Killzone: Shadow Fall Unleashes the OWL

Players looking forward to tearing it up in Killzone: Shadow Fall should check out the OWL, which is newly-unveiled drone companion for Shadow Marshalls. It may not be an actual bird, but it sure looks badass.

A post on the Killzone blog revealed the OWL in all its futuristic glory and Killzone: Shadow Fall lead designer Eric Boltjes has provided a short description of the drone.

When asked about what it is, Boltjes said, "The OWL is an advanced hovering attack drone used exclusively by the Shadow Marshals to give them all kinds of tactical abilities in the field. It attaches itself onto the Shadow Marshal’s suit until he gives it an order. When damaged, the OWL automatically returns and regenerates health until it receives an order again.”

In Attack Mode, the OWL can move to an area and defend it from attacks. You can also target individual players and it will attack them. The OWL can also provide quick getaways and travel by going into Zipline Mode and firing a zipline for the Shadow Marshall to use. Stun Mode can turn the OWL into a mini-electro magnetic pulse bomb and shut down all electronics within range while stunning humanoid foes. The OWL's Shield Mode creates an energy shield in front of the Marshall that will stop incoming projectiles and bullets while still allowing the user to shoot through it.

When asked about where the inspiration for the OWL came from, Boltjes said, "We wanted to give the player more control over buddies in our game, and we quickly gravitated towards utilizing our futuristic theme to create something very technologically advanced and also extremely useful in the field. It was important that it was easy to use in the fray of battle and have suitable abilities for every type of situation the game throws at you, on top of all the other abilities/weapons the Shadow Marshal has at his disposal.”