Killzone 3

Pros:

• -Stunning and jaw dropping gorgeous graphics
• -Amazing game play, easily the best in FPS history
• -Fun and intense campaign with good variety
• -Enemy Helghast AI is almost genius and provides a very brutal and tactical challenge
• -Weapons all feel powerful and are great to shoot
• -One of the most technically advanced games ever made
• -Multiplayer is highly addicting, strategic, varied, and creates a feeling of being in a large scale chaotic conflict, all on great and very detailed maps. One of the best Multiplayer games ever made
• -Controls feel tight and smooth, all the while giving a decent feel of weight and power

Cons:

• -Storyline and characters are weak and forgettable
• -Lack of online co-op is disappointing, and the screen is split vertical and feels awkward

The Killzone series has earned it's place as a top tier shooter with the highly critically acclaimed Killzone 2, and Killzone 3 takes all that even a step further. The result is an even bigger and greater game then it's predecessor. The graphics are amazing, the game play is amazing, and the multiplayer is amazing. What else do you need? If your a FPS fan then you need to play this game, it's not a should, it's a NEED.

To start things off, Killzone 3 takes place immediately after the events in Killzone 2. Visari is now dead and the fascist nazi-like planet of Helghan has gone into disarray with it's leadership up for grabs, and this has created some internal conflict for the Helghast. Two of Helghans great politcal leaders, Admiral Stahl (played by the very talented Malcolm McDowell) who is the primary leader in weapons technology and research, and chief commander Orlock who is short tempered and prone to violent out bursts, are both fighting for the head seat of power to control Helghan. And while the talented voice actors are nice, and the idea of an eternal struggle sounds interesting, the poor writing brings it down. In fact, Killzone 3's storyline spends more time focused on the enemies than the main characters themselves. Still this isn't really so much of a bad thing, as the overall story is much better than Killzone 2's, and it's not like other FPS games on the market like Call of Duty, Battle Field, or Halo (not counting the novels, just the games alone) tell good or memorable story lines either. And the story line doesn't get in the way of the game at all, so it's a realitively minor issue, however it is one that Guerilla Games should pay attention to and fix in their future games.

This then leads us into the back drop for the main characters in the game, Sev (who is just as forgettable as before) and Rico (who is thankfully not as annoying as before), and their struggle to escape the planet and make it back home. You see, Killzone 3 isn't about over throwing space nazi dictators this time, instead it's simply about surviving and trying to get out alive. And Killzone 3 presents this perfectly in it's atmosphere and game play. You will fight your way through many varied settings, ruined buildings and high ways, dark and odd looking forests, space cruisers, snowy trenches and outposts, and more. And through all of this you will have feelings of intensity and even get your adrenaline pumping a bit as you survive the brutal and very intelligent onslaught of the ruthless and iconic Helghast. They pop in and out of cover, plan complex tactical ways to take, shout out to each other when they see you reloading your weapon and thus vulnerable, tossing grenades and flanking your position, retreating and setting up ambushes, the Helghast don't play around. And I don't think I have ever played a game that has enemy AI as good as Killzone 3 does. One interesting thing is how the increased in difficulty works for this game, while most games will increase the AI's health, toughness, numbers, accuracy and so forth, Killzone 3 doesn't do that. Instead it simply increases the intelligence of the AI, which makes them even more deadly than before, and it makes the game more challenging than most other games out there that have difficulty settings. Killzone 3 does it right.

Now before we go any further we need to talk about the graphics, which in a word: AMAZING! Aside from maybe a small handful of a few other games like Uncharted and God of War 3, nothing else comes close to these kind of visuals and just raw tech that is in this game. Killzone 3 could arguably be the best looking game in town, and it really shows off the horsepower of the PS3 and what it can do! Everything in this game is jaw dropping, the bullet particles after they hit a wall, the snow as it drifts across the battle field in the wind, the blood as it splatters across the war zone, the guns, the characters, the collapsing buildings, all of it is simply grade A top notch. And it dwarfs just about every other game out there.

However beautiful graphics and advanced alone don't make a game great, but that is the great thing about Killzone 3. It plays as great as it looks! In fact, I would be so bold as to say that Killzone 3 has the best game play and mechanics ever made in a FPS before, guns all aim,shoot, and feel great, they all have kick back and feel really powerful. The controls still have some weightness feel to them, but it's much more refined and feels tight and smooth this time around, you won't hear any complaints about them in Killzone 3. Melee attacks are brutal and just feel dangerous and deadly, the cover system works like a charm, running and sliding feels flawless, there are no complaints to this game as far as game play is concerned. It is FPS game play refined and perfected, and raises and sets a new standard by which future FPS games will be judged.

The campaign it's self will last you approximately 10-12 hours. But it offers enough of a challenge (the enemy AI is GREAT remember) and variety to offer replay value. While the missions are standard FPS format where you are on confined and some what scripted paths, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some levels will take you through crumbling and war torn buildings as you fight your way through room to room, building to building in an intense fire fight, while others will have you creeping through a sinister and unique jungle stealthily. On top of this the missions also introduce unique game play events, in one level you will get a Jet Pack and kill enemies as you fly over the harsh snow and arctic oceans, while others will let you pilot a giant mech and stampede over the enemies. Killzone 3 offers enough variety and challenge in it's campaign to keep it feeling fresh and interesting. There is also co-op as well, however it is only offline split screen, and the screen is split at an odd vertical angle which makes it awkward to play. Which is a big let down, as Killzone 3 would be a perfect game for co-op.

Once you are done with the campaign you can jump over to the awesome multiplayer experience that Killzone 3 offers, both online and off (it has BOT support, and they are GREAT). The multiplayer is divided into 3 modes: Guerilla Warfare which is basically standard team death match and violent skirmishes, War Zone which is a variety of different game modes rolled into one, and Operations which is an assault/defend the base type of match. All of these are fun and addicting to play through, and they all offer up a ton of great strategy to employ. Perhaps the most interesting mode is War Zone, featuring a large number of players (24) it cycles through different game types in one match. For instance the game may start you off playing an assassination where one team tries to kill the selected target and the other tries to protect him, after that round is over the game type will change to something different like a base assault, territory capture, propaganda speaker control (CTF), or just a body count massacre. This is a unique way that keeps you on your toes and constantly forces you shift and come up with new tactics to win.

The Multiplayer is class based and they are all unique, balanced, and fun to use and level up with. You have your choice between a medic, tactician, infiltrator, engineer, and marksman. Each of these classes has it's own unique game play which just gives Killzone 3 even more ways to play, for instance: The infiltrator has a disguise ability which takes over a random players identity on the opposing team, you look exactly like them in every single way from what class they are, to what gun they are using, to their uniform, even their online gamer name above their head. This offers a stealthy and spy game play type for players who want to sabotage enemies behind enemy lines. Then however if you play as say an Engineer the game play type is completely different, you then become more focused on building and maintaining defenses such as automatic gun turrets and building extra ammo boxes for your team to use. Where as if you play as a medic you are running around with your team members in groups and providing support fire and reviving and keeping them alive. All of the classes offer completely fun and unique ways to play, which also makes creates even more strategy in Killzone 3's Multiplayer. During the matches you will earn XP which you can then use to level up and upgrade your classes, each class offers different abilities and weapons to unlock and upgrade. For instance the medic can unlock a small robot that follows him around and fires at nearby enemies, thus providing him cover support as he goes to revive someone. While the marksman can upgrade his cloak which allows him to camo himself and turn invisible. You can unlock new guns as well such as a new sniper for the marksman or a shot gun for the infiltrator. The class and level up system keeps you addicted to Killzone 3's Multiplayer and will keep you coming back for sure.

Another great aspect of Killzone 3's Multiplayer are the maps, there are a total of 8 (there are also 8 DLC maps available, making the total number of maps 16) all of which are large and very detailed. One map takes place in a snow battle field with two large bases separated by a vast battle hardened snow field in the middle field with trenches and underground tunnels to fight in. Another puts players in a giant run down city, with a massive series of crumbling buildings facing each other with a war torn road going through the center, with players running and fighting through building to building and having intense sniper battles from windows and brutal guerilla warfare in the center road. These are all very detailed, very chaotic, and very fun. They make you feel like you are in the middle of a large scale conflict, all the while still strategizing and using tactics. And some of these maps offer mechs and jet packs for players to use, making the battles even more epic and varied.

Final Verdict:

If you like FPS games, then Killzone 3 is a must buy for you. It's worth picking up a PS3 just to play. Sure it's storyline may not be the best, and it's lack of online co-op is annoying, but all that is minor in the grand scheme of things and easily forgivable because Killzone 3 has perfected the FPS genre in graphics, game play, and Multiplayer. This is a game you DO NOT want to miss, and you will regret it if you do. It stands tall right up there with the other top tier FPS that are out there.

Killzone 3 get's a 5/5