Killzone 3

Killzone 3 is the sequel to the great Killzone 2 by Guerrilla Games. Killzone 3 has a great introductory sequence setting up the story before it places you at literally the ending of Killzone 2. The campaign begins at this point, allowing you to pick up as Sev where you left off in the last game. You will be forgiven for putting a bullet into Rico at this point if you want. The story starts fast and the campaign maintains a great sense of urgency and excitement for its duration. The story has been improved from the previous game. The characters are far better this time, in particular I am amazed that Guerilla actually manage to redeem Rico after the events of the last game. Sev is a decent protagonist and other characters are fleshed out. The dialogue is improved, and the new Hellghast characters make the story more colourful and provided a nice aspect of intrigue and political power struggles among the Hellghast to the story.  
 

 
The graphics have actually been improved since the last game, and look stunning. The lighting is incredible, with generally dark skies in the city levels broken up by gorgeous beams of light really making the battle field look great. Smoke and fire rises from the destroyed urban areas making the game look gritty and realistic much like the original did. Where Killzone 3 does improve on the original is level variety. While Killzone 2 occurred almost exclusively in the Hellghast capital city, Killzone 3 starts in the city but takes you to a jungle, a polar area and even space. The variety of levels really improves the campaign and makes level progression all the more rewarding. The character models still look great, with incredible detail given to clothing and weapons. The water and sky look fantastic, as do all the machines and vehicles of war.   
 
The music is still great, with a good strong sound track which suits the battles that you engage in throughout the campaign. The voice acting is brilliant, especially the villains who are voiced by Malcolm McDowell and Ray Winstone. The other characters are also voiced very well and it is this improved voice work and script which allows the story to rise above its predecessor. The best thing about the sound in the game is the weapons being fired and the sounds of vehicles. The guns firing in the game are incredible. It sounds fantastic to mow down enemies with a machine gun or to use a lightning gun on an enemy. Its a gritty and dark game and these great weapon sounds enhance this experience. You get a real feel of being in a warzone at points in this game, and a lot of that feeling can be credited to the sound design. The screams if the combatants, the power and sound of the weapons and the explosions and environmental effects all sound excellent.
 

 
Speaking of the weapons, there is a great selection of them in the game. You get the usual assortment of sniper rifles, assault rifles and pistols, but there are also weapons that shoot lightning, disintegration weapons and a homing missile launcher among others. The cover mechanics work great, which surprised me considering its a first person game. The clunky movement and controls of Killzone 2 have been altered to be faster and more responsive. While this has taken away the feeling that you are carrying weapons, I feel that this decision has improved the game. The gameplay has also been varied more this time as you will get special items in some levels, including a jetpack and a mech walker. You will also have allies with you for much of the game, and this time they can revive you if you are downed, much like gears of war. Despite this strong new addition, the game does seem to be overly selective about when you can be revived which can be frustrating. The game play is strong, though controls are still not as responsive as something like the Call of Duty series. Despite this the game retains a lot of ability to make tactical decisions that would not be possible in more scripted shooters, though this has been watered down from Killzone 2. 
 
The campaign runs around 8-10 hours, and multiple difficulties allow more than 1 playthrough, but the multiplayer greatly adds to the play time you will get from this game. There are multiple classes to choose form, and the maps are great and varied. You can have 24 players online, and you can play with bots. The progression system is much like call of duty, and you will unlock new weapons as you advance in experience. Like the previous game, Killzone 3 rotates the objectives of matches during the game. This adds excitement to the multiplayer and makes sure that you experience all the modes. Its a cool feature, and makes the multiplayer really fun.  There is a lot of value to be gotten from the multiplayer here if you have a group of friends to play with, and the maps to play on are generally pretty and well designed, with plenty of opportunity for vertical shoot outs and taking advantage of sniping positions. 
 

 
Killzone 3 supports move and 3d but as I have neither I cant comment on how good either of these are. Killzone 3 is largely identical to Killzone 2, but with many minor improvements which together make the game better. The introduction is a good start, and the story is improved. The combat is smoother and faster and the levels more varied. The game still lacks a strong narrative direction, and the ending left me wanting, but overall Killzone 3 is a great shooter and a strong game for this year already. If you have an interest in shooting games or have a group of friends looking for a team game then Killzone 3 can meet this need.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pros:  

• Great graphics and lighting 
• Top voice work 
• Varied levels 
• Weapon selection is improved from predecessor  
• Sound of combat is brilliant   
• Multiplayer is fun and has mechanics that are not in most fps games  
• Greater variety of enemies  
• Melee kills are brilliantly done
• Intense firefights

             
Cons:   

• Story narrative is still lacking 
• Ending is weak and fails to end the story decisively  
• Too many turret sequences   
• Jet pack is seriously under used 
• Script is still weak despite being improved 
• Subtitles do not match what is being said on a regular basis

 
Wtf:  

• Rico is not shot on the spot as the game begins

 
Score: 

• 8/10