Guerilla Games’ Killzone franchise has always felt like Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Halo series. They both feature interplanetary warfare, false hope for the self-proclaimed “good guys”, and state-of-the-art multiplayer that rival the best shooters on the market. Despite this, I never really cared for Killzone 2. I don’t know if it was the “heavy” feeling controls, the cookie-cuter level design, or just its ridiculous expectations; I just couldn’t get into it. Unfortunately, Killzone 3, Guerilla’s successor to the 2009 hit, feels the same way. This is mainly because unlike most sequels, Killzone 3 rarely improves on any of its predecessor’s mistakes, or in a less-subjective sense, shortcomings.
The most noticeable miscue that plagues Killzone 3 is its “been there, done that” feel. Nothing about Killzone 3 felt as if I was playing something new or unique. Rather, it felt like I was playing Killzone 2 all over again. I know, I know—the same thing can be said about a myriad of franchises nowadays (ahem, Call of Duty) but it was more evident in Killzone 3 than ever before. More to the point, Killzone 2 didn’t have a strong campaign to begin with. As a result of this, Killzone 3’s campaign comes off as lateral jump; nothing more, nothing less. A few new locales and enemies here and there, but the same damn run and gun, cover-based shooting we’ve played before.
Most of all, Killzone 3 did feature a handful of great looking locales, moody atmospheres and upgraded controls only to be blanketed over by awful level design and irritating enemy behaviors. This was most apparent in some early campaign levels where enemies would run straight at you and kill you in one stab if you weren’t ready. More to the point, the staged “turret missions”, or in easier terms, “missions where you can't move” were just as frustrating as they’ve ever been. It’s not that Killzone 3 looks like a generic first-person shooter, it just plays like one.
Even so, I have to give credit where credit is due. Guerilla Games improved one of Killzone 2’s most troublesome issues, and that was the floaty, heavy feel to the aiming and movement. This was fixed in a later patch in Killzone 2, but Killzone 3 definitely felt better from the get-go. Turning is faster, yet there’s still a small delay in the movement. You still feel human, but you’re not fighting the controls, either. The sight-aiming feels much better, too. I very much disliked clicking the right analog stick to look down the sights in Killzone 2, but Killzone 3 has it moved to the L1 trigger, thus making aiming much easier.
If the campaign isn’t your cup of tea, Killzone 3’s multiplayer component is actually pretty well made. It features a plethora of imitative progression conventions seen in past games like, you guessed it, Call of Duty—but even so, the class-based combat feels like a much-improved version of Killzone 2’s multiplayer set-up. Warzone, one of the most beloved modes from Killzone 2, makes its return but if normal team deathmatch is your thing, that’s there for you, too. Botzone can be played alone against bots, which is basically just a practice mode but can come in handy when you’re trying out newly unlocked classes or weapons.
Killzone 3 is also a fantastic looking game. Whether its the amazing attention to detail, or if it’s the phenomenal weather effects—Killzone 3, much like it predecessor before it, raises the bar once more for shooters on the PS3. I still can’t get over the fact that grenades explode into separate pieces, no sprite work, nothing. Actual explosion. Basically, Killzone 3 is a freakin’ powerhouse. It’s audio captures the same war-torn feel of the past games, too. You’ll hear bang and crashes in the background, soldiers yelling over deafening noise, and bullets whizzing by your head at a break-neck pace. The voice acting, however, could’ve been much better.
It’s quite unfortunate that a series with so much potential has utterly failed to live up to its lofty expectations attached to it. None of the Killzone titles have been terrible—they’ve just been underwhelming at best. Killzone 3 is a victim of the parody game; it has no unique qualities to differentiate itself from its genre counterparts, and what’s left is just a generic intergalactic shooter with no personality. If class-based multiplayer is your thing, or if Call of Duty just doesn’t cut it for you anymore, Killzone 3 might be the game to catch your attention. Just be aware that attention might be distraught by a lack of individuality.