For those of you who don't know, I'm not really into First-Person Shooters. Halo is great and all, but it's just not my style. So when Sony announced that Killzone was coming to the PlayStation Portable in the form of Killzone: Liberation, I wasn't exactly jumping to get my hands on the title. However, I was thoroughly put in my place when I finally did get my hands on Liberation last week.

If you were expecting a First-Person Shooter, you won't find one with Killzone: Liberation. The team over at Guerilla has designed Liberation from the ground up to take advantage of the PSP hardware and control scheme. Liberation is a top down shooter that reminded me quite a bit of the old school shooters like Ikari Warriors for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (or arcade if you're hardcore old school).

While the game offers a single player mode where players will venture through missions rescuing hostages from the vile Helghast (first featured in the original Killzone for the PlayStation 2), multiplayer is what I focused on for this pre-E3 write up. Why did I spend more time with multiplayer than single player? Because Killzone: Liberation is one of the best multiplayer games coming to the PlayStation Portable this year.

But before I dig into the intense fun of multiplayer battles in Liberation, let me break down the storyline for those who played through the original Killzone. Liberation takes place two months after the events of Killzone for the PS2. Vekta remains under Helghast control and the rules of war have been cast aside as the Helghast General, Metrac, has employed some brutal measures as the war progresses on. Players will take on the role of Templar as you rescue hostages.

Now that we've got the story out of the way, let's dig into the real meat and potatoes of Liberation, the multiplayer. Up to six players can get in on the action, choosing between multiple weapons and maps. The version I tested out only offered one multiplayer map, but the action was just as intense. Weapon bins have been placed throughout the map which each hold a different assortment of weapons. Think of these as spawn points for specific weapons and you should be in good shape. One bin held a rocket launcher, another had a crossbow, while another featured a flame thrower. Each weapon bin also had health, remote mines and grenades.

During combat, players can shoot with the Square button, reload with Triangle, or access a weapon bin with X (when you're close to it). If you have grenades you can target with Circle and press Circle again to throw, and X will punch an opponent if you're close enough. You can kneel and perform tactical rolls with the shoulder buttons. Kneeling will increase your accuracy while a properly timed tactical roll can evade rockets and grenades.

While multiplayer may seem simplistic, it's fairly tactical. You won't have a radar or map when you're in multiplayer, so you'll have to hunt your opponents by sight alone. Each area also features various obstacles that will provide cover, as well as multiple tiers of combat that will add a bit a strategy to engaging an enemy. After a dozen or so multiplayer games, I was still having a blast even though there was only one map available in the build.

Killzone: Liberation is currently slated for a Q4 2006 release that will hopefully be accompanied by a PlayStation 3 Killzone if we're lucky. Sony will have Liberation playable at E3 2006, so stay tuned for more in-depth impressions live from the E3 show floor.