Game Reviews Volume 2

Killzone 3 (PS3)

The Killzone series and I have a rough history for want of a betterword. The first game resides on my list of 'worst games I have everhad the displeasure of playing' list thanks to it's clunky gameplay,awful story and dated visuals (even though it did push the PS2 to dosome pretty impressive things). The 2nd Killzone was okayat best. The story didn't improve much and the characters were allhorrible but the gameplay was solid and it was for quite some timeone of the best looking games on the PS3. Now onto Killzone 3 and Ihave to admit I put this off for quite some time for good reason. Isimply didn't want to go rushing back to a story I simply could notcare less about led by characters I actually hate. Unfortunately itseems that no matter how long I put it off, the outcome was nevergoing to change.

At the end of Killzone 2 you, Tomas Sevchenko, and your buddy ol' palRico Velasquez stormed Scholar Visari's palace and intended to takehim prisoner to end the war between the I.S.A and the Helghast.However, Rico being the complete bellend that he is killed Visari ina fit of rage and has instead only made matters worse for the entireI.S.A because now there are two generals fighting to take Visari'splace as leader of the Helghast and the only way one of them cansucceed is with a dick waving contest about who can kill the mostI.S.A. With evac not possible, the I.S.A are stranded on Helghanuntil they can find some way off planet.

6 months pass and now it appears that the Helghast are planning ondecimating the human race by attacking Earth, with time running shortit's up to Sev, Rico and a few new faces to completely ignore theorders given to them by their commanding officer Narville, andinstead just screw things up even more with no mention of punishmentagainst them for repeatedly defying orders, talking down to theirofficer and being downright dicks.

This is the biggest problem I have with Killzone. None of thesoldiers seem to obey the orders given to them by superiors. Now yeswhilst most of the time these orders are pretty stupid, because itappears the I.S.A only employ braindead retards to lead theirmilitary, it is equally stupid that the soldiers are allowed todisobey every order given to them to do something else instead, whichusually only lands them further up shit creek than they werepreviously. What's worse is any threat of punishment is completelyerased when one of them does something that slightly helps the I.S.A.

Near the start of the game Narville threatens Rico with beingsentenced to the firing squad, I can't help but think that thesituation they found themselves in would have been improved bykilling Rico and not letting him repeatedly over the course of thegame continue to disobey orders and make things worse for the entireI.S.A faction.

All of his wrongdoings however are completely dismissed when he, bydisobeying orders, destroys some Heghast technology that was impedingthe I.S.A progress. What kind of military are the I.S.A running? It'sbullshit!!

Moving on before I give myself blood pressure problems on the matter.The gameplay to Killzone 3 is surprisingly fun, much like Killzone2's. The first few levels are pretty boring and do not support myargument, but once you get past them you are treated to some goodlevel design and challenging battles to get through. One big stepback from Killzone 2 is the lack of enemy variety. For most of thegame you're only fighting basic grunts with only two occasions whereyou're required to think before you shoot because of the inclusion ofenemies that have to be tackled particular ways.

The lack of 'boss battles' is also disappointing. Killzone 2 had ahandful of particularly tough encounters with one off enemy types,Killzone 3 however only has one of these. This particular battle doeslast for the majority of the level, taking roughly 15 minutes todefeat across several stages of combat. But this is a single standoutmoment in an otherwise very dull game.

Killzone 3 retains the series trademark of weighted combat.Everything about the game feels heavy. The way you walk, the way yourcharacter interacts with objects, the way guns fire. It certainlygives the game a more realistic, grounded feel to it than many otherFPS' out there and places you into the shoes of Sev much easier, it'sjust a shame that the character is a two-dimensional tosspot.

Weapon variety is acceptable, though you'll probably end up stickingwith the default I.S.A assault rifle for most of the game as it isthe best all round weapon on offer.

You'll also encounter various vehicle sections throughout the game.Some allow you to control the vehicle and some are simply on-railssections. These are always full of spectacle and usually quite fun toplay, especially the final on-rails space battle.

The Killzone games are known for their impressive visuals, thoughKillzone 3 I feel does not set the same standard as Killzone 2 init's graphical prowess. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot nicer to lookat than most other games on the market, but a sequel that hardlyretains it's predecessors benchmark quality and does not hold anysignificant improvement elsewhere to compensate is verydisappointing. It is however a much brighter and more coloured gamethan Killzone 2 was, thanks to more varied environments.

I played it in 3D and the for the most part it was very well done.The opening section was horrendous in 3D due to a temporary HUDdifferent to normal covers the screen, but once this section is overit is much better and benefits the game as a whole. Seeing theimpressive level design given more depth is very enjoyable for themost part, so if you have access to a 3DTV I would take advantage ofthe opportunity.

However the audio for Killzone 3 is often poorly balanced, slightlydistorted and the voice acting is at times very forced and wooden. Ifound that throughout the entire game everything was either too loudor too quiet when set against each other, really not a greatexperience for your ears.

I struggle to recommend the Killzone games on a good day but Killzone3 is just so unbelievably dull that it only gives me more reasonnever to bother suggesting the games to people who have not yetplayed them. If you've not played Killzone 3 yet, don't bother, spendyour time playing something more worth the precious hours of yourlife. If you have, I genuinely feel sorry for you. If you're after aKillzone game to play, try number 2, it's a lot better.

Killzone3 – 3/10

+WeightyShooting Mechanics

+GoodLooking

+3DIs Great

-DullStory

-AwfulCharacters

-BadSound Design