Killzone 2 Picks Up 1.1 Million European Pre-orders

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves says that pre-orders Killzone 2 reached 1.1 million as of last week, according to a report from British newspaper The Guardian. As it's one of the higher-profile PlayStation 3 exclusives in some time, Killzone 2 enjoys a little extra anticipation from industry-watchers keeping close tabs on the first-person shooter's critical reception and sales performance. The wait's been fairly long; the title was first shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2005. Developed by Guerrilla Games and slated to be published by SCEE, Killzone 2 will ship to Europe, the U.S., and Australia in late February. Killzone 2 takes players to Helghan, the home world of the series' gas-mask wearing antagonists, the Helghast. Along with a squad of Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) soldiers, players go behind enemy lines, fighting the Helghast and their hazard-filled planet during the ISA's invasion. SCEE will release a Killzone 2 PlayStation 3 bundle in Europe along with the game's release, which will include an 80GB system, a copy of Killzone 2, and a DualShock 3 controller. The bundle will be marked at £299.99 in the UK, with details on pricing for mainland Europe still forthcoming. The publisher also plans to release a downloadable demo through its European PlayStation Store today. Gamers in the U.S. can also acquire the demo, so long as they received a demo card after pre-ordering Killzone 2 at GameStop.