Guerilla Games may have taken comfort in the fact that this iteration would almost certainly be less hyped than Killzone 2, the developer’s first stab at next generation consoles. After an infamous E3 trailer, the game released to a warm reception and was praised for its heavy, realistic mechanics. Though reviews were almost exclusively positive, there were a few recurring grievances from both fans and critics. Fortunately, it seems Guerilla Games has taken the feedback to heart. Killzone 3 succeeds because it retains those mechanics that made the last game great, but it does some tweaking that ups the all important fun factor. Nonetheless, I’m a bit conflicted over my experience with the campaign. Though there were few things I could find wrong with the campaign itself, I was left feeling a bit cold about the single player experience.     

Killzone 3 picks up six months after its predecessor left off, but the story quickly flashes back to the immediate aftermath of the assault on Visari’s palace. Sergeant Thomas Shevchenko (Sev) is back and so is the volatile Sergeant Rico Valasquez, though the game gives this character a few nice guy, teddy bear moments that might render him unrecognizable to some. I actually appreciated the game’s attempts at humanizing Rico, half-hearted though they were, because his  “Hey, I’m an asshole!” persona had begun to wear a little thin by the end of Killzone 2. Much of the conflict in the narrative focuses on internal tensions that mirror the shoot-outs between the shiny-badged ISA and the red-eyed Helghast. Rico frequently butts heads with Captain Jason Narville over exit strategies. On the opposing side, Admiral Orlock, Commander in Chief of the Helghast military, spars with Jorhan Stahl, chairman and weapons developer, for control of the post-Visari Helghan empire. The game takes stabs at exploring its characters, but there’s no real development . There is one scene towards the beginning in which Sev says something to Rico that only he could get away with, and the moment reveals a genuine sense of camaraderie between the two characters. If the game focused as much on making its characters human as it does on flashy explosions, then I might have cared a bit more about what I was shooting at and why. Unfortunately, the main players in this narrative are reduced to cold, unfeeling testosterone robots.  

Fortunately, it plays well. Gunplay is lighter and quicker, but weapons have more weight to them, both in sound and handling, which augments the satisfaction of taking down waves of Helghast. Additions like brutal melee, an excellent streamlining of the two separate melee attacks from Killzone 2, and shotgun pistols spice up the old formula by taking a shooter that was already technically proficient and adding a shot of adrenaline. In addition, you can now carry a heavy weapon, a light weapon, and a side-arm in the single player campaign, which is just as convenient as it is unrealistic. At one point, I was packing an M82, a Minigun and a shotgun pistol. Not a bad combination. Aiming down the sights is smooth and crystal clear, and the faster aiming and movement make it easier to run and gun, though firing from cover is still at the core of the mechanics. Vehicle sequences are also much more prevalent. This has its pros and cons, as some of the machines are clunky and annoying to pilot, but tank runs and the like offer a nice gameplay alternative.   

The aesthetic is nearly flawless. This is unsurprising, considering the graphical leaps of Killzone 2, but the atmosphere is even more polished and varied. Environments range from snowy landscapes to dilapidated buildings. The most visually interesting environment is a stealth level set in a bright, colorful jungle spotted with caves. The sounds of gunfire also emphasize its atmosphere, as you can hear the echoes of bullets bouncing between the cavern walls. In this inhospitable jungle, even the plants attack you. Though there’s a distinct beauty in this environment, the level clearly illustrates that the Helghast aren’t the only ones attempting to expel you. So is the planet itself.

 

Killzone 3 makes for a solid, but short, single player experience. The atmosphere and gameplay are spot on, but the story is just there, and its characters don’t have enough depth to make you care. I will say that the final boss was much less annoying than that of Killzone 2. Regardless, I suspect most fans will devote the majority their time to the multiplayer, rather than revisiting the single player campaign, which offers an exciting place to practice before the training wheels come off.