Killzone 3

 

Reprising your role as the special forces ISA operative Sev, Killzone 3 begins precisely where Killzone 2 left off, standing on the steps of the Helghan palace with the Helghast dictator Visari freshly executed. A fleet of their ships above are attacking the ISA ships and it looks like the good guys are in over their heads again. As the gameplay begins, it immediately feels like a Killzone game, pioneering its trademark “heavy” movement which truly gives weight to the weapons and genuine impact to each fired shot. It might not feel as snappy as Call of Duty, but something about it makes the de facto controls from Killzone’s competition feel artificial. Other games feel like you’re whipping around a feather. Killzone 3 feels like you’re carrying a big gun. The result is a satisfying combat experience from the massive explosions down to the pistol shots. There’s no other shooter that feels quite like it.

 

And that feel is put to good use. Killzone 3 is filled from top to bottom with memorable battles and excellent pacing. The game moves effortlessly between large-scale outdoor battles and lonelier, claustrophobic corrider sequences. There’s even a well-done stealth mission thrown in for good measure. Sprinkled throughout are varied vehicle sequences which may have you speeding along icy terrain or playing the gunner in a flying ship that might feel like a rail shooter-esque minigame. Situations don’t ever repeat themselves enough to become monotonous, and something interesting is always around the corner all the way until the credits roll.

 

It’s difficult to determine what aspect of this game plays the bottleneck. The visuals are astounding, offering challenge to any other game on any platform for claim to the title of best-looking game around. The character models look convincing, the landscapes look sharp and detailed from all angles and distances, blur is strategically used to focus on key areas, and the snow in the colder areas whips through your vision daring you to put on your jacket while you sit on your couch. The animation is smooth as silk, and the way that enemies react to being shot and tumble to the ground seems more reminiscent of a well-done CGI film than a real-time event. The sound design is equally as impressive and helps give impact to each fired shot from even the weakest weapons. Even the voice acting is done well, particularly from the new arch-villain Jorhan Stahl, voiced superbly by Malcolm McDowell.

 

 

Speaking of the villains, the Helghast play an unexpectedly large role in the unexpectedly large narrative in Killzone 3. Whereas very little information was ever leaked about the enemy in the earlier games in the series (pretty much only that they were bad guys), the antagonists are front and center in this title. There are many more cutscenes and said scenes are much longer than before, and they sure look and sound as good as the rest of the game does. But while I applaud the developer for going out of their way to make the storyline more important to Killzone 3 than in the earlier installments, the harsh truth might be that Guerrilla Games just aren’t very good storytellers. It’s ultimately forgettable, save for the performance of McDowell. Regardless, the game’s strengths do not suffer as a result.

 

One of the only truly negative aspects of the single player campaign in Killzone 3 would be its length. It can easily be finished in six hours. While the short game length does help to keep the experience fresh and avoid settling into monotony, it does feel like it’s over too soon. Additionally, the way the game ends absolutely does not feel like an ending. I was expecting another mission to start when bam, credits start rolling. That might have been the least satisfying moment of the entire game.

 

A glaring omission from Killzone 2 was a cooperative campaign mode. It seemed oddly missing for a game that almost always had more than one ISA soldier involved in each battle anyway. Killzone 3 rectifies this issue by including a coop mode, but they didn’t work very hard on it. The primary issue with it is that it is local multiplayer only. No, you can’t invite a buddy from your PSN friends list and play through a campaign mission together. They need to be sitting next to you on the couch, forcing you to play split-screen. This presents another problem as there are some occasional debilitating framerate issues when playing in this mode. An online mode would likely have solved that problem as well, since one console would no longer have to struggle with rendering two different player screens simultaneously. For coop junkies pining for this feature, at least you have it this time.

 

 

There is another excellent way to play Killzone 3, though, and that is the competitive online multiplayer. Two of the game modes return from the previous game: Guerilla Warfare which is a standard Team Deathmatch mode that supports up to 16 players, and Warzone which is a large-map seven-mission marathon offering a variety of objectives for a maximum of 24 players. The new game mode introduced here is Operations, which is a 16-player assault-and-defend mode in which one team is given a time limit to accomplish a series of objectives in order to capture the defending team’s base, while the defending team attempts to hold off the attackers until time expires.

 

Each of these game modes offers a great multiplayer experience, but it is enhanced by the inclusion of several character classes to choose from, as well as an experience-based leveling system. You have a choice of five classes: Marksman, Engineer, Field Medic, Tactician, and Infiltrator. Each has a tactical advantage of its own. The Marksman can jam enemy radars while the Engineer can deploy defensive turrets. The Field Medic can revive fallen teammates, the Tactician can call for an offensive aerial drone, and the Infiltrator can disguise himself as a member of the opposing team. As kills are scored and objectives achieved, you receive experience points which further your rank. For each rank advancement you gain 1 unlock point which can then be spent on additional weapons or skills for each character class. The gameplay is fast, furious, and lag-free, and the differing character classes provide many new strategic options. The experience points and bonuses start piling up in a hurry, so it’s easy to get hooked fast.

 

 

Killzone 3 is one of the best-looking shooters ever released, and that standard is met by its powerful gameplay and great audio design. The story is forgettable, but also forgivable considering the game surrounding it. The single player campaign may be a bit short, but the engaging online multiplayer combat and addictive leveling system give it significant replay value. If you’re a fan of shooters and you own a Playstation 3, this title easily qualifies as a must-buy. It’s not a stretch to expect it to be talked about once again when the time comes to start handing out awards for 2011.

 

Matt Buckley, NoobFeed