Killzone 3 Review

Killzone 3 (Ps3)
Studio: Guerrilla
Size: Full Disc Game
Release: February 22nd

Holy fuck what a ride. Killzone 3 is an astonishing game, I could spend a paragraph going on about how great Killzone 3 is, but just so I look at least half professional I’m gonna break this up into chunks going from my least enjoyed aspects of the game, to the best part of the game.

Glitches:

The game has a couple of glitches that I experienced throughout the campaign mode. There were a few instances when Rico’s audio dropped, and throughout the game you will get a slight freeze like in the previous Killzone (this is less a bug, and more just a simple very quick mid-level loading because the game has virtually no loading otherwise) the biggest issue I had only happened once, and it caused me to turn off my Ps3. What happened was I entered an area, and the enemies didn’t appear I ran around looking for what to do, but nothing happened, so I had to turn off the Ps3. Luckily there are many checkpoints throughout the game so I didn’t have to play through much of what I played last time (about 2 minutes at the max) Overall the glitches aren’t game breaking in anyway, Rico’s couple second audio drops that happened a few times didn’t seem important (your squad members are talking to you all the time through out Killzone 3)

Audio:

The music in this game is very intense, and suits the game very well. It’s all atmosphere music without lyrics or anything like that so you’re not going to find a song you wanna put on your Mp3 player unless you’re one of those people who appreciates action packed orchestra type music, and in that case get the fuck off my site, ok maybe not but ya it’s just in general very good game music that really sets the mood for the epic battles your thrown into.

Like I mentioned previously your squad mates are constantly talking to you, and each other, this goes a long way towards both telling you what you should be doing, and immersing you further in the game.

Platforming:

That’s right, I typed platforming. There is a little bit of platforming in this game via the jetpack. See with the jetpack you can boost up, glide, and even thrust forward. So Guerrilla put in some “try not to fall into the killer ice water” platforming Oh on a quick side note falling into water is really sudden, and the first person perspective is awesomely realistic. Back to platforming! The platforming was fun in this game, but there unfortunately wasn’t very much of it, that really is my only criticism of the platforming though, I just would of liked more.

Alternative Killing:

There are several instances through the game that you get to control different sorts of vehicles, and war machines. These moments are all mostly very fun, there was only one section that I didn’t like, but everything else was great, and a nice break up from the main game play. There really are tons of these war machine moments spread throughout the game, and it’s done in a very even way so it’s never frustrating and always typically a nice alternative. My favorite section of this was when you get to steer a armored fast moving ground vehicle down a mountain while shooting at the Helghast in your way.

(Skip to 3 minutes 5 seconds for the mountain riding scene)

Sniping:

Sniping in the game was extremely fun. Typically you were covering for your war buddies when you were sniping, and often they would tell you the locations of the other snipers; it’s really satisfying to be looking for snipers, then get word from Rico where a sniper you need you to take out is, and then turn around and shoot the bastard in the head. I sorta felt like I had an unfair advantage with the Sharp Shooter (more on that in my Sharp Shooter review)

Stealth:

There’s a stealth section of the game set in a beautiful Helghan jungle. I really enjoyed this section, plus it used all the mechanics you already know in the game, so it didn’t have a learning curve unlike lots of other games stealth modes. There isn’t much more to comment on this front, I just wish there was more stealth moments, since it’s pretty much only in one section of the game.

Story:

I’m not going to lie, the story in Killzone 3 didn’t have a lot of depth to it, and I am a guy who likes a good story in his games, so if you’ve been reading since the beginning you might be wondering why this is my third favorite feature of the game; the thing about Killzone 3′s story is that it’s all adrenaline, there’s barely any character development (there is some though) you don’t get to know a characters back story, or plans for the future because Killzone 3 lives in the moment. All throughout Killzone the whole focus was the war, or escaping Helghan, or stopping them, they never had time to sit down, and talk about their god damn feelings. There’s a lot of cutscenes in Killzone 3, but they’re spread throughout the campaign very evenly. All of the cutscenes are beautiful, very well voiced (especially the Helghast leaders fighting for control, and Narville) and every cutscene is very action packed. The cutscenes all did a great job of telling me where to go, and what to shoot in the face. One of my favorite parts of the story was the general Orlock, and the weapons manufacturer Stahl fighting for control of Helghan, this gives you a good idea of the political struggles the nation is facing after their beloved dictator was slaughtered. The story in Killzone 3 is the equivalent to a really good action sci-fi movie.

Presentation:

The graphics in this game are amazing. Guerrilla has outdone themselves by not only improving on the awesome graphics in Killzone 2, but also by thrusting you into countless beautiful environments. You know the dark grey sorta environment in Killzone 2? You start there because the game starts immediately after Killzone 2, but after you’re out of that area you’re constantly in different highly colorful environments. My favorites were the space station, and the Helghast Jungle. The jungle is definitely my favorite location to stare at in the game because of all the vivid colors, and because it’s

such a dark twisted looking place. The Jungle has the dark creepy aspect from a haunted forest, the rapid untamed growth of a jungle mixed with a lot of radioactivity. It’s sort of like when you see a spider with striking colors against a jet black body, and you know right away that it’s dangerous as fuck. You never really get to get used to an environment in Killzone 3 because you’re never in one place for too long. One thing that caught me off guard was how great the Helghast look, and how there’s a really good assortment of different enemy types. The most visually striking area is in the trenches later in the game, lightning is striking, and explosions are everywhere it’s a huge seizure inducing attack on your eyes that you wont soon forget.

(Skip to 5 minutes 24 seconds for the trenches)

Gameplay:

The absolute best thing about Killzone 3 is the gameplay. The action is very tight, and the game strives for a super realistic way of shooting. It’s not the sort of game where you’ll run forward shooting at everything without thinking. In Killzone 3 you can’t just jump into a situation or else you’ll usually die. You really need to think about what you’re doing, I often found myself using guerrilla tactics just because I was so out numbered. The shooting in Killzone 3 is more satisfying than any other FPS I’ve ever played, and although the alternative shooting types in this game were fun, I often found myself anxious to get back on foot with a gun. You can carry 3 guns in Killzone 3, a standard rifle size weapon, a pistol, and a large weapon, this works really well, and is a good balance between giving players too much weapons, and too little. There were points in the game where you had to be ammo conscious but a lot of the time you’ll find ammo refill boxes these are a god send because they let me use my better guns more liberally whereas in most games I’m using the most standard reliable gun because I’m afraid of running out of useful ammo when I need it. There are a lot of different guns in Killzone 3, but as far as the standard rifles go you’ll most likely pick a couple favorites, and try to stick with them when you can.

Fucked-O-Meter:

The game is very gory, and the characters swear fairly frequently, also there’s a point where a guys head blows up. I’d put this at a 6/10 for Fucked-Up-Ness

******____

Overall Killzone 3 was a huge blast that was wildly fun to play, this is a game that I can’t recommend enough to anyone who enjoys shooters. The game does have small issues: (Glitches, little character development) but it overexcels in every other possible department that you really don’t give a shit. I played through single player with my Sharp Shooter so expect a Sharp Shooter review in the next couple days, and possibly a multiplayer review in the future. Oh, and when I get a 3d tv next year I’ll be playing through the campaign again so expect a 3d review in the far future.

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