Review: Killzone 3

Killzone was never an interesting game for me. Even back in the PlayStation 2 I just thought the enemies looked cool. Then Killzone 2 came ,and it was one of those games that showed people the PS3 power. It was a good game for some but the shooting mechanics especially the cover system felt odd to me. Now Killzone 3 is here with a better gameplay, amazing graphics, addicting online, but with a single player that can disappoint any gamer.

Killzone 3 Developer: Guerrilla Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform: Playstation 3

Story

This has always been Killzone’s problem. It never had a good story, well for me at least. It’s pretty much a war between the ISA and the Helghast. ISA being the good guys from earth and the Helghast( their human, messed up from something but now with cool outfits) from another planet called Helgan and have been at war for the longest time. Among the three Killzone games, the first might have the most interesting. When I say most interesting, doesn’t mean it was great, just better than the rest. Comparing Killzone 2 and Killzone 3’s story, Killzone 3 was more exciting. But I think that was the problem since the story felt like it was lined up for these intense fire fights and chases.

Killzone 3 starts off minutes after the end of the Killzone 2. You control Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko, the Helghast leader Visari was killed by your partner Rico Velasquez and now the whole planet wants the ISA invasion force found and killed. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. Shit happens as they evacuate and a lot of battles break out.

Character’s in Killzone 3 is just as forgettable as the previous games. They have those lame lines that make you cringe to death. Stick to the game play and the action given to you in the single player and you should be fine when you play Killzone 3.

Gameplay

The shooting mechanics is much better now in Killzone 3. Aiming down your iron sights feels great. The cover system now is more fluid and it’s not in your way during a fight. For me, that was my biggest complaint in Killzone 2 , the cover system, but thankfully they tweaked it to be more useful and feeling more like an option compared to before.

Killzone 3 keeps changing the game play by dumping you into different scenarios. One part you’re manning a gatling gun in a transport ship the next you’re controlling a mech, walking around shooting rockets and machine guns then you’re placed on a tank shooting its mounted gun. They tried to keep the game from being repetitive but if you think about it, it’s all the same and for me I’d rather fight a handful of helghast on foot and take cover. The Shooting gameplay is satisfying enough that it felt like they didn’t need mechs and such to be added. Good attempt but I’d prefer it was lessened a bit.

The jetpacks, which was talked about a lot before the game’s release was a good addition. It’s easy to control and great tool to flank enemies. It was only used in one part of the game which was sad and disappointing with it's hype. I wish it was used more in the single player campaign but you will see more of it in multiplayer.

Everybody was requesting a co-op feature for Killzone 3 since it wasn’t added in Killzone 2. They added it but I don’t think Guerilla quite understood what the gamers want. Split screen co-op was added, but a lot (including myself) preferred online co-op, or at least the option. It felt like an afterthought, a feature placed to please some gamers.The two player split screen was nothing great and the second player seemed to be just added into the Single Player campaign with no purpose of being there. The second player isn’t even added into the cut scenes. When I was playing the single player, Rico follows you and helps you out, I thought during co-op the other player would be him but I was proved wrong when i finally tried it.

Brutal melee is great. Goodbye to those instant melee kills that don’t make any sense in other FPS games. This is how melee should be. Breaking people’s neck, puncturing Helghast eye’s with your thumbs or knifing someone’s throat when they’re not looking.  No more, swing the knife at an enemy a couple of times…..dead. Adding this makes the feel of the game a bit more real. Killzone’s style of camera movement feeling real with every jump, every slide, how you reload, giving you a more realistic feeling was one of it's unique features. Adding these brutal melee kills makes it even better.

AI in this game is actually pretty impressive. This is one of the main reasons why the FPS gameplay works well. The Helghast respond properly to any situation. Killing them with grenades is a huge challenge, they run when they see a grenade close by which is a good trick since their always covered well from gunfire. They also have the tendancy to flank the player if they get the chance and they engage you in melee if you are too close for comfort.

Graphics and sound

Graphics is no doubt amazing in this game. Not only do they change the pace of the gameplay, you’re constantly moving to different environments as you progress. At the start of the game you’re placed on a ruined city nuked by the Helghast government, the next you’re in the snowy part of Helgan. There’s also  a jungle setting during the single player and even a junkyard. You move from place to place really quick giving you something new to look at each time.

Everything is well detailed and the game looks great in 1080p. Sadly my current setup cannot test the 3D feature but I hear it can be painful since this is a FPS after all. Even in multiplayer, the graphics seem similar. Maps aren’t as well detailed in single player but is still one of the best looking games online. This is great eye candy and you can’t go wrong with Killzone’s graphics.

The sound was decent and it really feels like you’re in a middle of a war. Gunfire is also good and gets really loud if you’re not careful, neighbors complained about me watching a war movie too loud. No movie, just loud gaming.

Multiplayer

This is what makes Killzone 3 a great buy. I was not expecting this at all. I bought the game for the Campaign and not for the multiplayer. When I finished campaign and felt disappointed with what I went through overall, I went to multiplayer and got addicted in just a few games. Aside from the shooting mechanics being great and fluid even in multiplayer, the 3 game modes make it very interesting.

You have Guerrilla Warfare which  is pretty much Team Deathmatch, Operations which is a series of objectives with cool cutscenes seeing you and your teammates defend or infiltrate the area and Warzone which is the best out of the three. Its many game modes jammed into one match.  It cycles from mode to mode changing gameplay very quickly. It also lessens camping since when one game mode is finished, another one starts which forces the battles somewhere else. It addictiong and can last for like 30 mins or more.

Level is pretty straightforward. When you level you get unlock points which you can use to unlock certain skills and weapons for a certain class. Best thing about Killzone 3’s unlock is that you can choose what to unlock and what class to work on first. In the end, if you reach the max level you unlock all in the end but in the early levels you get to focus on one class if you want which is better compared to other games that require you to be level 36 to use a certain weapon or skill. You have full control over your growth. Each class has a unique skill and purpose that separate them from the rest of the group. It pretty neat since each class is needed to win a match.

For example, Tacticians are needed to capture spawn points while infiltrators are useful since they can disguise themselves as the enemy infiltrating their lines to take out snipers etc., Engineers rebuild ammo crates and make turrets to make a defensive position, Marksmen are snipers and medics of course give you the ability to heal and revive players. They all play out well and are well-balanced.

They have 8 multiplayer maps in total and only one can be played in Guerrilla Warfare mode. They all seem pretty balanced and well made. Each map has something that makes it unique compared to the rest. like, There’s one map were jetpacks can be used and it brings a whole different feel altogether with people flying around like idiots. There’s also a map were you may use the mechs seen in the campaign. The mechs are great in multiplayer and is actually underpowered since it can get taken down easily. It’s a good thing since it keeps things balanced.

Overall

Killzone 3 surprised me in a bad way. I was all excited for the campaign and came out disappointed when the end credits started rolling. The only saving grace for me was the multiplayer. I can honestly say it’s one of the best multiplayers I’ve played in a long time. If you want a great campaign, look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for a good multiplayer, this will do. Without the multiplayer, the game would have been easily shelved in just a few days of playing.

Score: 78/100

Pros:

- Amazing Multiplayer

- Great Graphics

- Brutal Melee!

Cons:

- Horrible story and characters

- Forgettable campaign

- Gameplay such as mech control, chase scenes and mounted gun sequences were too many

- No online co-op, only split screen