Ten Things I Love and Hate about Killzone 3

The Killzone series has been called by some as Sony's Halo – not necessarily a Halo “killer” as the first game had been labeled by the media, but with as much of an action packed personality. Both games are exclusive to their consoles, and both are solid, sci-fi shooters. It's also an unfair comparison that overshadows what makes Killzone's war torn future stand out – a dirty, brutal ground pounding slugfest fought with conventional, and a scarce number of unconventional, weapons driven by the oldest excuses.

Killzone 3 continues to polish that formula with the broken rubble of a capital blasted into the stone age, the weighty feel of its combat, a slick cover system, and plenty of savage action. It's a twitchy tour of duty through one vision of the future that holds onto your nerves from start to finish, yanking at them with every explosive report echoing through Helghan's poisoned atmosphere.

For the most part, Killzone 3 doesn't try to re-invent the FPS: instead, like so many others, it does its best to deliver a unique experience in a setting rife with possibilities and tricks to keep the player's adrenaline pounding through every firefight. In this respect, it succeeds in the same way that Halo's does turning its moments into memorable set pieces arrayed against impossible odds. From start to finish, this was one fight worth every spent bullet casing.

But it isn't perfect, either. So, to break things down once again, here are ten things that I loved…and hated…about Killzone 3.

What I love about Killzone 3

1. The Weapons: Forget ray guns  – when it comes to warfare, Killzone 3's relatively cheap, weighty, low-tech approach subtly underlines that despite how advanced humanity has become in some areas, an old fashioned bullet barrage is still in vogue for up close and personal encounters. Firing in bursts for greater accuracy as opposed to praying and spraying can often make the difference, but it also rewards the player with a few improved pieces of ordinance such as a portable mortar for a little thunder on the battlefield. And when you do get your hands on a piece of high-tech death if only for a short while, it's worth the wait.

2. The World: The gritty, dirty look of Helghan and the grey, bleak ruins of its capital, its soldiers, and the alien life of its “jungle” kick aside the notion that the future is filled with gleaming textures and polished chrome. Then it shoves you over to the arctic, squeezing you in between frosted steel walls and icebergs before dumping you inside a massive assembly line for starships. Walking through Helghan's vast junkyard later on made me wonder if one of the NPCs would crack a tetanus joke. And you can see your own feet before they're blown out from under you. Hearing the echo of gunfire and the thudding whump of explosions reverberate through the air in the open and closed spaces of Helghan's world also gave my ears as much of a rush.

3. The Story: Taking place right after the events in the first game, KZ3's story picks up the action as the ISA (the 'good' guys) try to beat a hasty retreat from Helghan. It does a better job in this regard with its characters than the previous two games such as in capturing some of the hopelessness that those left behind are forced to live with. Malcom McDowell's part is also deliciously wicked icing on the Helghast voice acting cake with orchestrated tracks ticking along each scene. It's not Brothers in Arms, but it's decent stuff…at least for the first few hours.

   
   Chairman Stahl's no Admiral Tolwyn, but Malcolm McDowell puts in a wickedly villainous performance as the scheming weapons industrialist for the Helghan.
    

4. Nice variety of mayhem: It's not all shooting through blasted museums, ruined apartments, and weapon labs, though those firefights are a lot of fun and give you plenty of opportunities to practice with the cover system. On rail events like blasting enemies while driving along the edge of an ice ridge, space combat, and a little zero-g jump gymnastics keep things interesting until the bitter end. Then there's that fight against a walking skyscraper armed with enough Gunbuster-sized particle cannon love to ruin anyone's day. So awesome.

5. Multiplayer: Operations mode is your typical objective-based mode, but it offers a nice twist with cut scenes featuring actual players for that additional bit of ego-boosting rub – or humiliation. Maps are big, detailed, and the class-based gameplay with unlockable weapons and abilities offer up plenty of hours of fun. Some even feature mechs and one has jet packs for a little Tribes vibe. Local co-op is also included to keep you from feeling too lonely on the battlefield and practicing against bots on any of the modes and maps can also help newbies get a grasp on things before hopping into the grinder online. It's may not offer as many bells and whistles as Call of Duty's, but there's something to be said about how different and challenging an experience it is by keeping things relatively simple.

   
   Though they only show up in one map on multiplayer, in the right hands, jet packs can get the drop on the unwary or slip behind enemy lines to deal out a little extra strength chaos.

 

What I Hated about Killzone 3

1. Story chokes: The story starts feeling rushed halfway through and somewhere near the end, the story turns a promising character into a cartoon caricature. It's like watching Tom Hanks go from Saving Private Ryan to his character in Dragnet on the beaches of Normandy. And for as much CG as there is in telling the story, not much is actually said. At least not in as strong a fashion as the introductory teaser starts things off with. As for the ending, it feels as if they ran out of funding for anything more than a cursory teaser before the credits roll. How's that for a reward to chew on for a few years until the next game?

2. Multiplayer could be better: The lack of any network-based co-op is disappointing and having only three maps for Operations mode is downright embarrassing. Leaving out a few other options, such as a game browser, custom game options, having no “all mute”, and funky auto balancing give this side of the game the impression that it's only a slight update over KZ2 with new maps.

3. Space combat on tungsten rails: I don't mind rail shooters and still play a few rounds of Panzer Dragoon on the Saturn, but KZ3's bouts in space take could use a little polish. At the same time, it almost begs to be free. I couldn't help but think of how Halo: Reach let would-be space jockeys torch Covenant ships in a party of explosions, or back to Panzer Dragoon which at least gave you a little room to maneuver without tying you down to a suicidal pilot.

4. Quirky bugs: The Helghan are brutal adversaries, but your partners can sometimes seem as if they need to be shot in the ass to keep up with you. There were also a few bizarre instances of where the AI would get confused and seemingly “run in place”, or when enemy corpses would have their limbs stretch out like a bungie cord or jiggle in place – things I didn't expect to see return from KZ2.

5. Missed opportunities for more: Sneaking around a Helghan camp and infiltrating a secure cornerstone of military power were also nice, short diversions – though I wouldn't have minded to see more scenes like these to open up more on what make the Helghan tick. Even bounding around in zero-g felt like a throwaway event.

Yet Killzone 3's exciting action still stands out as a crisp slice of guerilla warfare encapsulated inside a world gone mad on both sides of the front, dragging me through the discarded past of Helghan's rusting face while never forgetting that it's still an FPS. Every hour I spent trudging through the ruins of Helghan on a desperate flight to find escape and countless more online were worth it for the sheer, brazen action consistently delivered in every scene.

It doesn't necessarily change the way that our digital wars are fought, but Killzone 3 proves that by staying the course, it can still make an undeniable impression.