Outside of being a continuation, Killzone 3 is also one of the titles that Sony seems to be relying on to show off their tech and hardware capabilities. So outside of pleasing fans of the franchise, Guerrilla Games and Sony have a lot on their plate as far as expectations. So how did Killzone 3 fare? Let me break down my experiences and impressions of the game.
Hated
Who in their right mind would not map the Aim control to the L1 and replace it with a control that is only used a little bit in the game; that being the jet pack thrust. I get that it is a new feature and that it can be changed in the settings, but why make it the default at start? You don't even get to use it until way later in the game and all it really does is let you jump higher and glide down. You could have got the same effect by just altering the jump control while wearing the Jet Pack. Sure the jump button was used to thrust for a "dash" effect, but I don't think I remember using it for anything other than "Hey look I can move forward a bit faster."
Now I remember when I saw the first video for KZ3 at E3 2010 and being amazed at the visuals, both in 3D and 2D. Where the hell did those visuals go? I swear while flying over the water it looked like someone wearing Blue Camo Fatigues who was doing "The Worm" while buzzing off too much vitamin B. I also wish I had a nickel for every time the textures jumped or reset during the game. Unless the Helgan forests emit a hallucinogen they never mentioned, there should have been no reason for the solid textures of the terrain to open what looked like female genitalia for a fraction of a second then jump to a knot in a tree a few inches higher. The graphics were either oversold in the first place, or they were just kind of let go when it came to finishing the product.
One last thing that got under my skin was the predictability of the story as well as how short it was. Not only did I find myself calling every "twist" in the story, but in the end I literally said "That is it? How did I blast through the story that fast?" I was left extremely wanting in the campaign mode as well as a little perturbed with the "ending" of the story for the game. I get that it is always good to leave open for sequels, but try and do it subtly. The ending for Killzone 3 was like getting hit in the face with the "Totally Making Another Killzone" brick in the sock. Again, too much focus on the additions to the game and not to the experience. At least to me.
Liked
When stealth is added to an FPS it just doesn't seem to play right. Like it was tacked on to give some variety to the game play. It is not all that different here, except that the challenge wasn't really to not be seen, but to take out all the enemies so no one noticed. This was a process that seemed well thought out and forced me to actually plan the order and how I silently took out each Helghast. Yea, they may have been blind to the guy covered in lights in a dark cave or squatting in two foot high grass, but the tactics needed made this portion of the game extremely fun for me.
While the graphics to me became subpar, I rather enjoyed some of the structure and design of places and creatures in the game. In particular the Jungle/Forest you have to navigate. Yea it was annoying to be attacked by a spiked branch I didn't notice, but it is these kinds of things that give the environment its life and own character. Most of the game is played in yet another destroyed modern city, but when not in the cities or buildings, you get a real sense of being on a different planet. On top of that, how all the Helghast ignored, due to being use to these kinds of things, added a subtle little extra to the immersion. I mean, we wouldn't think twice about a Venus Flytrap, but someone not of this world could easily be freaked by a plant with teeth. Subtle things like this.
Should You Get It?
So is Killzone 3 worth your hard earned money? Even though it has its faults and missed promises, at least for me, I would not recommend against buying the game or at least renting/gameflying it. It does continue the story of the franchise, albeit not much, and add a few new twists to the overall franchise. I think if they would have had or taken a bit more time this could have been another must own title, but it fell a little flat in places for me. It also is another attempt at using the Move controls, a follow up review will come soon with thoughts on this, so if anything it will give you another option in the growing list. Take that all as you will.
Killzone 3 was developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment on February 22nd 2011 exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game retails for $59.99. A copy of the game was supplied by the publisher for review purposes.
