So, here’s something that might entice you to resurrect the PS3. Killzone 2 online multiplayer appears to have been resurrected by a group of committed fans from Guerilla Games’ 2009 release! PSONE (PlayStation online emulated) is a group of enthusiasts whose main objective is to bring online functionality back to some of PlayStation’s most popular titles that have been shut down. Warhawk and Twisted Metal Black are two of their previous projects, and they have ambitions to restore more online games like Socom Confrontation, Wipeout HD, and possibly PlayStation Home.
“PS Online Network Emulated is an ongoing attempt to reactivate the online mode of multiple PlayStation Games. Being available since 2002 the PS is a pretty old game console. Despite its age, there are still people wanting to play online. Some just love to get reminded of old times, some want to enjoy games which simply have no equivalent counterpart on more modern consoles. Sony decided to stop hosting any game servers, which rendered some games unusable or at least hard to use.”
While the latter is still in the works, the team has announced that their most recent restoration has come, and it’s none other than Killzone 2! Yes, the same Killzone 2 whose servers were shut down over four years ago. On their Discord channel, the crew had the following to say:
“The release will be public for the PS3. RPCS3 users will need to be whitelisted by the PSONE staff for now. Will we do the best to bring a stable server, please again, keep in mind that we will all test something new here.
The server is an emulation of the original server, it doesn’t come shipped with all the features of the original servers. It’s a work in progress, these features require more time and I’m sure people can’t wait more.”
While the main online experience is functional, the team still has a lot of work ahead of them, since they’ve discovered a number of features that aren’t working.
At the time of introduction, the following features were unavailable:
- Community features (clan, mailbox, tournaments)
- Statistics (ribbons, medals, rank, valor rank)
- Trophies – Official dedicated game rooms
- Secondary badges Since stats are not available, all the players will have the highest rank and the purple ribbon.
As for the requirements to get the multiplayer back up and running?
Requirements
- An internet access (should allow custom dns servers)
- A PlayStation Network account
- A PlayStation 3 (No jailbreak needed as this is intended for legit consoles)
- A copy of Killzone 2
That’s it! Well that, and redirecting the DNS on your PS3 to the correct one. To get started on that, just follow their “Getting Started” guide.
That concludes our discussion. That, and changing your PS3’s DNS server to the correct one. Simply follow their “Getting Started” tutorial to get started.
This is, without a doubt, one of the coolest projects out there. While most PS3 owners have probably already upgraded to a PS4 or PS5, it’s reassuring to know that despite the server outages, I can still play some of PlayStation’s wonderful multiplayer games whenever I want.
Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 servers were shut down by Guerrilla Games in March of 2018, with the following statement:
“On March 29th, 2018, after more than six years of operation and countless battles between the ISA and the Helghast, the online servers for Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 will be decommissioned. The single player campaign for both games will remain accessible, but online play and related functionality will no longer work.
As we near the end of the online lifecycle for Killzone 2 and Killzone 3, we’d like to express how grateful we are for all the support and feedback we’ve received from the community over the last eight years. Your enthusiasm is what drove us to hone our craft and grow as a studio. We hope you enjoyed playing Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 online as much as we did creating them.”
Killzone: Shadowfall, which debuted alongside the PS4 in 2013, is the only official online multiplayer game in the Killzone franchise (for consoles; Mercenaries is currently working for the Vita). There’s no information on how long those servers will be available, but Guerilla Games recently shut down the official Killzone website, making it impossible for Shadowfall players to form new clans.