What is so special about Killzone 2?

[kn]

I created a UK account, downloaded the demo, and played through it twice.  From all the initial reviews and hype, I was expecting a religious experience both graphically and gameplay-wise.  As the old lady in the Wendy's commercial said, "Where's the beef?"?

The graphics are top notch, no doubt, but I honestly don't find them overall any better than MGS4 and Gears 2.  The physics are certainly very well done and I'd say that KZ2 certainly has a lock on "realism" from a physics standpoint, but the graphics are not what I had hoped for.  Right at the beginning, for example, the water is less than impressive as you cross that little stream.  I think Bioshock had better water scenes.  There are some terrible textures in places if you stop and look at stuff that is both close and far.

I was apalled to see the cliche exploding barrells always "just in the right place".  That has gotten really old.  I would also have liked to see a bit of variety in bad guys.  All the same dudes.  The demo AI isn't "smart" IMO, either.  I've read they are clever but they just seem like more cannon fodder most of the time.  Yeah, they duck, but they also pop their head up and get blasted, too.

I was amped up about the game after all the hype but after having played the demo, I'm going to wait for it to come out and read some later reviews.  All the 10s the game has gotten (as well as other games this gen) are highly misleading as the game, in my opinion, a bit uninspired, and cliche.

In the end, it does look like a polished version of COD and that isn't a bad thing.  Based on the demo, however, it isn't the defining game of this generation or of this genre.

I'm sure my post will be labeled blasphemy.  Oh well.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and in this case, most will think mine sucks.  Sobeit.

BTW, I played the first round on my 1080P 42" Sharp Aquos LCD and my second round on my Sharp DLP projector.