there was someone on the enemy team during my Suljeva Cliffside that did find the flamethrower, so I can at least confirm what it's like to be on the receiving end of one.
... It really, really hurts.
As for the maps themselves, they're pretty well designed, perhaps better than the last four maps. Suljeva Cliffside has plenty of corridors and places to hide, as well as a bridge area that becomes incredibly hotly contested. Sadly, it shares incredibly similar aesthetics to Southern Hills from the Flash & Thunder pack. While it's difficult to make maps on similar terrain stand out from each other, they just felt incredibly similar, in terms of how they looked.
As always, it's the more industrial map that provides a superior experience. Arctower Defense is not quite as beautiful as Beach Head from the last pack, but it looks pretty good and is designed for close firefights in tight areas. There's also plenty of level variety, meaning you can get the jump on enemies from high vantage points or make a daring leap of faith to a lower area and avoid enemy fire.
I wish I had more time to really get deep into these maps, but unfortunately, I don't, and the new updates don't make it easier for me to stick around. What I can tell you, however, is that this is a very worth map pack and should definitely be checked out by fans of the game. If you don't own any of the maps so far, the $11.99 map pack bundle is a very good deal, and is well worth the money.
If you're stll playing Killzone 2 and haven't been turned off by the changes, then I recommend you buying the bundle. If you already own the last two maps, I'd say these are the best designed of the lot so far, so you definitely won't begrudge giving Sony another $5.99.
Contest:
5:01 PM on 07.25.2009
| 
They did slightly tweak them, too, in that you don't necessarily spawn directly on top of a spawn grenade, so somebody camping a spawn might be thrown off as you spawn behind them.
And hey, with this slight nerfing of spawn points, it makes Medics more useful, and I'm pretty sure I've seen more of them running around lately as well.
But I really think you should get some more time in. I agree that spawning into a death trap is no fun, but it just means you need to have a competent Tactician, a more cohesive team, and maybe grow some patience so you can look at the battle at a particular point using the spawn screen that most people click right past. I've even gotten the jump on a spawn camper, knowing the direction I'd exit the point and where he was hiding.
I dont know how many other games let you set spawnpoints, but after just a couple of months of having it, people think it is their consitutional right to spawn safely wherever the hell they want. Spawn points are for positions you hold...not for positions you are trying to take. You must defend or hide them.
Also, I saw the word grenade, so I'm going to say "Grenadezone 2" for no reason at all.
Hell, I've seen the smoke pass through walls before. Multiple times.
Spawn Grenades are damn retarded in the first place. They should do it pseudo TF2 style. Set up multiple spawn positions, and allow teams to battle it out for them while complete primary objectives.
I found it truly without any merit what so ever.
Suljeva is my favorite of the two, which isn't saying much. Its a fairly small map but its open enough to make most classes viable. However, if you get pushed back close to your initial starting area in the beginning of the match its damn near impossible to turn the tide and win. In the matches I was in last night, where I actually earned my 50 kill trophy but still lost, we were almost able to push the Helgast back to middle ground. How? Myself and another random tactician were placing spawn points in good places and using aerial bots to help push them back, with a few good engineers helping as well. But it didn't last that long because the vast majority of people don't defend spawn points, I know I never used to. So when we got pushed back that spot was camped. I guess what people need to do here to really help in this map would be to defend spawn points, but honestly I don't see that happening.
An ability to destroy the spawn could have worked, though, in my opinion.
Maybe they were too powerful before, but now they're FAR too weak.