Killzone already has a great and interesting history on the PS3 — remember the first, fake gameplay video of Killzone 2 at the E3 2005 press conference? Well, the full game didn’t turn out that pretty but it was still a solid shooter, with some of the best visuals and FPS gameplay on the PS3. Now the third installment is ready for PS3 owners, and while it doesn’t raise the bar or introduce anything radically new, it certainly lives up to what Killzone fans might expect.
Killzone 3 continues in the same fast-paced fashion as its predecessor, with great set pieces, huge battles and an immersive gameplay. Sadly, it’s lacking on the story side. The story continues from Killzone 2, where you once again play as Sev, this time, you’re trapped on an enemy planet with your squad. It’s a story of those guys stuck on a hostile planet, and in that case, it’s important that we care about the characters, but we don’t, as they’re all flat and one-dimensional. There isn’t much coherence in the story, it just seems the developers went the Call of Duty Modern Warfare way: find some interesting battles, and build a shoe-string story around that. It’s quite disappointing, because the Killzone world is vast and interesting, but it’s not used to craft a decent narrative.
What the story lacks, the gameplay really makes up for, and offers some of the most intense and exciting combat you’ll find on any console. It takes what Killzone 2 did and makes it better, and even corrects some of its mistakes. The gun play is better and more streamlined this time, and the whole feeling of being in battle — which most games strive for — is well achieved in Killzone 3. Having said that, we’d love if it tied in better with the story, as there would have been a lot more suspense in fighting for characters you care about. The multiplayer part is refined and will offer tons of fun, but we wish there were a few more modes than the regular 3 modes. Safe to say, it’ll satisfy Killzone 2 fans.
Visually, Killzone 3 does look better than its predecessor — in fact, it looks better than anything we’ve seen on the PS3 in the FPS genre. Most of the settings take place in crumbling buildings in almost destroyed cities, but it’s done in such a way that there’s always variety, and the level of detail is simply astonishing. An annoying aspect of the game are the loading times, which, while lasting for a brief 4-5 seconds, fade the screen to black and back again, and this is annoying, to say the least. There are a few other technical glitches, but nothing that, hopefully, cannot be fixed with a few patches.
Overall, we loved Killzone 3′s action, kinda liked its multiplayer, and didn’t like its story and characters. But overall, we’d recommend it to any PS3 owner, especially FPS fans.
The Good:
Immersive gameplay
Awesome visuals
Great set pieces and level design
Robust multiplayer
The Bad:
Weak story
Flat characters
Occasional loading screens and glitches
Uninspired multiplayer
Overall score: 8/10
[UPDATE]: A previous version of this review wrongly stated that the story doesn’t continue from Killzone 2 (the prequel). It has been corrected.
